Noble Smoke – Charlotte, NC (Rudy’s take)

February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 / Barbecue Bros / 2 Comments

Name: Noble Smoke
Date: 2/12/22
Address: 2216 Freedom Dr, Charlotte, NC 28208
Order: Little bit of everything (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Rudy: It’s not every day that some of the Barbecue Bros are able to get together and eat barbecue. Nowadays there has to be a big event to cause it and a couple weeks ago we had a big event! Monk was turning 40 and becoming a man, which gave us a great excuse to get together and celebrate that momentous occasion with some great food. I had heard lots of great reviews of Noble Smoke and was looking forward to trying it out. So upon landing in Charlotte, I headed straight for the restaurant to meet up with Monk and others. In full disclosure, I worked at Jimmy Noble’s restaurant in High Point back in high school, but they didn’t give me an employee discount this day.

Reading the website before I came, it said to make sure you arrive early because they can have long lines, so I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as space. We sat outside, which was a fantastic set up after flying in from snowy Michigan. I am not sure if they have expanded since putting that on their site, but it looked like there was plenty of seating inside and outside and plenty of parking. I was really impressed with their setup.

Monk: I was honored that Rudy made the trip, though it made a lot more sense when he said it hadn’t been above freezing in Michigan in about a month. Regardless, we were treated to clear sunny skies and a high of 69 the day of my 40th birthday party, so it was a nice and perfect day to eat on Noble Smoke’s huge patio.

Rudy: We had a large group so we ordered a little bit of everything from the menu. My main dish was a chopped pork sandwich with western slaw. I added their Lexington style sauce to get a traditional sandwich feel. I really liked the fresh bun and slaw but thought the best part was the barbecue (as it should be). Very traditional barbecue with great flavor and plenty of moisture. It was exactly what I was expecting and hoping for.

Monk: Unfortunately, we ran out of time for me to show Rudy the Lexington-style brick pits in the smokehouse where they smoke the pork shoulders in but I’m glad the sammie hit the spot.

Rudy: The brisket was next and it was a good effort for brisket outside of Texas but wasn’t what I was used to after living in Austin for so many years. I like having more flavor on the bark and would have preferred for it to be trimmed a bit more than it was to remove some of the excess fat that did not render all the way down. Similar review for the sausage, good effort but didn’t get all the way there for me. Again, I would have preferred a bit more flavor, but I was also glad that I tried it and it was better than average.

For me, the best part by far was the sides. Normally when you say that about a barbecue place, it is usually a slight to the meat but that is not the case here; the sides are just that good! We had hushpuppies, mac and cheese, collards, pickled veggies, and brussel sprouts. Any one of them would have been a great side that would have stood on their own, but by far the brussel sprouts were the best. Not only were they cooked perfectly, they also came with a great dipping sauce, and there were a ton of them in an order. Great value and great food.

Monk: We may have gone a little overboard on the sides but I agree that Noble Smoke executes all of them at an extremely high level. Next time I’d recommend Rudy try the creamed corn but honestly I’m just happy that I got to share a barbecue meal with Rudy for the first time in a couple of years. And also that it was significantly better than the last two times we had barbecue in Ohio in 2020 at Ray Ray’s Hog Pit and Rudy’s Smokehouse.

Rudy: Overall I was very pleased with my experience at Noble Smoke. I don’t have the depth of experiences with Charlotte barbecue that Monk does, so I don’t know how it compares or ranks with other places around the city. But I thought the atmosphere was great, the food was great, and most importantly, the friends were great!

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 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

Ray Ray’s Hog Pit – Columbus, OH

November 2, 2020May 16, 2021 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Ray Ray’s Hog Pit (food truck)
Date: 10/2/20
Address: 424 W Town St, Columbus, OH 43215 (at Land Grant Brewing)
Order: Meatsweats (Smoked brisket, pulled pork, jerk chicken, dry rubbed ribs, Ray Ray’s hot link, with pickles and sauce) (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: So for the first time in almost exactly 5 years, all three Barbecue Bros were going to be in the same city with a chance to eat barbecue together. Now, due to COVID reasons and the need to have a drivable and centrally located city we ended up having our annual guy’s trip in the lovely climes of…Columbus, OH. Not ideal for barbecue, but a little research yielded a potentially promising prospect in Ray Ray’s Hog Pit BBQ. It kept popping up on “best of” lists, the website was well done, and the Franklinton location at Land Grant Brewing was extremely convenient to where we were staying for the weekend.

Rudy: The euphoria of having the band back together, combined with the positive previews of Ray Ray’s would basically guarantee that we would have a great barbecue experience, right? Land Grant had a great set up with lots of outdoor seating, a stage for music (although not on the night we were there), and had Ray Ray’s attached. After looking at the menu online with all of the great pictures, we decided to get their Meatsweats box (sampler of most of the menu) and since we couldn’t decide which meats to get extra, we figured we would order more after trying them all. This restraint proved to be a good idea. To start with, the brisket was bland, had almost no taste of seasoning or smoke.

Speedy: The pulled pork was … not great. There was very little smoke on it, and it was dry. That said, the pork was far superior to the ribs. The ribs were dry, barely seasoned, and basically were pork jerky.

Monk: I’m not sure if the overall quality of the barbecue had to do with the later hour we were at Land Grant Brewing eating Ray Ray’s, but yea, dry dry dry.

On the other hand, the jerk chicken was miraculously moist and flavorful. Not sure how this was so fresh while the other meats were dried out but it was passable.

