Review: The Beast

Name: The Beast
Location: Paris, France
Price: $$$
Hours: Closed Monday and Sunday; Tuesday- Saturday 12:00PM - 2:30PM, 7:00PM - 11:00PM

In May I had the opportunity to go to Paris, France for work. While I was there I took advantage of the opportunity to see if there were any BBQ joints there. I found two and was able to go to one and try it. It was worth the walk.

Review: Midwood Smokehouse

Name: Midwood Smokehouse 
Location: Charlotte, NC
Price: $$ - $6-$34 (that's for the Pig Out)
Hours: Sun - Wed • 11am - 10pm
Thurs - Sat • 11am - 11pm

Charlotte has a bad rap for BBQ joints. It's located in the center of the Carolina's, so you'd think they would have some great BBQ places. Well, over the last 10 years that has started to change. and it is AWESOME!

Recently my wife and I went to Midwood Smokehouse to try their BBQ. My friend Wayne of Big Wayner recommended it awhile back, but they had one location that I was rarely near it. In the past year they have opened up two other locations and one was much closer to me. I finally had a chance to get over there and try it. I was not disappointed.

Review - 521 BBQ

Name: 521 BBQ
Location: Fort Mill, SC 
Price: $$
Link: http://www.521bbq.com/


In my town it can be difficult to find good BBQ. It shouldn't be hard in SC, but if you want to go out for it, it can be. One of my favorite BBQ places opened up a second location closer to me and I was finally able to try it out. I was happy I did.

I took my family out to give it a try and we all enjoyed it. My first experience with 521 BBQ was about six years ago. We were looking for a local BBQ joint and found 521 BBQ off of highway 521. We headed out to get some food around 6pm and when we got there we were disappointed because they had sold out. This was a good sign. It meant they were doing something right. We went back a couple weeks later, earlier this time, and enjoyed generous helpings of chopped pork, ribs, hushpuppies and fries. We've been back a few times and have recommended it to others.

Review: Farm to Table fresh at Block & Grinder

Name: Block & Grinder
Location: Charlotte, NC
Price: $$-$$$
Link: blockandgrinder.com/

A few months ago I heard that Block & Grinder was going to open. When I heard the concept I was intrigued. I was told it would be a farm to table restaurant with a butcher shop that would also have wild game on the menu. In the butcher shop part they planned to sell sausage and other charcuterie that was made on premises. It sounded wonderful. My family and I happened to be in the area so decided to give it a try. I'm glad we did.

Review: BBQ & Bowling at 10 Park Lanes

10 Park Lanes

Name: 10 Park Lanes
Location: Charlotte, NC 
Price: $$
Link: rollten.com

BBQ and bowling makes for a fun evening and in Charlotte you can do just that. 10 Park Lanes is a full bowling alley with a restaurant and bar. They are smoking up the Q and serving up wings, burgers, BBQ and fun.

The building has a cool retro 50's feel to it but inside is up to date. There are two bars, an eating area, outside seating and a number of bowling lanes. On a Saturday night it gets busy and loud.

Review: Amor de Brazil - Carnivores Paradise

Name: Amor de Brazil
Location: Matthews, NC
Price: $$$$
Link: amordebrazilsteakhouse.com

There's a taste of Brazil hidden in Matthews, NC. The service is friendly, the ambience intimate and the food plentiful. It's a great place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or just hangout with a bunch of friends. But go hungry.

Hog Heaven - Restaurant Review

Name: Hog Heaven
Location: Pawleys Island, SC
Price: $ - $4-$22 ($22 is for the buffet with seafood)
Hours: Mon-Sun 

Took a long needed vacation and headed for Myrtle Beach. When I go on vacation I like to hit local places that are not touristy but show the local flavor and foods. I do break from this from time to time if there is a chain that I don't have in my area.

Anyway a twitter friend recommended I try Hog Heaven down in Pawleys Island. I planned one of our afternoons to of down and check it out and see Pawleys Island also.

Putting the "Q" in the Queen City

Name: Queen City Q
Location: Charlotte, NC
Price: $$ - $6-$14
Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-12am

Queen City Q recently opened in Uptown Charlotte, and there was much rejoicing. At least from me. Anyone who is familiar with Charlotte knows they have been lacking in places for good BBQ. Being located at the center of both Carolina's you would think there are many BBQ joints serving the classic Carolina slow smoked pork. You would be mistaken. There are a few BBQ places but finding one where you want to pay for the q is difficult. Yes the Queen city has been lacking in the "Q" department but that is changing.

Review: The Cowfish

Name: The Cowfish
Location: Charlotte, NC
Hours:
Lunch - Daily from 11am-4pm
Dinner - Mon - Thurs. 4pm-11pm
Friday & Saturday 4pm-12am
Sunday 4pm-10pm
Price range: $$

There's a great American-Asian fusion restaurant in Charlotte, NC and it's name is The Cowfish. At the Cowfish you can order a burger and sushi or you can combine them and get burgushi. If you're looking for a place to go for a date, with friends or just for something different yet familiar, this is the place to go.

Review: The Kickin' Pig

Name: The Kickin' Pig
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11am - Until
Price range: $4-$10 (Pig Out Combo @$35)

This morning my wife and I were driving to the tax office to pay our car taxes and passed by a little brick building with a cooker smoking away outside. I said to my wife, "That looks promising." After all it was about 8:45 am and the cooker was going.

We got our errands done and decided to give it a try. We pulled up and parked on the side of the building, which is painted with a large friendly "Bar-B-Q" sign on the side.





We went in and talked for a little to the friendly waitress, and found we were the first ones there for lunch. She greeted us and informed us that there would be no fried foods today as the fryer broke this morning. No worries, we weren't after fries we were after BBQ.

The building is an old grocery store that has been converted into a restaurant. It's a neat building and the inside has that old school BBQ shack feel.





We got ready to order only to find out they didn't have any ribs either. It was not looking good. The fryer was down and no ribs, but they did have pork, beans and slaw. We both ordered a large plate which is 1/2lb of pork and two sides. My wife got the BBQ slaw and the mayonnaise based slaw as her sides and I ordered the beans and BBQ slaw.

Side note: BBQ slaw is a vinegar/BBQ sauce based slaw. I usually prefer it to mayonnaise based slaw.





The food arrived. Simple styrofoam plate, paper bowl for the beans, and plasticware, except for the spoon. No frills. The pork was served unsauced, the way it should be. It had good flavor and not too smokey. It was good and smoked perfectly, not mushy and not tough.

The Kickin' Pig has two vinegar based sauces a mild and a spicy. I like spicy but I think the mild had better flavor. When the sauce was put on the pork it only enhanced the overall flavors making it a great plate of pork.

As I said before, I prefer BBQ slaw. I didn't care for this one though. I think they used ketchup in it and used too much. Their mayonnaise slaw, on the other hand, was good. I should have ordered that. Good flavor and good texture.

The beans were good. Nice hint of smoke and BBQ sauce with enough spice to satisfy my need for heat.





Would I eat there again? Definitely. My wife and I plan to go back to try their ribs. They also have a pig out combo that is 2 lbs of ribs, 1/2 lb of pork and all the sides. If you eat it all in 30 minutes you get your picture on their wall of fame.

On the Gibbs Ribs scale* I will give it a solid 3/4 rack of ribs (for now), due to the issues with the fryer and no ribs. After we try the ribs I will update this rating. If you're in or near Rock Hill I would recommend giving it a try.

*When I do reviews, books or otherwise, I rate the items with ribs (they are my favorite BBQ dish). A full rack is great and a single rib is poor. I will tend to stick to a full rack, half rack or one rib.