Brew Cue & BBQ

As a recent transplant from Texas, this was my first stop on my NC BBQ journey. The first omen I ignored was at 12:30 I was the only customer but I hoped that maybe since the sign advertised Brew, Cue and BBQ, maybe their crowd was a late night bunch.

The friendly waitress told me the place had opened a couple of weeks ago and was owned by the lady who had the hotel next door with her son as the cook. It used to be an arcade owned by the same folks. The dry-erase menu board offered typical bar appetizers, pulled pork sandwich, ribs, and cobbler.

I asked if I could have a sampler plate to try a bit of everything and was told that was not an option so, I chose the small pulled pork ($5.25) and was informed that I could chose between coleslaw or hand-cut fries for my side. I had four house-made sauce options:  mustard, vinegar, sweet or spicy.

Omen two:  A sign claims all the meat is smoked on the property with applewood. I liked the idea that they smoke their own meat, but applewood by itself is weak. The basket sat in front of me contained a stale bun with some grey meat on top and no detectable smoke aroma or taste, nor could I detect any type of rub. Bland would be an overstatement.

Omen three:  The mustard sauce was brown. I've tried many varieties of mustard sauce (most popular in South Carolina). Most add a little Worcestershire, rarely you will see some add a little tomato paste, but mustard is yellow. This was spicy and sweet with a very distant memory of mustard. The fries were good.

I did get a chance to meet the owner who mentioned that she used to manage one of the largest night clubs in Florida. I guess the priorities are the hotel, the bar, the three pool tables and then the BBQ.

If I decide to shoot a game of pool, (something I haven't done since the 80's), I 'll go back.