Keep on Riding Up or Down Past Boulevard Barbeque

March 27, 2023March 28, 2023 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Boulevard Barbeque
Date: 3/10/23
Address: 810 S College St, Morganton, NC 28655
Order: Two meat combo platter with pork, brisket, red slaw, jalapeno cheese grits, and hush puppies (link)
Pricing: $$

Monk: Boulevard Barbeque is a restaurant in Morganton, which sits at the entrance to the Blue Ridge mountains in Burke County, NC. Mountain barbecue can be hit or miss in North Carolina, with places such as Buxton Hall Barbecue and , Hubba Hubba Smokehouse being on the great end of the spectrum. Boulevard, as it turns out, sits on the exact other end of that spectrum.

I went with the two meat platter of chopped pork and sliced brisket, which looked appetizing enough when placed on the table. However, looks were deceiving in this case as the pork was dry and mediocre despite having some decent bits of bark chopped in. It had a vaguely smokey taste to it, and Boulevard has a rack of wood outside its front entrance. But I suspect this is a wood-assisted gasser situation as this tray of pork was sorely in need of some sauce.

Keeping with the theme, the sliced brisket looked the part sliced about a half inch thick with a decent crust, but upon tasting it was dry slices from the flat of the brisket.

They give you a literal mountain of hush puppies almost certainly from frozen, though they were good enough in the moment. Alongside it I got a passable red slaw slaw and average jalapeno cheese grits.

In addition to the food, the restaurant itself was in need of a good scrub, as noticeable buildup of dust precariously sat above our heads in the (thankfully) turned off ceiling fans. The bathrooms were in even worse condition. There are far better options for barbecue in the mountains than Boulevard Barbeque so I’d recommend you keep on driving on I-40 in whichever direction you were already headed

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall – Atlanta, GA

April 25, 2022April 21, 2022 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall
Date: 4/14/22
Address: 684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Order: Pulled pork tray with ribs and chicken wings, BBQ chips, chilled street corn, “BBQ fries”, and fried okra (link to menu)
Pricing: $$$

Speedy: Our most loyal readers will recall that I spent a year living in Atlanta. While there, I graced Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall with my presence 5 or 6 times, but I never knew they had barbecue. In fact, I never ate anything there at all. So imagine my surprise when on a return trip, there was ‘cue on the menu. And I had the entire Monk clan in tow to boot!

Monk: I’m assuming there was a change in the menu since you left Atlanta to become our Senior Tennessee Correspondent because on the day we visited (in town for the wedding of friend of the blog and Yelper HOFer TDB) the smell of smoke was evident as soon as we got out of our car and also wafted throughout the gravel patio set up with biergarten-style tables and firepits.

Food and drinks are ordered cafeteria-style in the mode of a Texas joint, and the line moves pretty quickly. Unfortunately, at dinner on a Thursday night they were out of brisket so we made do with the available meats that Speedy could tolerate.

Speedy: Easily the star of the show was the St. Louis style ribs. Meaty, tender, and well-seasoned, they had good flavor and texture, but lacked any extra “oomph” that I’m generally looking for that could come from an extra kick; the perfect application of smoke or a sweet glaze. So while perfectly enjoyable, and something I’d order again, I don’t think they will be winning any Memphis in May awards any time soon.

Monk: We always order pork when its available, but as soon as I brought the tray to the table I knew this pork wasn’t going to cut it for us North Carolinians. It came pre-sauced and if there was any smoke to be found, it was certainly masked by the thick, overly-sweet sauce.

Speedy: The wings, like the ribs, were solid if unspectacular. Smoked then fried, these wings were tender and had good flavor, but I didn’t feel compelled to write home about them. Called “Nashville Wings” on the menu, I didn’t taste traditional hot chicken seasoning (I have become an expert), so I’m not sure what that’s about. Still, worth ordering a round for sharing.

Monk: With our group we opted mostly for the “shareable” sides and on the whole they about as successful as the meats. Which is to say, a mixed bag. The pre-sauced pork made much more sense on the “BBQ fries,” the okra was fried nicely, the chilled street corn had good flavor, and the BBQ chips were inoffensive.

Speedy: The best part about Ladybird is definitely the huge outdoor space right on the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, which is perfect for people watching. In fact, Ladybird will show up on many “best of Atlanta” lists when discussing where to have a drink on a nice day. Unfortunately, it probably won’t repeat its spot on any best of barbecue lists. While the barbecue at Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall is good enough to get by, true ‘cue lovers are best served looking elsewhere.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Ribs – 3 hogs
Chicken Wings – 3 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Edley’s Bar-B-Que – Nashville, TN

May 3, 2021May 16, 2021 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Edley’s Bar-B-Que
Address: 908 Main Street, Nashville, TN
Order: Half rack of ribs, green beans, corn bread (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Speedy: Recently, I got a surprise call from John Tanner of John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog letting me know that he and wife Nancy were coming to Nashville for a weekend and wondered if I wanted to join him for a meal. We initially decided to go to Shotgun Willie’s – a joint I’ve been meaning to get back to, with Edley’s as a backup plan if there was rain (as Shotgun Willie’s did not have indoor tables last time I was there). Well, sure enough, it was a pretty nasty Saturday, so we moved our lunch to the backup spot.

