Gary Lee's Market, Brunswick, GA

This is the kind of place the locals know about and frequent...an unassuming storefront that does little to hint at the greatness inside. We stopped in for lunch yesterday and made our way to the deli counter in the back, where we made our choices from the display case, which holds enticing cuts of smoked brisket, sausage, chicken and ribs. Even the cheeseburgers looked good. Pulled pork is also available but held in a hotel pan behind the counter. One thing Mim really likes about this place is that you order by the pound, so you can try many different things without overdoing it. We split a 1/2 rack of ribs, some smoked sausage, a couple wings each, and a side of baked beans, and took our treasure to one of the tables.

These ribs are some of the best we've had...meaty and juicy with a pronounced smokiness. They smoke over pecan and oak here, and the result is barbecue nirvana. Neither of us cared for the sauce much, which tasted like overly sweet smoked ketchup. However, this does little to detract from our opinion of this place, as the ribs are so delicious they need nothing on them. The sausage was as good as the ribs...perfectly smoked and perfectly juicy...as were the wonderfully spicy chicken wings. We had read from a reviewer that the brisket was not to be missed, so we went back for more and tried that too. He was right. We shared a brisket sandwich, it was juicy and tender with a bit of bark included to give us a bit of the smoky rub. We both liked the baked beans too, which were simple and delicious, not too sweet with plenty of pork bits in them. In an area with more than its share of great barbecue, Gary Lee's Market stands out.

Southern Soul Barbecue on St. Simons Island

We often visit this area of coastal Georgia, and made our way here this week to partake of the great barbecue and beautiful sights this part of the country offers. Southern Soul was definitely a destination for us, and we're happy to see them thriving on lovely and historic St. Simons Island.

The vibe here is more hipster than divey, but still very casual. Their menu is large and varied, with ribs, Boston butt, whole chicken, turkey, sausage and wings all making their way into the smokers stationed in front of the restaurant. The woman behind the counter was helpful and patient...she could tell we were newbies, and volunteered info on what their bestseller is (pulled pork), as well as what Guy Fieri had when he visited (ribs). We both went straight for the Southern Soul Sampler, which gives you the choice of two meats, Brunswick stew and one side. The pulled pork and ribs are always our first choices at any barbecue place, and we both went for them with sides of collard greens, baked beans and coleslaw.

We get why the pulled pork is so popular, as it's juicy and tender, with a faint smokiness. There are 4 sauces to choose from on the table, and we both liked the NC style vinegar sauce on the pulled pork. Mim is going to just go right out and say this is the best pulled pork she's ever had. The ribs were somewhat less of a hit. Although far from bad, they lacked juiciness, and did not inspire the same passion that the pulled pork did, with more of a charcoal taste than a smoky flavor. The collard greens were spicy and possibly a little too sweet, and the baked beans were very good. We didn't care for the slaw with its preponderance of  chile powder, which overpowered all other flavors. Greatness is adding seasonings to elevate the ingredients and the cooks here sometimes get in the way.  All the sides we tried suffered from a little too much interference with the slaw and greens being the worst offenders of the three we tried.  Three of the four sauces impressed us as both fun delicious, with only the SC Mustard sauce failing to interest us. Both the Hot & Spicy and the Sweet Georgia Soul sauces were complex and tasty, and we detected mustard in them both, especially the Hot & Spicy, which could easily stand in for the SC Mustard sauce, and was delicious on both the pulled pork and the ribs. The vinegar sauce here would make any North Carolinian proud.

Southern Soul is a great barbecue spot, and we'll return to try the smoked sausage, Brunswick Stew and brisket. Check out their website, www.southernsoulbbq.com, which has a great community page, with links to fun and interesting things in the area.

The Music Man Barbecue

We really like South Carolina style barbecue, and The Music Man in Monck's Corner, about 40 minutes from Charleston, does it up right. While there are only a handful of reviews for this place on line, they're all fairly glowing with praise. We even read one that compares this place in quality to Sweatman's, a comparison we can neither refute nor second, as we made the pilgrimage there last night only to find them closed for the Thanksgiving weekend. Drats. Anyway, we drove over to The Music Man in the charming village of Monck's Corner for lunch today and enjoyed some very good barbecue.

