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March 17, 2004

q shack.. drooolllllll....

that was the theory anyway.

the time seemed right. it'd been months since i'd been to the q shack. after work i was hungry and cranky and it really seemed like the perfect time. you know how stuff you like is always better when you haven't had it in a long time? more intense? that's what i was expecting. a religious q shack experience.

maybe my expectations were too high; maybe the problem was getting takeout, so the food was a little cold before i ate it. at any rate, i was disappointed. it was kind of a waste.

oh well.

Posted by lisa at March 17, 2004 06:50 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Sadly, I'm not a big fan of the Q shack.

For barbecue, I prefer the following sources:

> Joe & Jo's pork ribs
> The Barbecue Joint's pulled pork (they use a Chinese gas grill, I'm told)
> Red Hot and Blue
> Allen & Sons (which I most recently purchased from the Red and White store on University Dr.)

Posted by: Phil on March 17, 2004 08:09 PM

i have to agree that the Barbecue Joint's pork beats the Q Shack's hands down. (the Barbecue Joint does pulled pork about as good as it can be done without cooking over wood) where i think the Q Shack excels is brisket. mmm... brisket. also their smoked sausage is awesome.

Posted by: georg on March 17, 2004 09:51 PM

actually.. what i really like about the q shack is the sides. also, since i never ate bbq before i became a vegetarian, and i've only been eating meet for about a year, i don't have a lot of experience with it. in fact, i think the q shack is the only q i've ever had. i don't like the pork very much. usually, i love the chicken, but not tonight. mostly i just wanted the mac and cheese.

Posted by: lisa on March 17, 2004 10:04 PM

Whole Foods sometimes sells chopped pork barbecue in their deli case. It may be good if you heat it up, but the way it is served, i.e. cold, it's pretty awful. Way too much congealed grease.

I never get pork at the Q Shack, it's only "pretty good" and the brisket and chicken are both fantastic. Lisa, you really should try Allen & Sons. Bullocks (near me) is also pretty good but their sliced pork barbecue is better than the chopped in my opinion.

Posted by: Sarah on March 17, 2004 10:16 PM

on a recent thread at roadfood.com, the hardcore Q-gnoscenti scoffed at the allen & sons out near pittsboro (where they apparently cook over gas). the allen & sons in chapel hill cooks with wood, tho.

Posted by: georg on March 17, 2004 10:23 PM

What I admire about the Q-Shack is the overall spread of food. While the NC-style pork is only moderately good, it's certainly not bad. The pulled chicken is a great value, and just the thing for a small dose of sauce, meat, and smoke. My favorites are the brisket sandwich and the ribs. The brisket is unmatched in the area, unless it's been setting too long; if it is, ask for some more. A friend of mine from Durham told me what he had to say was going to make some old men from Durham turn over in their graves, but (he continued) he thought the ribs were the best he'd ever had.

The pork BBQ at Allen & Son's (or even Bullock's) is definitely better, but have you had the hush puppies lately at either place? They're sub-par, to be generous. Lisa's right about the sides in general -- they're yummy. There's a flavor in the pasta salad that reminds me of the macaroni salad of my childhood from some lost-to-time San Francisco deli. It takes me back every time.

Posted by: Joseph H Vilas on March 17, 2004 11:22 PM

Whole Foods occasionally does a fantastic mac and cheese. Good mac and cheese is a food from the gods. My friend Rebecca (who used to work with Christa at ADF) makes a fantastic spaetzel, which I often think of in the category for high quality comfort food.

Re: Roadfood and those pesky Sterns, Jane and Michael. I have come to dislike them ever since I did a Ferdinand Magellan through Statesville and backwoods NC to find Keaton's Barbecue which they had raved about on one of their Splendid Table appearances. The barbecued chicken was OK. The red velvet cake was mediocre. The slaw was bleah. Though (keeping in mind Lisa's interests), I must admit that their mac and cheese was awesome. Interesting thing about Keaton's -- their guest book is full of entries from people who heard about them on NPR.

I bought a bottle of the Keaton's sauce to see if it would be better on pork or beef. Perhaps I'll cook something with it when Joy comes to town? :-)

Posted by: Phil on March 17, 2004 11:52 PM

Sarah & I detoured to Keaton's on our way to Asheville last year, after reading about it on roadfood. You can read us raving about Keaton's here - http://www.ovenall.com/diary/archives/000446.php

Posted by: georg on March 18, 2004 07:03 AM

Yeah we loved the chicken at Keaton's. I didn't try the cake though cause I was doing strict low carb at the time & just having the chicken was a major deal. From your description I'm sorry I skipped the mac and cheese.

Posted by: Sarah on March 18, 2004 07:48 AM

I recently heard about the Q Shack. I heard they have excellent BBQ; the best. I'm in California but coming into your area for business; do you suggest it as a good place to take clients for a quick, casual lunch?

Posted by: margie on October 14, 2004 04:08 PM

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