Monk: John and I grabbed lunch last October at Midwood Smokehouse while he was in Charlotte visiting relatives so I was happy it worked out for Speedy to meet up with him. John’s a smart, cultured guy who knows his barbecue but also a heck of a lot more. I was certain he and Speedy would get along famously.

Speedy: I don’t go by Edley’s often, as it’s not among my favorites in Nashville, but the last time I had gone, the brisket sandwich was above average, so it was time to go for a proper review. The restaurant now has four locations (three in Nashville, one in Chattanooga), and this visit was to the East Nashville location, which is a decent sized restaurant with a nice patio and good craft beer bar.

Even arriving by 11:30, the restaurant was starting to get a little crowded. John and I went up to order while Nancy secured a table.

John and Nancy both opted for the pork plate, but I chose the half rack of ribs, as I’ve never ordered that from Edley’s before. The food came out quickly and it was time to dig in.

Unfortunately, this meal didn’t do anything to change my opinion of Edley’s. The ribs came well seasoned and drizzled with sauce, but were a bit overdone. The flavor was fine, but didn’t stand out as anything special. I did have a bit of pork as well, which came sauced with a brown sugar-y sauce that sweetened the pork a bit too much. Another average offering. The green beans were good, and included chopped bacon, and the cornbread was very good (and a little spicy!).

The highlight of the meal was definitely the company; I enjoyed hearing about John and Nancy’s travels, and particularly their visit the previous day to Ramey’s – a whole hog joint between Nashville and Memphis that I haven’t had time to visit yet (but definitely will). John, I hope we can have another ‘cue meal soon.

For more on Edley’s Bar-B-Que, check out:
Marie, Let’s Eat!
John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Rudy’s Smokehouse – Springfield, OH

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: Rudy’s Smokehouse
Date: 10/3/20
Address: 2222 S Limestone St, Springfield, OH 45505
Order: Monk: 3-meat combo with pork, ribs, and brisket; hush puppies, mac and cheese, and fries; Speedy: 3-meat combo with pork, ribs, and brisket; hush puppies, collards, and fries; Rudy: 2-meat combo with brisket and pork (link to menu)
Pricing: $

Speedy: After our terrible experience at Ray Ray’s Hog Pit, all it took was a billboard advertising “award-winning BBQ” for us to give Ohio one more chance. So in the town of Springfield, we found Rudy’s Smokehouse (unrelated to the Texas Rudy’s). Rudy’s looks very much like a small town restaurant – think a Shoney’s or Cracker Barrel (minus the country store), which did not leave me with high hopes. Still, we marched up to the counter to place our order.

Monk: What Speedy has yet to mention is the reason we were in the Springfield area: I dragged the other bros (plus friend of the blog Boomsauce) an hour west of Columbus in the middle of western Ohio to hike and check out the town of Yellow Springs. I was actually very much against going to Rudy’s and wanted to check out Yellow Springs although I didn’t voice my opinion in time so before I knew it we were headed to Rudy’s.

Nevertheless, getting out of the car I did smell some smoke from the parking lot at least, which was a promising sign. The interior reeked of kitschy barbecue restaurant decor but the prices weren’t bad and we went into barbecue review mode, each ordering multiple meat combo platters.

Turns out, the pork was much better here than at Ray Ray’s while not being amazing. “Not being amazing” is probably as good as you’re going to find in Ohio based on this trip.

Rudy: The pulled pork was pretty plain and needed a decent amount of sweet sauce to make it something to eat. But it was not dry, so just because it wasn’t the pulled pork that we are used to in North Carolina, doesn’t mean it was bad, it was just ok.

Speedy: After our rib experience yesterday, I was nervous. Rudy’s ribs certainly exceeded the low bar previously set. While they were way overdone, they had a nice flavor and smoke taste, and were sauced nicely. Were they the world’s best ribs? No – far from it, but they were passable. The sides were fine as well, rounding out a perfectly average meal.

Rudy: I agree, I thought the ribs were pretty good, but that may have been because of the jerky that I had experienced the day before. We were given an order of the turkey due to them adding it in the order by mistake. I tend to stay clear of turkey at barbecue restaurants because at best they can be ok, at worst they can be dry. Rudy’s was very good, probably as good as you can do with turkey, moist and flavorful, but still just turkey.

Speedy: The brisket was another meat that exceeded the extremely low bar from the previous day, but wasn’t really that good. So while I have repealed my “never order brisket outside of Texas” rule, on this weekend, a new rule was born: “Never order brisket in Ohio!”

Monk: I always love new rules from Speedy. We didn’t expect a ton out of our Ohio barbecue experiences, but Rudy’s Smokehouse partially made up for our poor experience the day before at Ray Ray’s Hog Pit. Though I would still like to know what award it won…perhaps this is a Pabst Blue Ribbon-type situation.

Oh, and here’s proof we actually did that aforementioned hike.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 1.5 hogs
Turkey – 3 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs