I was excited to see the new barbecue restaurant opening near my home- Jim ‘N Nick’s. It seems like the built it in no time once they broke ground. I visited it for the first time last week, with mixed reviews.

The atmosphere was extremely nice and it seemed much nicer from a design perspective than most barbecue restaurants. After looking the menu over, I noticed that they are actually a chain. Most of their 23 locations are in the Southeast - this is their first in North Carolina. It is located near the corner of South Tryon and Highway 160 - on an outparcel next to Harris Teeter.

The waitress did a very good job. Our drinks did not get empty and she seemed to be around when we needed her. It appeared they had ample waitstaff. Hopefully, this is not just due to the fact that they are new.

First, let me mention their tea. It was very light in color and very weak. Their menu made a big deal of the fact that it was their “Signature Slow Brewed Tea.” I sure hope this was a bad batch because it could be improved upon. It was drinkable though - unlike some places.

They bring you a basket of what the waitress called “Cheddar Biscuits.” These did not resemble anything I have ever known to be a biscuit. They were more like corn muffins with cheese. Regardless of what they called them, they were hot and fantastic. I could have eaten an entire meal just on the “Cheddar Biscuits.”

I was a bit disappointed when I saw the Barbecue being delivered to tables smothered in sauce. The thing that comes to mind is what are they hiding with the sauce. Good barbecue does not require sauce - altough it is sometimes a nice compliment. To use a quote I hear a lot on the Food Channel - “Sauce hides things.” I immediately told the waitress that I wanted my sauce on the side so that I could truly judge the quality of the barbecue.

The barbecue was good but still not the great barbecue that I have grown to enjoy over the years. I tried the sauce. The regular sauce was nothing to write home about. They had a Habenero Hot and Spicy Sauce on the table which was great. I may have to get me some of this to use at home. It was hot - and it was Spicy - although not as hot as habenero usually is. This was a good thing since they have the sauce sitting on the tables.

The baked beans were good, but kind of different than what I expected. They had some sort of pepper in them that made them spicier than normal.

The slaw was pathetic. It was basically cabbage salad. It was not grated at all. There were large chunks of cabbage sitting in a pool of white liquid in the bowl. I suggest they spend 30 second longer on each batch of slaw to grate it and blend it well.

On another note, there was no border between smoking and non-smoking. Given the numerous studies related to higher revenues in non-smoking restaurants, I am not sure why a new restaurant would even have a smoking section. When selecting your table, be sure to request to sit far away from smoking if you do not wish to be bothered by the stinch.

They have lots of items besides BBQ pork - including an assortment of sandwiches, burgers, salads, brisket, chicken, turkey, pork hot links, ribs, steaks and much more. The one thing I did notice on most all items is that their prices were about $2 to $5 higher on each item than your typical barbecue restaurant. For instance, a pulled pork Bar-B-Q plate was $13.50, and hand pulled pork Bar-B-Q sandwich was $8.50…..and so on.

As far as what I had, I rate them as follows (scake if 1-10):
(1) BBQ 6 of 10 (better than average - not great)
(2) “Cheddar Biscuits” - 9
(3) Baked Beans - 7
(4) Slaw - 0 (they didn’t even hit the scale on this one)
(5) Onion Rings 8 - my wife had these, they were exceptional
(6) Tea - 4
(7) Atmosphere - 8
(8) Service - 8

In my everlasting search for a quality BBQ restaurant that is actually in Charlotte, I decided to try Bert ‘N Gert’s BBQ & More (located at 9401 Statesville Rd, Suite C, 28269).

I arrived around 1:30pm on a Tuesday (June 17th) and the restaurant was very slow - only a couple of other people dining. I ordered a BBQ plate and had to wait a little longer than I should have to get it. When it came it look delicious. Unfortunately, that is there the deliciousness ended. The BBQ tasted extremely watery. Almost as if they had added water to it to keep it moist. It was not very appetizing at all. It was actually some of the worst BBQ I have ever had.