Barbecue in the Carolinas means chopped pork. Often places will use just the shoulder, but they smoke the whole hog here...just the way God intended, according to their website. We are definitely for the whole hog approach to barbecue, as it produces incomparable juiciness and flavor. The Music Man is a buffet (they seem to really like their buffets in SC), and you get some wonderful sides with your meal here. Today the choices were lima beans, okra with stewed tomatoes, candied yams, mac and cheese, creamy coleslaw and potato salad. The mac and cheese and candied yams were off the hook, and we both liked the slaw. They offer chopped pork done in two sauces, vinegar and the traditional South Carolina mustard barbecue sauce, plus broiled chicken, ribs and cracklins. I fully expected to like the mustard sauce, but took some of the vinegar sauced pork too, and this was great. You can top your 'cue with more sauce at the end of the line, and I really like this vinegar sauce. There was something about it that made me want more...just delicious. The ribs were tender enough, but we weren't bowled over by them. We wouldn't go back for them, but we liked the chopped pork and the sides enough to return. To finish your meal, do not overlook the bread pudding. It rocks. They put raisins and apples in it, and it has a wonderful brown sugar flavor. Yum. 

Lexington Barbecue, Lexington, NC

Lexington Barbecue has been serving smoked pork shoulder in this location since 1962. We'd say they have it down. It says it all on their menu: "We use pork shoulders only. They are cooked about 9 hours over hickory and oak coals. We salt the meat before cooking but we do not baste. This is the true Lexington Style Barbecue." What they've created for our enjoyment is a barbecue that's very simple in style; pork shoulder chopped coarse or fine, depending on your preference, and dipped in the quintessential vinegar and pepper "sauce", which is more of a barbecue bath, used both as flavoring agent and meat moistener. On many barbecue blogs that categorize the two distinct styles of North Carolina 'cue, Lexington or Western NC style barbecue is said to use ketchup or tomato in the sauce, but at this particular restaurant the chopped meat arrives at the table swimming in a pool of broth that is slightly sweet and vinegary, spiced with cayenne and black pepper. We had read the reviews before our excursion here, and knew to ask for the brown, or bark, of the meat...the slightly charred exterior, which lends such flavor to the whole. I like it chopped coarsely, so asked for "coarse chopped brown". The chopped barbecue plate comes with slaw, fries and hush puppies; I asked to substitute baked beans for the fries, and this was no problem. Doug had the large chopped barbecue tray, as he wanted more meat. The tray only comes with the slaw and hush puppies, not the fries. The coarsely chopped brown is a mix of deliciously caramelized bark and moist meat, just slightly smokey, with a good pork flavor. The coleslaw is interesting...what they call red slaw here, which refers to the color of the vinegar based sauce the cabbage is in, not the color of the cabbage itself. We both like this slaw very much. Like the barbecue broth, it's a little sweet and a little spicy, with a nice vinegar bite. The hush puppies are little torpedo shaped morsels, smaller than the ones we've had elsewhere. Doug thought the size went against them, as the interior tends to be a bit creamier when they're a little larger, as they don't dry out. I was more fond of them than he, and appreciated the perfectly fried quality they had...there was not a speck of grease in the cardboard container that held them. We both liked the baked beans very much, which were simple and just a little sweet. The portions here are not impressive, and Doug could have eaten another serving of the meat right there. My more modest appetite was appeased. One thing I like about this barbecue is that it doesn't leave you feeling like you've eaten too much of a bad thing. There's no heavy, overly sweet, thick sauce to load you down, and the vinegar slaw is light and refreshing. As we talked about it in the car after leaving, we agreed that we don't find this barbecue particularly cravable for some reason, but if we lived here, we'd be dining at Lexington Barbecue often.

