Name: Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Date: 8/14/15
Location: 5524 South Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28217
Order: Combo plate – Pork and ribs; hush puppies, fried Okra, Collards (link to menu)
Bill: $24, including drink (which was not a Cheerwine, which they do not serve)

Speedy: Recently, on a Friday afternoon, my work team decided to grab some barbecue for lunch. As I hadn’t been since our last review over two years ago, I steered the team towards Bill Spoon’s. Heading in, my memory was to expect good pork, great hushpuppies, and weird slaw.

Monk:…what Speedy means here is that Bill Spoon’s has a mustard-based slaw. But hey, at least it isn’t mayo-based.

Speedy: Not sure how that’s different than what I said… Anyhow, I was expecting a pretty standard meal, but I was thrown a bit of a curveball when we arrived and found out Spoon’s added ribs to the menu.  I thought I owed it to the dear readers to give it a try. Fortunately, there was a combo plate, so I could grab some pork as well. Sides of collards and fried okra rounded out my meal.

Monk: And from the looks of it, a pretty pricey combo plate at that.

Speedy: I don’t want to go into too much detail about the pork (good), hushpuppies (great), or other sides (average), as I really don’t have anything to add to our previous review. So instead, I’ll focus on the ribs. This were big, meaty spare ribs smoked with the membrane on (boo) and served with just a bit of glaze. These ribs were the epitome of “fall off the bone ribs”, which, unfortunately is not a good thing. They were definitely overcooked and I was unable to even take a bite without all of the meat falling off. The flavor was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Monk: Interesting that they added ribs to the menu (or maybe we just missed it the first time around?). I wouldn’t have expected good ribs from a traditional-ish Eastern Carolina joint like this (thinking Allen & Son) so I wonder what the demand was that led to it. They do cook whole hog so maybe they have them leftover anyways.

Speedy: Overall, it was a disappointing experience, especially considering the hefty price tag that accompanied the ribs. Next time, I’ll stick to the pork.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Chopped Pork – 3.5 hogs
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs