Queen City Q makes Charlotte Magazine’s Best New Restaurants for 2012, which is no surprise to us since we are big fans of the place. 

The casual eatery is a partnership between veteran restaurateur J. D. Duncan (who also owns Bonterra Dining & Wine Room) and husband-and-wife team Bryan Meredith and Sue Johnston. The trio brought in pitmaster Dan “Boone” Gibson to supervise the smoker. He takes a classic approach: the barbecue here is hand pulled, mixing fatty and lean cuts. The dishes are all based on Gibson’s family recipes, which he hasn’t modified much—and the result is a restaurant that serves up tender, smoky barbecue (unsauced), along with home-style Southern sides such as a peppery green bean casserole (Gibson’s mother’s recipe), thick mac and cheese, collard greens, and three kinds of slaw.

Additionally, the description of the renovated bowling alley 10 Park Lanes also struck me as interesting

Yes, 10 Park Lanes is a restaurant inside a bowling alley. But what it isn’t—and this is a big point of distinction—is a bowling alley restaurant. You won’t find stale nachos and rubbery cheese here.

Instead, the reinvented Park Lanes is a happy mix of fun and comfort food. The space’s new look preserves and enhances the mod style of the original 1960s George Pappas bowling alley (think Mad Men mixed with a touch of futuristic styling à la The Jetsons). The menu has an emphasis on barbecue, including St. Louis–style ribs, chicken, pulled Boston butt, smoked sausages, and brisket-style prime rib. Tender and unsauced, it’s all ready to be drenched (or dotted) with the restaurant’s house-made barbecue sauces, including sweet and tangy Double Honeycomb, vinegary Piedmont Blond, smoky and spicy Coffee Jalapeno, and the mustard-based Chipotle Apricot.

I wasn’t aware of its barbecue focus, so Speedy and I will have to huddle and see if this could be blog-worthy.

Speedy edit: I’ve had the smoke sausage before and was pretty impressed. The menu has lots of stuff in addition to ‘cue, but it’s probably worth further inspection.

Queen City Q Makes Best New Restaurants list for Charlotte