Suzy Q's Barbecue Shack

     On our way to Rochester, NY yesterday from our home in the 'burgh, we passed through Buffalo and stopped for lunch at Suzy Q's. Doug had found this place on line, God bless him, and was inspired by the great reviews. The good people of Buffalo had not led us astray, we soon discovered; this is great barbecue. We both ordered the 2 meat combo with spare ribs and pulled pork and a side of beans. We would have tried the chicken and collard greens, but they were out of both. Doug started with the cornbread. which was delicious. They crisp up the top of it and pour a little honey over it, and it is truly a little bit of Southern heaven. They give you two generous pieces per order, so he shared with me...yum. There are three sauces to chose from on the table, and we woke up the pulled pork with a few dashes of their eastern North Carolina style sauce, which is vinegar and spices...this was perfect with the pulled pork, which itself was tender, juicy and nicely smoked. The ribs are big and meaty, and they don't trim them, so you get all of the flavorful fat on there. I don't eat this fat, by the way, but leaving it on the ribs acts as a flavor enhancer and ensures a final product that won't dry out while it's smoking. I very much like the dry rub and marinade they use, and these ribs are so succulent and tasty, they really don't need the addition of sauce. Having said that, their sauces are very good, so don't skip them altogether. The baked beans were tasty, with a pronounced smoke flavor and a sweetness that was not cloying...someone in the kitchen has a practiced hand. I will say that I prefer beans that aren't as smoky and sweet with my barbecue, as a simpler preparation won't get overwhelming to the palate, and I was a little tired of the flavor of these before I had finished. I will still give these a thumb up, however, as I get what they're doing here, and these are good for that style of baked bean.
     A word about running out of food. We find this to be a fairly common practice among barbecue restaurants everywhere. We both spent years in the restaurant business, and understand the fine line any good establishment treads between managing food costs and feeding the hungry masses. Like alot of barbecue place in the south, Suzy Q's is a small family operation. They do this because they love it, not to get rich. The theme of most barbecue places that are this popular is, "When we're out, we're out. Sorry for the inconvenience, and come back tomorrow." This is just how it is, folks, so go early, go often, and thank the powers that be that you have such good barbecue in your town.

Suzy Q's Barbecue Shack

2829 Niagara St
Buffalo, NY 14207

(716) 873-5981

Tex's BBQ ~ various locations in PA

Good barbecue in Pennsylvania? You betchya! We caught up with Tex's in a parking lot in Phoenixville, PA. This is traveling barbecue, and you have to check the website to see where he's going to be on any given weekend, but it's worth the chase. I was delighted to find this place on my visit here last year, and there he was again, sending a thick plume of smoke into the chilly Spring air. On the menu are baby back pork ribs, brisket, pork loin, kielbasa, baked potato with choice of barbecue meat topping and smoked chicken, although not all items are available all of the time. This time we tried the baby back pork ribs. I asked for a full rack and he reached into the smoker and grabbed one with a pair of tongs. Beautiful. He cut it into manageable pieces for me, as we're eating this at our table at a stamp show, wrapped it in foil and gave me a pint each of sauce and Texas beans. The ribs are smoked over hickory and really delicious. He leaves the fat on and it flavors the meat and keeps it nice and moist. The rub is pure Texas...black pepper, cumin and garlic powder, and the sauce is a rich tomatoey concoction flecked with crushed red pepper, so on the spicy side. The beans are cowboy style, in a brothy sauce that's flavored with cayenne and garlic powder and with bits of brisket floating in them. Worth the stop.

(610) 812-4738

http://www.patexsbbq.com/
Limerick, PA 19468

Roper's Ribs, Florissant, MO

We finally got around to trying Roper's Ribs on our latest trip to St. Louis. We were going to go last year, but, when we got in the van, we discovered that someone had broken in and taken the ignition cylinder right out...it was on the floor of the van, and we weren't going anywhere! Roper's is famous and highly regarded in this part of the country, and we can see why. This is certainly one of the top 20 places we've been for BBQ. We tried both the St Louis style and baby back ribs and found them both to be perfectly smoked, tender and delicious. They weren't quite as succulent through and through as some in our top 5 or so but they weren't dry either. They come out sauced but the sauce doesn't overwhelm the flavors of these meaty porksickles. It's not very sweet, slightly tangy and subtly spiced. You can taste the rub through the sauce and can taste the pork and smoke through both clearly. We couldn't stop eating them. They also serve chicken, turkey leg, pulled pork, rib tips, snout, fried shrimp and burgers. The sides are potato salad, baked beans, slaw and fries. We had the baked beans and the slaw. The beans were pretty sweet but really nicely seasoned and baked and we both really liked them. The slaw was great. It tastes like it might have some pineapple juice and was really perfect with the ribs. We will definitely be back to try something else. The restaurant is very smokey, the seating is very limited and the wait for perfection is long. It's worth all this. The locals call ahead and get their barbecue to go.




