Peace N Hominy Q Shack - Belmont, NC

Peace N Hominy Q Shack
403 E Catawba Street, Ste 200
Belmont, NC 28012
http://www.peacenhominy.com/menu

Peace N Hominy is in the heart of pork country but that doesn't mean that brisket is off the table.

The sun was shining the day that brought me to PNH as I settled in to discover what they had to offer.

The menu was varied but not complete.  They offer pulled pork, ham, bacon (yes...bacon), pulled chicken, carved turkey and carved brisket.

Sides include slaw (house, BBQ and jalapeno), cheesey grits, creamed corn and bourbon beans. There is also fries, chips, hush puppies, mac, stew, chili mac, onion rings or a side grocery salad.

I opted for pulled pork, bacon (...bacon...), and brisket with cheesey grits.  At this point I settled in on the back porch to wait.

To my surprise, they had an appetizer menu that included pimento cheese! served with tomatoes, cucumbers and crackers.  The texture was a little too smooth but the flavor was very good.

While waiting for the meal, I took a look at the sauces they had available.  The traditional sauce "Original" was tomato based, thick and beautiful.  The vinegar was a bit lacking in body. It was mostly vinegar and spices. The Hot was more to the body of the original but spicier.  3 Amigos is a balance of the other 3.  It was good but the original was my favorite.

Here's a shot of the complete meal. It was a great to start a trip to North and South Carolina.

 

I was completely blown away by the brisket.  First, it was mostly from the point which is the smaller and moister part of the brisket.  If you ever have burnt ends, they are from the point side of the brisket.  It was moist, tender and spot on flavorful.  The pulled pork was clean, moist and as tender as I have ever had.  The bacon was thick cut, beautiful and tasty. Even the hush puppies were just as expected.  Fresh and flavorful.

 

So if you find yourself headed west from Charlotte and can stop by Belmont, NC, I highly recommend grabbing some cue at Peace N Hominy.  You'll be glad you did.

City BBQ - Lexington, KY

City BBQ
2187 Harrodsburg Rd
Lexington, KY 40504
CityBBQ.com

City BBQ is a typical southeast restaurant chain that provides better than what you would expect out of a chain.  There. I said it.

The have 2 locations in Lexington but are in Indiana (5), Kentucky (5), North Carolina (8) and Ohio (18). They offer Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork, Lo Lo's Pulled Pork with Slaw, Turkey Breast, Pulled Chicken with 'Bama Sauce, Smoked Sausage and Pork Ribs.

Sides are Fresh Cut Fries, Green Beans with Bacon (how else do they come?), Mac and Cheese, Sweet Vinegar Slaw, Corn Pudding, Hush Puppies, Cornbread, Collards with Pork (same question), Potato Salad, Side Salad, Baked Beans with Brisket and Gumbo.

 I had brisket and ribs with beans and collards.  Just looking at the picture makes my mouth water at the marbled brisket.  It was great. Just tender and moist as it should be.  The ribs were spot on as well.

 They had multiple kinds of sauce.  In the back is a mustard based and a vinegar based.  Up front they were all pretty similar. It was hard to tell much difference so I'm not much sure about it.  Just know that the original sauce was good, the mustard wasn't my favorite but the vinegar was spot on for any pulled pork you might jump on.

I was very impressed that, for a chain, they had good hi quality barbecue served up just the way it should be.

Enjoy.

Jessie Rae's BBQ - Las Vegas, NV

Jessie Rae's BBQ
Las Vegas Style BBQ
5611 S Valley View Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89118
https://jessieraesbbq.com/ 

The owner of Jessie Rae's named the restaurant for his wife.  The website says it's the best BBQ in Las Vegas.  Let's go inside and take a look.

It's a very small restaurant with big flavor.  It's one of the few places in Las Vegas that still smokes it's meat the old fashioned away.  No electric or gas burners here!

For Salads they have a Caesar Salad and a Southwest Salad.  For their Loaded in Las Vegas section which is all about fries there are Maniac Fries (Brisket), The Duke (pork), Big Belt Buckle (chopped brisket), The Jive Chicken (pulled chicken).

For meats they have Pulled Pork, Brisket, Chicken, Hot Links, Beef Bone, Pork Spare Ribs and a Full Rack of Beef Ribs.