I recalled hearing a BBQ guy on the food network state one time that “sauce hides things.” Well, they need to use more sauce. After forcing about a 1/4 of the BBQ down without sauce, I tried their varying sauces which were all sufficient. None of them were “knock your socks off and give me a bottle to take home good,” but they did an ok job of covering up the watered down pork.

On a positive note, the slaw was excellent and the hush puppies were awesome. The baked beans were just average. My three year old stated that his grilled cheese was “good.”

To sum it up, I probably will not be going back just for the amazing hush puppies and slaw. I will continue my search for quality Charlotte BBQ. At least there are a few good places just outside of Charlotte with good BBQ (Courtney’s in Clover and Alfred & Charlie’s in Gastonia). I think I need to plan a trip to Lexington BBQ (in Lexington) so I can once again see what I am missing.

Every time I visit Eastern North Carolina, I search out a Smithfields Chicken & BBQ. Smithfield’s is the largest BBQ chain in the state that is known for the best barbeque anywhere. According to Smithfield’s website, they pride themselves on serving a consistent product in all of their restaurants. You can enjoy fast service through the drive through or experience a full dining experience inside the restuarants. I am always throughly impressed by the friendly staff at any location I have visited and the fact that all locations I have visited have been impeccably clean. The lowest health rating I have ever seen at one was a 95, and I was surprised by it. Most of the time they are proudly displaying a big fat 100.

Smithfields is another one of those restaurants that I always order too much at. I can’t control myself. I only get it once in a blue moon and when I do, I want all of the good stuff I have not been able to get in months. This trip, I reigned myself in quite a bit and ordered a BBQ sandwich and a 1/4 plate of dark chicken. The sandwich was its usual moist and delicous. The slaw on it was perfect. Many places try to serve chopped cabbage with mayonaise and pass it off as slaw, but Smithfields does it right.

As I was driving home from a long week of fishing, I decided to save the chicken for the ride home. A couple of hours later, it hit the spot. Lightly breaded and fried to perfection - much the same way that my mom cooks it.

When you are in Eastern NC, stop at a Smithfields. I just wish they would open one near me. On the other hand, I do not know if my weight could handle it so close. I would easily put on another 25 pounds if it were close.

Just a short 10 minute drive past Lake Wylie, in the town of Clover, sits Courtney’s BBQ. When I hear the word “BBQ” around here, I always think of pork barbecue. Courtney’s has great pork BBQ, but it does not stop there. They have a host of other items on the menu as well, including award winning ribs and some of the best barbecue chicken you will find at any restaurant. They even have excellent fried seafood. For a long while, I was in the habit of ordering the all I could eat fried perch which are lightly breaded and fried to perfection. The fried shrimp are also great. Unlike many other restaurants who serve shrimp flavor breading, Courtney’s lightly breads their shrimp and fries them just right providing some of the best fried shrimp in the area.

Back to my review of this visit. As usual, the service was very good- although, I always seem to drink my tea faster than the glass gets full. This isn’t as bad as many restaurants though because all of the staff seem to help out in making sure all of the glasses are full -not just the tables in their section.

This time, I ordered a half-BBQ chicken and pork BBQ combo. As usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach as I could not finish it. I think my mind was thinking 1/4 BBQ chicken instead of a half. The chicken was amazing. It was tender and juicy throughout and provided a great smoked flavor that could be supplemented with several of Courtney’s signature sauces. The BBQ was some of the best I have had in the area - moist throughout with a perfect blend of spices to flavor the meat.

The only bad part of my visit was that when I was placing my leftover chicken breast and wing in the to go container, I dropped it on the floor. I was so bummed out.

If anyone is in the area or if they are just tired of the same old chain barbeque joints in Charlotte, they should drive out and give Courtney’s a try. Just be sure to check their website for hours. They are only open full days on Thursday through Saturday, and a half day on Sundays (until 2:30).