Month: February 2016

Short Sugar’s Pit Bar-B-Q – Reidsville, NC

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Name: Short Sugar’s Pit Bar-B-Q
Date: 2/16/16
Address: 1328 South Scales Street, Reidsville, NC
Order: Chopped tray with fries and hushpuppies, Cheerwine (link to menu)
Price: ~$11

Speedy: A work trip recently brought me to Reidsville, NC, and since I don’t really happen through this small NC town too often, it seemed like a great opportunity to visit another spot on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail – Short Sugar’s.

Monk: One of the first goals for this blog (other than finding the best barbecue in Charlotte) was to visit each joint on the NC Historic Barbecue Trail. But we’ve been a little lax lately, having visited only one joint in 2015. While there are a few that are a bit east and may end up requiring a dedicated trip, there’s definitely a couple within easy driving distance. Maybe we’ll hit another this year and double our 2015 output!

Speedy: Short Sugar’s is advertised as a drive-in, but in reality, it’s more like an old school diner. There are plenty of tables inside, as well as a lunch counter, and patrons are invited to seat themselves upon entry. Like a typical diner, the menu is fairly diverse, but there is a small section devoted to the barbecue. My order was easy – the barbecue tray with hushpuppies and slaw. When I found out from the waitress that they served white slaw, I quickly subbed in fries instead.

The food came out fairly quickly and I was ready to dig in. It didn’t take me long to figure out why Short Sugars has a sweetener in its name. The barbecue was covered in a dip that was heavy on the brown sugar. While good, it was just a little too sweet for my taste. The meat was chopped fine and very tender, and I still enjoyed my portion. Other than the sweetness, I had two complaints – I didn’t seem to get any outside brown in my portion (I didn’t ask for any), and my ‘cue was a little lukewarm. I imagine it has been chopped a couple hours ago and not placed in a heat lamp. All that being said, I still enjoyed the pork.

The hushpuppies were really good. They also had a sweetness to them, but one that’s more appropriate for the side than it is for the main course. The fries were typical crinkle cut fries, so nothing exciting there.

I have certain expectations whenever I hit up a joint on the historic NC barbecue trail. While Short Sugar’s wasn’t the worst trail joint I’ve hit (and overall I did enjoy the meal), I was slightly disappointed. If I ever find myself in Reidsville again, I wouldn’t be opposed to stopping again, but I won’t be going out of my way to do so.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs
Short Sugar’s Pit Bar-B-Q Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Short Sugar’s

Friday Find: Assembling the Ultimate Meat Platter at Hometown BBQ

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Eater gets Hometown to assemble a platter of all of their meats. Hate that I didn’t  get a chance to check it out during my week in NYC last October but its first on my list next time I return.

We can’t get enough of the expertly smoked meats and delicious sides at Red Hook, Brooklyn’s Hometown Bar-B-Que, so we asked them to build us a plate of all their favorites. Watch for a taste of the menu, and get inspired for your next visit.

–Monk

Linkdown: 2/24/16

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– Are black-owned barbecue joints dying?

– Tourism is booming in SC thanks in large part to barbecue

While multiple factors have boosted recent tourism growth in South Carolina, including a recovering economy and lower gas prices, Parrish said the influence of SCPRT’s DiSCover marketing campaign, which included promotion of the official South Carolina Barbecue Trail, also motivated travel.

– Over at Marie, Let’s Eat!, Grant visits two Georgia barbecue joints, Southern Soul in Saint Simons Island and Sandfly BBQ in Savannah

– Moore’s Old Tyme BBQ in New Bern is switching owners but thankfully still planning to cook with wood

– TMBBQ goes deep on the Mel-Man Sandwich, an East Texas specialty

– A couple more stories from Our State’s barbecue issue; B’s Barbecue

– …and Sam Jones’ new barbecue joint

Best of Charlotte Barbecue: Brisket

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The Smoke Pit – Concord, NC
Brisket from The Smoke Pit
Midwood Smokehouse
Brisket from Midwood Smokehouse
Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen
Pork, brisket, ribs, wings, brunswick stew

We initially started this blog in order to find the best barbecue restaurant in Charlotte. While we feel pretty comfortable with our current rankings on the big board having visited 40+ restaurants, what more logical next step than to explore the best meats and dishes in the greater Charlotte area? This is the second in our series. Click here to find the other posts.

Speedy once stated that he was done with brisket in NC. That being said, there are some passable  briskets in the Charlotte region (fantastic, even). The brisket from Midwood Smokehouse was named the sixth best brisket east of the Mississippi by Johnny Fugitt of Barbecue Rankings. But it turns out that we like the brisket at The Smoke Pit (which only opened a little over a year ago) even better. I would put those two at the top tier of briskets in the Charlotte region. At a notch below, Boone’s approach is unique in that he finishes the brisket on the grill and ladles it with a mustard-based sauce. Certainly not the Central Texas way of doing it, but it works nonetheless. After these three, there’s not too much more to be said about brisket in Charlotte.

  1. The Smoke Pit (Concord)
  2. Midwood Smokehouse (Original location; Ballantyne location)
  3. Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen

What do you think? Have we missed the mark? Leave your comments below.