There are lots of sandwich options: The Jessie Rae, The Jessie Mac, the We Pork'd In Vegas Sandwich, Household of Three Sandwich, the Double Brisket Sandwich (both point and flat), the Jive Chicken Sandwich, the Hot Link Sandwich, and the Rip Tip Sand.

For combos: Two Meat and one side, Three meat and one side plus the High Roller Combo (for 2).

They have BBQ Street Tacos, BBQ Nachos, Platters for 4, 6, 10 or 20 people!

Sides are waffle fries, coleslaw, corn with smoke butter, BBQ beans BBQ mashed potatoes, tater tots, and Lexington red slaw.

This is their Maniac Fries.  One of their most popular items.

I had a combo with ribs, brisket and pulled pork and a side of baked beans.

The brisket was very tasty and moist.  In fact, all of it was moist.  The pulled pork was tender and clean.  The ribs were well smoked and very tasty.

Some other items at the table were...

...beef ribs.  They were well smoked and tender.  They were part of a 2 meat combo with brisket and mac & cheese.

They have 3 sauces. Fallen Angel (spicy), God Sauce and a Carolina Style Vinegar Sauce.  All were good.

So if you ever find yourself in Las Vegas and want to avoid the strip like I do, give Jessie Rae's a try.  You'll be glad you did.

Nic's Outpost BBQ - Bridgewater, NJ

Nic's Outpost BBQ
793 US-202
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
https://niks202outpostbarbeque.eat24hour.com/

Nic's Outpost BBQ was discovered by chance on a drive by.  It's been a barbecue joint since 2016, before that it was a NJ diner.  That may be all the 'splainin' I need to do about this but let's explore further for the folks inclined for more detail.



As is typical for a diner style establishment, they have a rather larger number of items on the menu.

For apps they have Onion Rings, Fried Pickle Chips, Cheese Sticks, Quesadilla Bites (pulled pork or chicken), BBQ Smoke Wings, Loaded Texas Fries, Brisket Stuffed Portobello, BBQ Rib Tips, BBQ-Nachos, BBQ Ribs to Share.  They have Chili or Brunswick Stew and a Brisket topped Texas Caesar Salad.  

Hint: Any item on the menu that has Texas in it, has beef on it. Subtle...very subliminal.

Then there was a confusing section called "Lighter Fare". Offerings were, Pork or Chicken Carnitas, Portabella Carnitas, Crunchy Fish Carnitas, Beef Brisket Carnitas, Mutton Carnitas.

While the word "carnitas" comes from a Mexican dish that originated in the state of Michoacan and literally means' "little meats", the current day definition doesn't separate this from it's pork origins.  Therefore I take exception to calling anything other than braised/simmered pork as carnitas.  However, I guess you can do whatever you want in the great state of New Jersey.

For sandwiches, Pulled Chicken, Pulled Pork, Sliced Kielbasa, Hot Links, Mutton, Brisket, "Off the Bone" Rib-Wich.

They have platters with all the meat options above plus Beef Ribs as well as 3 different sampler platters, Country Boy (Pork, Chicken, Kialbasa), Memphis Man (Chicken and Ribs), Outpost BBQ (Pork Brisket Chicken Ribs for 2 or 4).

There is entire menu for Crabby Abby's Seafood. You know...Clams, Shrimp and stuff.

Hot Dogs: Naked, Outpost, Atlantic Dog, Louisiana Pup, Georgia Dog, Tennessee Pup, Texas Dog, Alabama Dog and the Harambe.

6 different burgers, 4 golden fried platters and sides galore...Bacon BBQ Beans, Fries, Coleslaw, Fried Okra, Potato Salad, Side Salad, Mac & Cheese, Corn on the Cob, Sweet Potato Fries, Texas Toast, Steamed Broccoli and Corn Bread.

We tried the Pulled Pork Nachos.  They were actually tasty but typical. (Who puts lettuce on nacho's? Diner people!)

 I had the rib sandwich.  It was fairly tasty but as it was smothered in sauce, it was hard to get a good sampling of the subtleties of the smoke.

 The surprise of the day was the sauce offering.  They had Texas Sweet, Memphis spicy, Kansas City smokey and yes...a Alabama White.  I was so impressed with the Bama White.  It was a good option for chicken.

It just goes to show you, keep your eyes open and look for barbecue opportunities wherever you are.  You just never know what you are going to find.

So if you want diner BBQ, come to NJ. The capital of diners.  However, it is not the capital of BBQ.