Reviewer ratings for this restaurant:

The Doctor of Barbecue

As with many of our barbecue finds, this one I discovered on line while searching the Springfield, IL area for places to eat. I always search under BBQ wherever we are, because you never know, right? All it takes is for one passionate, dedicated individual to bring great barbecue to an area that, until then, may have had none. This is exactly the case with the Dr. of BBQ, who runs a food truck and smoker parked in an otherwise empty lot between 5th and 6th streets where they intersect with Stanford St. in the capital city of Springfield. We pulled up in our car, placed our order and took it back to the hotel, where we tortured the front desk staff by eating it at a table in the lobby. We chose the ribs, which are baby backs, and a pulled pork sandwich, both with our usual sides of beans and slaw. The ribs were great...somewhat assertively smoked and falling apart tender. They come naked save for the rub he uses on them, and with a side of sauce, which is a tangy and delicious tomato based sauce with just the right amount of heat and vinegar. These were almost perfect, but just a little dry. We've discovered something that most great pittmasters already know...ribs have a short period of perfection, after which it's a challenge to hold them there. Maybe if we'd had lunch there, we would have found that rib perfection...we suspect so. The pulled pork sandwich was also delicious...not as smoky as the ribs, and sauced with the same great tomato sauce. The sides... well, here's where The Dr. falls short of the mark. The slaw was past its prime...grayish in color, with that unpleasant gassiness that old cabbage has. If we were in a sit-down restaurant, we would have sent this back. The baked beans had been overly sweetened with white sugar, and we didn't like those either. If we lived in the area, we'd make our own sides at home and drive over for take out ribs to go with them. The Dr. also has smoked beef brisket, sausage, hot dogs, BBQ stuffed baked potatoes and gumbo on the menu. I'm willing to try it all after having these wonderful ribs...he just needs to work on the sides.

Carolina Barbecue Revisited

We stopped over at Carolina BBQ for lunch yesterday on our way home...skipped breakfast, in fact, just so we could have one final hurrah at one of our favorite restaurants.  We profiled Carolina BBQ way back when we started this blog, and it's in our Top 10. Now we remember why, and we even added some reasons to love this place.

We both had the rib and chicken combo this time around, which comes with 2 sides plus their enormous hush puppies.  I've never seen any this big, and they're good too, although Duke's still gets top billing there.  Doug got the greens and beans, and I got the fried okra and beans. We love their baked beans...just sweet enough and tasting of, well, beans.  Doug says the greens are very good, and I liked the fried okra, but will probably try something else next time, as they have lots of sides to choose from. This was our first time trying the ribs, and these are maybe the meatiest, porkiest tasting ribs around. They don't have alot of smoke flavor, but they're super tender, just how we like them, and they arrive at the table covered in that sauce we raved about on our first visit, what they call their mild sauce. Add a little of the spicy vinegar sauce to the mix and you've really got something good. The chicken is just as good as we remembered it being, so even if you don't eat pork, go and try the chicken. It's very tender and juicy, with a little of that mild sauce covering the skin...delicious. Now usually this would be enough food for us, but we didn't finish the hush puppies just so we could try their fruit cobblers for dessert, which they specialize in, according to the menu. Doug had the peach and I tried the blackberry, and we both went for the vanilla ice cream kicker, because, why not, right? The only downside to trying the cobbler is that now, every time we go to Carolina Barbecue...and we will be back...we'll have to order it. It was THAT good. They were offering cherry and strawberry cobbler that day too, so next time, maybe I'll get the strawberry. The only difficulty is in limiting yourself to just one.

Carolina Barbecue
213 Salisbury Rd
Statesville, NC
carolinabar-b-q.com

Smok'n Pig

      The Smok'n Pig here in Valdosta, Georgia claims that it's the Top 10 in the country, so we had to give it a try and see if they live up to their boast. We had dinner there tonight, and thought we'd tell you about it while it's still fresh in our minds.  In spite of the name, Smok'n Pig does more than barbecue, and is a full service restaurant with a salad bar and lots of items to choose from.  We stuck with barbecue, 'cause that's what we do, but they also have steak and seafood on the menu.

    I went with the pulled pork sandwich and salad bar, and Doug had the baby back ribs with collard greens and corn on the cob.  They offer 6 different sauces at Smok'n Pig, and have them on the table for you to try any or all. That's always the first thing we do when we sit down...sample the sauces. We both agreed that the original was the best of the lot, and we were split on the other choices; I liked the sweet and Doug liked the sweet and spicy. The mustard sauce just tastes like mustard, and the other ones are just not great. One thing about the sauces we did not like, and that was the use of high fructose corn syrup in all but one. When you don't eat that stuff, you learn what it tastes like, and we could detect the flavor of it, which we don't enjoy.   There were a host of other ingredients in the sauces such as soybean oil that just do not belong in a real Dixie barbecue sauce.

