Name: Big JT’s BBQ
Date: 5/9/15
Address: 1425 Wilcox Ave, Gaffney, SC 29341
Order: Pulled pork barbecue plate with hush puppies, barbecue slaw, and fries
Price: $13

So you guys know the whole thing with more legitimate barbecue editors stating that “they eat the bad barbecue so that you don’t have to”? Well, I never purposefully seek out the bad (who would?) but in the case of Big JT’s BBQ in Gaffney, SC, that was definitely the case for this barbecue blogger. I ate bad barbecue here and am here to tell you about it so you don’t.

In a former Sunoco gas station, Big JT’s is located right on I-85 in Gaffney not too far from the outlet mall (my reason for being in the area that Saturday). The roadside gas station barbecue ambiance works, but only if the barbecue is able to back it up…

Sadly, it does not. While the dining room in former gas station vaguely smells of smoke, the coarsely pulled pork is cold and dry. I’m guessing it was smoked on a previous day and reheated for us. Neither myself nor Mrs. Monk could muster up the energy to finish our portions of barbecue, even with some sauce (of the thick, KC Masterpiece variety) to help with the dryness.

The barbecue slaw was a case of “good job, good effort” in terms of emulating Lexington style but just was not cutting it. The hush puppies were a long weird shape and not all that great. The fries, though clearly frozen, were probably the best part of the meal.

Unfortunately, Big JT’s BBQ was so downright bad that I felt guilty about dragging my wife and daughter here for lunch. I will say that the lone server was nice enough and was very good with our two year old, its just a shame that the barbecue itself erased all feelings of goodwill I had for the restaurant.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 2 hogs
Pork – 1 hog
Sides – 1.5 hogs
Overall – 1 hog