 

Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse - Dallas, TX

Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse
2202 Inwood Rd.
Dallas, TX 75235
http://www.sonnybryans.com/

Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse has long been one of my favorite BBQ spots in Dallas. Started in 1910, this is the original location has lots of good memories for many folks in Dallas.

They serve Hill Country Brisket, Classic Brisket, Sausage, Jalapeno Sausage, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Ham and Turkey.  They also have a Meat Potato, Frito Pie, Rib Sandwich, Po-Boy Plate and more. Their sides are Homemade BBQ Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, French Fries and their world famous Onion Rings. (They really are good).

A few years ago, they added the 2nd dining room (to the left of the sign) and that was fine.  It expanded their dining capacity even if it didn't have the flavor of the original school desk seating.  It's the latest change that I was more disturbed by....24 hours, 7 days a week.  When I saw this, I thought...oh man...this can't be good.  But wait...this is Sonny Bryan's. It's still got to be some of the best around right?  Well...unfortunately, if you are trying to keep the meat fresh 24 hrs a day, you are not going to serve very good barbecue.  I was sorely disappointed in the quality of the meat that I got and I've been eating here for decades with nairy a complaint. 

I know the plate looks good. I had beef brisket, ribs and jalapeno sausage with sides of beans and fries. (the fresh roll is quite good). It's too bad that this 24 hr model doesn't work.  I'm sure they are likely selling more meat but the quality is not near as good as it used to be.  It's always been about starting the meat in the middle of the night and having it reach juicy perfection for lunch and then serving happy customers until you sold out.  Now they have expanded and expanded and expanded until it's 24/7 and barbecue just doesn't lend itself to this very well.

Progress is not always progress.

Whitt's Barbecue - Shelbyville, TN

Whitt's Barbecue
758 Madison St.
Shelbyville, TN
931.684.0235
http://www.whittsbarbecue.com/

A family owned Nashville tradition since 1978 cooks it's meat for 24 hrs over hickory smoke.  They have been voted "Best of Nashville" every year since the contest started in 1988.

The menu is typical for Nashville barbecue and includes pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey, chicken, and ribs.  For sides the offering stays with the basics of cole slaw, beans and potato salad.

As I was on the run, I just grabbed a quick pulled pork sandwich with potato salad and beans.

While the beans were ordinary, the potato salad was good and the sandwich was good clean pulled pork.  Nothing fancy but a solid sandwich. 

Whitt's Barbecue was a welcome stop on a long drive back to Nashville. 

Fat Boys BBQ - Nashville, TN

Fat Boys BBQ
2733 Murfreesboro Pike
Antioch, TN 37013
http://fatboysbbq.co

Family owned and operated, Fat Boys BBQ has a good local pitmaster in Tony Roney who grew up in Tennessee and promotes the Tennessee style of barbecue.

They serve Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Sliced Turkey, Beef Brisket, 4 Bone Rib, Catfish, Rib Tip and Smoked Sausage. Don't forget the Smoke Bologna sandwich.  They also have some unique items like the FB Highrise. This is cornbread piled high with pork and topped with slaw.  Additional items include BBQ Nachos Pork, Chicken or Brisket Nachos, Jumbo Stuffed Potato, and Brisket Quesadilla.

The pig on the outside tells you where the pig is on the inside.

The restaurant itself is simple and evokes that old school atmosphere where traditional barbecue often thrives.

 I ordered 3 meats and 2 sides with Rib Tips, Brisket and Pulled Pork. The sides were greens and corn on the cob.  And yes...that is a pancake that's on the plate.  This is the first time that I have ever been served a pancake as the bread item on a plate of barbecue.

First up, the pulled pork.  I found this to be straight up good.  Nothing fancy, just good pulled pork. The brisket was nice but not quite as preferred as the pulled pork.  This makes a bit of sense as the pork is more native to the region.  The rib tips were moist and flavorful.  Quite nice.   I wasn't really a fan of the pancake to go with barbecue.  Too corn meal based for my taste.


The corn and greens were quite good.  I'm a big fan of collard greens and they were done well here.  I didn't get a pic of the sauces.  They were fine.  Didn't really stand out but did the job.

So if you ever find yourself on the outskirts of Nashville and you see a high flying pig by the side of the road.  Stop by and you may find yourself with a plateful of barbecue and trying something new.