     The salad bar is good, and very much appreciated. After a couple of weeks on the road and many barbecue stops along the way I start to crave some greens. The pulled pork was very good, some of the best I've had, in fact. They smoke over pecan wood here, and it lends a lovely, subtle smoke flavor to the meat. The ribs were interesting, with a nice hint of paprika in the rub. They were tender and the meat fell off the bone, no knife required.  Doug says they're best with the original sauce. The collard greens were excellent...just slightly sweet with bits if ham in them. The ribs came with both toast and corn bread; thumbs up on those. Dessert comes with your order, and they make a good peach cobbler with pecans that you can help yourself to at a little dessert station complete with soft serve vanilla ice cream. When we return we'll try the St. Louis ribs and the chicken, but so far we think the food here is very good and we highly recommend you come for a visit.

GA Pig

just off I-95

Brunswick, GA

We’ve been going to the Georgia Pig for years, and love it still. This place looks like a barbecue restaurant ought to…it’s a tin roofed shack with a big woodpile out back and feral cats slinking around. The color on the walls inside used to be pepto bismol pink, but they changed it to bright yellow last year. The owner has a fun collection of Elvis ephemera on the walls, and that’s about it. One whole wall is taken up by the brick pit and counter where you go to order your food. They used to have a sign up that said “no cameras inside”, and they’ve changed that to say “It’s rude to take photos of people without asking them first,” or something to that effect. I guess a lot of folks were stopping by and snapping pictures of the pit master. After you order and pay, grab your iced tea from the self serve table and take a seat at one of the picnic tables.

We usually get the combo of 2 choices, although Doug has been known to go for the 3 meat combo when he’s really hungry. Their ribs are ok,  but the brisket, pulled pork and home-made sausage are better.  The sausage is very tender and juicy with lots of smoke flavor.  The ribs are a bit chewy and most often come out to the window warm at best, this is the riskiest choice of the meats. Sometimes they are great and other times I really wouldn't recommend them.  Try the pulled pork and the sausage. 

This is very rich, succulent barbecue, with alot of the fat left on the ribs and chopped pork shoulder, and a thick, tomato based sauce. They only do one sauce at The Pig, and whatever meat you order will come with some extra on top. I like their beans and slaw, although they’re not the best we’ve had, they’ll do. You’ll leave with the smell of smoke clinging to your hands, hair and clothing. It’s a beautiful thing.  Although this restaurant is no longer on our Top 10 list, The Pig is an experience you should have at least once if you love barbecue.

The Log Cabin in LaBelle, FL

     Recently Doug and I traveled from the east coast of Florida to the west coast along Route 80 and discovered this little gem along the way, Skitch and Sara's Log Cabin. The Log Cabin looks very promising from the outside...it's cute, smoke is visible rising up from the back of the building, and there are many cars in the parking lot.  The menu has much more than barbecue on it and looks more like full restaurant menu, with fish, meatloaf, pork chops and a complete list of appetizers on it; however, barbecue clearly rules here. 
     We sat down and Doug ordered ribs, and I had the rib and chicken combo, both with beans and slaw.  We both finished with that Southern staple, banana pudding.
  The ribs here are not among our favorites, and we are getting really good at nailing down what constitutes great ribs and what makes for just good or ok ribs.  These are smoked perfectly and very meaty, so thumbs up there, but they weren't as succulent as some we've had, and a little tough and dry.  I do appreciate the fact that they don't drown their ribs in sauce...they arrive at the table dry and you sauce them yourself.  The dry rub they use was subtle so it took us a few bites before we realized that it was mostly chile powder, and that got a bit old as we worked our way through them.  So, a C+ for the ribs.  The chicken was good, but, again, a little dry, and I only order dark meat, so there's no real excuse for that.  They offer 2 sauces at the table, a sweet one and a spicy/vinegary one, and these were both very good, as were the baked beans and slaw. The banana pudding is the fake banana flavored cream with nilla waffers. A proper pudding has pastry cream with bananas folded in topped with whipped cream. Everything else pales. This one is too sweet as well.  We think The Log Cabin is above average for barbecue, but just.  If I lived in LaBelle, I'd go there and try the pulled pork, and maybe even skip the barbecue altogether and order some fish. They're certainly busy and have a loyal local following, and we're always glad to see places like this doing well.