Monk: South Carolina’s public station ETV recently featured Tay Nelson and Bobby’s BBQ on their “Backroad Bites” digital program.
Description: Founder of Bobby’s BBQ, Tay Nelson used his seasoning blends as a springboard into the world of barbecue leading to the opening of the Fountain Inn restaurant. On this episode of Backroad Bites, visit this Upstate barbecue restaurant where “we are all family” while serving classics such as house-made sausage and brisket
Name: Bobby’s BBQ
Address: 1301 N Main St, Fountain Inn, SC 29644
Order: 1/2 lb brisket, 1/2 lb pork, 1 original sausage, 1 jalapeno cheddar sausage, corn pudding, mac and cheese, green beans (link to menu)
Pricing: $$
Monk: Octavius “Tay” Nelson and his wife, Sarah opened Bobby’s BBQ in Fountain Inn, SC after Tay spent a few years learning how to smoke from YouTube videos. Yes, really. Tay actually originally grew up in Fountain Inn and Bobby’s is named after both his dad and brother (Bobby Sr and Jr) who both passed away within a few months of each other in the late 00’s. Tay came up with a barbecue seasoning first in 2010 and the restaurant came later in 2018.
The restaurant is central Texas-inspired which as mentioned above, Tay learned from watching different tutorials on YouTube. The Texas of it all is evident if you take a peek into the smoke room and see two huge offset pits with stacks of wood.
As for the barbecue, I found it to be above average but not transcendent. The brisket had good flavor but was not the most neatly sliced by the meat cutter, who hacked and sliced through the end of a brisket.
The pork was dry which is almost to be expected from a Texas-style joint at this point.
On this day, they had two sausages, both an original and a jalapeno cheddar. Of the two, I preferred the jalapeno cheddar, though both were above average.
From a sides perspective, both the mac and cheese and corn pudding shone, and I particularly liked the corn pudding. The green beans were a bit bland and were cooked within an inch of their life.
Bobby’s BBQ is a great story, with food that mostly backs it up as well as a great setting. It’s worth seeking out in the greater Greenville area.
Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3 hogs
Brisket – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Monk: From YouTube’s “United States of YouTube” series, this short video on Octavius “Tay” Nelson of Bobby’s BBQ in Fountain Inn is one of two featured videos from the state of SC. It tells the story of how Tay got into smoking barbecue through YouTube tutorials and that ultimately led to the opening of his restaurant in 2018. I’ll my review of Bobby’s BBQ in a couple of weeks.
Description: The first time Tay made barbecue he found his calling. With the help of YouTube tutorials, and the encouragement of his family, he perfected his recipes and opened his award-winning restaurant, Bobby’s BBQ in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.