Name: Brooks Sandwich House
Date: 11/7/14
Address: 2710 N Brevard St, Charlotte, NC 28205
Order: Barbecue sandwich with slaw on side and fries (link to menu)
Price: $6
Brooks Sandwich House has the best burger in Charlotte. Period. End of story. But despite being located not much more than a mile from my house, I have been there a shockingly limited amount of times in the eight years I’ve lived in my neighborhood. This more than likely has to do with their operating hours – 7am to 3pm, Monday to Friday only. In other words, when I’m typically at work (well, not so much the 7am part). The last time I did manage to go some months back I saw that they have barbecue sandwiches on the menu, but they are only available in the fall. So I made a mental note and the first time I could make it on a Friday afternoon, I seized the opportunity.
Now, despite their burger’s sterling reputation I was not really sure how their barbecue would turn out. They don’t appear to have a smoker on site, so I am not sure how and where it is cooked. As far as their atmosphere goes, there is only an order counter inside while outside has some standing covered tables. It really is a take out or eat in your car kinda place, so I won’t deduct hogs for its lack of atmosphere. Even after having eaten lunch that day, I stopped by for an early afternoon snack of a barbecue sandwich and fries.
And for a burger place, the barbecue was…passable. I mean, it would do in a pinch as it actually does have some bark mixed in and I even spotted some red pepper flakes (though the sandwich itself didn’t have much of a kick). But it’s not going to make any barbecue joints stand up and take notice.
The fries are great at Brooks, and I asked for the slaw that comes with the sandwich on the side. It turned out to be a mustard/mayo slaw and after trying the sandwich by itself I scooped on the slaw. Honestly, it neither added nor subtracted from the sandwich, simply giving it a slightly different texture.
So the moral of the story when you find yourself at Brooks Sandwich House in NoDa (and I would absolutely recommend it if you are in the area), is to go with the burger or even the dog. You will be much happier that you did.
–Monk
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – N/A
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 2.5 Hogs