Rudy: The two areas that I thought were decent were the sausage, which had cheese in it (even though that was not advertised) and some texture to it, so it did not seem completely generic. We also ordered the collard greens, which were very good and probably the best part of the meal. While the greens (and the pickled onions on the side) were very good, when that is your highlight, it is not a good thing.

Speedy: All three Barbecue Bros get together about as often as we can see Haley’s Comet, so when we do, (begin sarcasm italics) we only eat the best.

Monk: Hey there was that one time at Lexington Barbecue!

Speedy: In all seriousness, despite the 5 hog company (and decent beer!), the barbecue at Ray Ray’s Hog Pit was as bad as I’ve had in a long time. Ohio – am I right???

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Pork – 1 hog
Ribs – 1 hog
Brisket – 1 hog
Chicken – 2 hog
Hot Link – 2.5 hog
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 1 hog

Lewis Barbecue – Charleston, SC (Speedy’s take)

August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 / Barbecue Bros / 2 Comments

Name: Lewis Barbecue
Date: 8/1/18
Address: 464 N Nassau St, Charleston, SC 29403
Order: 1 pound brisket, 2 hot gut links, 6 bones pork ribs, corn pudding, collards (link to menu)

Speedy: Later in the day after my trip to Rodney Scott’s BBQ (and after visiting a brewery of course), some of my fam and I decided to visit another new-ish Charleston joint I was pumped about – Lewis Barbecue. After superb visits to both Franklin Barbecue and La Barbecue (where John Lewis did stints), my expectations were super high. Finding a true Texas joint in South Carolina is definitely a treat.

The atmosphere at Lewis Barbecue is awesome. There’s an order counter, a bar, a fair amount of indoor seating and ample outdoor seating. Upon arriving, you order and just like in Texas, the meat is cut and weighed right in front of you. Even though we were still full from our earlier lunch, for our second lunch we made sure to order the brisket, pork ribs, and hot guts.

Monk: I was quite jealous when I heard Speedy and crew were doing Rodney Scott’s and then Lewis back-to-back. You may notice that most of my comments below are just agreeing with how good the food is at Lewis, and I hope I get a chance to get back there again soon (Labor Day weekend, perhaps?).

Rudy: I’m jealous too that you were able to visit Lewis Barbecue. When he was the pitmaster at La Barbecue, that was the best brisket and maybe best ribs I’ve had, so I’ve missed him in Austin and have been wanting to try his place in Charleston.

Monk: Just throwing this out there…Barbecue Bros company retreat in Charleston next year?

Speedy: I’ll start with the brisket, as that’s the flagship meat. In short, it’s the best brisket I’ve had outside of Texas. We got a mix of fatty and lean, and both cuts were smoked to perfection, seasoned perfectly. I liked the fatty better than the lean, as I felt the lean was a bit dry. Unfortunately, this brisket did not enter into the holy quadrumvirate with Franklin, La Barbecue, Killen’s, and Pecan Lodge, but it’s certainly in the next tier down. A must order.

Rudy: Like I said before, his brisket in Texas is the best I’ve ever had (although Franklin and Pecan Lodge are very very close) so I am not surprised that it was great, but am surprised that it did not break into that group.

Speedy: I was a little surprised too, Rudy. It was still darn good and very close, but maybe it was just a slightly sub-par day or that I usually don’t order lean at all, but it just lacked that extra something special.

Monk: While I have a few more Texas joints (notably, Louie Mueller) under my belt from my trip earlier this year, Lewis Barbecue is still the best brisket I’ve personally had at a restaurant. Note that I have yet to visit any of the spots mentioned in Speedy’s quadrumvirate. Also, based on the lack of spell check squigglies, “quadrumvirate” is apparently a real word and not something made up by Speedy.

Speedy: The hot guts took things to the next level. I like smoked sausage, but have always considered it a second tier barbecue meat. Well, John Lewis is challenging that. The sausage had a perfect snap and great flavor, with just a bit of a kick. I’m not sure the sausage could have been better.

Monk: I didn’t know that you were biased against sausage, Speedy. Six-plus years into this barbecue blog and you still manage to surprise me.

In any case, I too loved the hot guts.

Rudy: I’ve had the hot guts two times and really didn’t like it all that much. I think they are all beef and I am not a huge fan of that because I think it can sometimes dry out or crumble. It could have also been because I had heard so much about them and went in with huge expectations. But most people rave about it and you guys are no different.

Speedy: The ribs were also enjoyable – served with just a light glaze, these spare ribs were big and meaty, rich and tender. There was a hint of sweetness associated with the glaze, and you could clearly taste the smoke, but I would have liked a little more rub under the glaze to add a little spice and seasoning. Still quite good, but if you’re going to skip a meat at Lewis, this is the one.

The sides at Lewis Barbecue are worth more than a casual mention – they are really really good. Particularly the corn pudding was amazing, so don’t skip it.

Monk: The corn pudding was both mine and Mrs. Monk’s favorite side from Lewis as well. Jon G’s Barbecue has their own version of a corn pudding inspired by Lewis and it’s nearly as good. The takeaway here is that more joints should add corn pudding to menus.

Speedy: The meal at Lewis Barbecue was really great. Eating it in the same day as Rodney Scott’s was a real treat (as well as a challenge in terms of stomach room). Both joints are must-visit if you’re in the Charleston area and offer great insights into different styles of ‘cue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Brisket – 4.5 hogs
Ribs – 4 hogs
Hot guts – 5 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs