Half rack dry rub rib platter with baked beans and hash and rice
Charleston Eats: Smoky Oak Taproom
Willie Jewell’s Old School BBQ
Last night was a Lowcountry BBQ meatup at the fairly new Willie Jewell’s Old School BBQ up in North Charleston.
Willie Jewell’s is located in a little strip mall almost across the street from Wannamaker County Park. It’s not a very large place, but is pretty decent looking inside. Definitely not the hole in the wall shack type places you typically associate good Lowcountry BBQ with.
The menu has a pretty good variety to choose from, but I went for the pork supper plate, which turned out to be a pulled pork sandwich (with a pretty good sized portion of pork) served open face and two sides. I went for the baked beans and mac and cheese.
The pork was deliciously tender and very smoky. I think it’s some of the smokiest tasting BBQ I’ve had so far. Just check out that smoke ring.
The sides were kind of meh, although the baked beans were pretty good. The mac and cheese seemed to be just macaroni with salty cheese sauce poured on it. Ok, but there’s better out there. I got the impression that the sides were somewhat inconsistent. A few people in the group ordered the coleslaw which they said was really good before, but was pretty bad this time. The corn fritters, little fried nuggets of battered corn, were pretty tasty though.
The sauces are served warm in pump dispensers on a counter across from where you place your order. There are 4 sauces to choose from: traditional, sweet and tangy, classic mustard-based and a hot and spicy one. There’s also ketchup and regular mustard too, but I don’t recall seeing anything on the menu that you’d want to put them on. I probably just missed it though.
I went for the traditional and hot sauces. Don’t think I really liked the traditional sauce a whole lot, but the hot BBQ sauce was pretty decent. It tasted like it might have been mustard based as well. Really though, the pork stands up pretty well on its own and didn’t need any sauce at all.
If you’re in the area and develop a hankering for BBQ, Willie Jewell’s is definitely worth stopping at. Based on comments from the others, it seems like they still need to work on the sides to make the quality more consistent though. Prices are pretty reasonable though.
3.5 stars out of 5.
Central BBQ
Tonight’s Lowcountry BBQ meetup was at the relatively new Central BBQ in Summerville (903 Central Ave).
Aside from the bright yellow sign, it’s a pretty small building that wouldn’t be very hard to drive by without noticing (which would be too bad for you).
The menu at Central is pretty short and simple. From what I’ve been told, the owner puts on a batch of ‘cue at night and stays open the next day until it’s all gone so you’re always getting fresh off the BBQ food. Don’t think it can really get much better than that.
I opted for the large BBQ plate, which comes with a couple of generous scoops of pulled pork and two sides. Dug in before I remembered to take a photo of the plate.
The pork was amazingly good. Tender and smoky, I probably could have easily eaten another plate. There are four sauces available to choose from. I’m told the mustard sauce is excellent, but I rather enjoyed the Trinidad and Tobago Carribean BBQ sauce. It’s sweet and tastes really good.
Central BBQ is definitely worth a visit, and if you don’t live in Summerville, it’s worth the trip. You’ll want to get there early though before they sell out and close. Oh, and one more thing. Central BBQ is cash only.
Hickory Hawg
Today’s LowcountryBBQ meatup at Hickory Hawg was pretty well attended and turned out to be a big family affair. I got there a little after 6 thinking I’d be early, but everybody was there already.
Unlike the last few BBQ places, Hickory Hawg isn’t a buffet style place. You walk up to the counter, pick something from the menu (and they’re pretty flexible about letting you pick and choose) and when it’s ready they’ll bring your food out to you.
I ordered the Hickory Hawg platter for $8 and change, which is a big heaping serving of BBQ pork and two sides (I got the hash and baked beans).
The pork was pretty tasty; really good all by itself, but made even better with a little of their sauce, a slightly vinegary tomato based sauce. You can even buy some of their sauce to take home with you.
The platter is just a bigger version of a plate, and is a pretty substantial amount of food. If you’re really, really hungry, the platter is the way to go. Otherwise you might want to stick with the plate version for $5 and change. Regardless of which one you get, the prices at Hickory Hawg make the place a terrific value.
I’ll have to go back another day and try out the ribs. They looked pretty good too.
Dukes BBQ Meatup
It was road tripping up to Ridgeville for the latest Lowcountry BBQ meatup at Duke’s BBQ this evening.
Word on the street is that Duke’s BBQ is pretty good (one of the best most would say), and I’d have to say the street is pretty accurate.
Like many of the really good BBQ places, it’s not fancy inside. Walking into the door you’re greeted by the large main seating area with 3 large tables (perfect for large groups or communal dining). Off to the side is more table seating. Pony up to the cashier and pay your $8 (plus tax) and dig into the buffet. Buffet items are pretty standard for a SC BBQ place: rice, hash, sweet potatoes, pulled pork, chicken and a few other things.
I think my favourite item was the hash. Almost gravy like, it was good over rice or just straight up. Give me a bowl of the hash and I’ll be happy. Mmmm, hash…
A plate of this would make me happy too.
George Pasley was the lucky winner of the Media Mogul Twitter contest between the Carolina Regional Business Journal and The Digitel. George’s prize: a couple of boxes of Moon Pies and two cases of RC Cola.
The Ridgeville Duke’s is pretty good, and worth the trip. I’m starting to think that I’ll have to move because I live too far away from all my favourite BBQ joints.