North Carolina BBQ

Well, work finally took me somewhere I hadn't been before - Charlotte, North Carolina!!! It's so refreshing to hit a city you've never been to. North Carolina is known for it's barbecue - but can it really compare to Texas BBQ?

Texas - known more for brisket, the sauce, spices, rubs, etc.
North Carolina - known more for pulled pork, mustard or vinegar based sauces

Knowing not to expect what I'm used to I was ready to set out to try their version. We asked the class we were teaching where they would recommend.

When they told me it was a biker bar/BBQ joint - I was IN!!!

I decided a pulled pork sandwich was the way to go. Notice they add the coleslaw in the sandwich. They had two sauces you could add - a mustard based one and then a regular one. They were both really good. I was also told the mac-n-cheese was the best ever. I wasn't convinced. It was pretty good but needed to be creamier. We also tried the Tabasco fried pickles. The Tabasco was very faint but added a nice after taste flavor.

Now you can't have a biker bar without BEER and beer they had - any kind you could ever want or didn't know you could ever want. I thought the name of some of these beers was pretty funny.

I tried a season brew - Gingerbread Ale. It was pretty good - had the micro brew type taste which I usually don't like. The gingerbread flavor was very faint and added a nice touch. I love that it's organic too! LOL

All in all I was impressed with the North Carolina barbecue but I think I'll stick to Texas - you just can't beat it!!!