Dillsboro Smokehouse- Dillsboro, NC

Photo by jimmywayne, reproduced here under a creative commons license

Dillsboro, NC is a quiet town beside Highway 441 just north of the Georgia border. I was persuaded to stop at the Dillsboro Smokehouse by the recommendation of several friends, and intrigued to find that they had been listed at #3 in National Geographic Traveler's book "The 10 Best Of Everything" back in 2006. The building sits right beside the main road through town. It's worn front porch, stone walls and tin roof are exactly what might come to mind when you picture a rustic mountain restaurant. The same atmosphere prevails inside, with it's wood floors and tables, and walls covered in license plates, business cards and other assorted memorabilia.

I just wanted a quick lunch, so I ordered a pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and sweet tea. While waiting, I read the writeups on the outside wall, which though most were a few years old, offered hope of a good meal. In a few minutes, I had my order in my hand and was on my way. Frankly, I was shocked. The chopped pork in my sandwich was cold, gristly and bland. I couldn't find a hint of their famous  hickory smoke anywhere. On the plus side, the sweet potato fries and tea were good by comparison.

Obviously something has changed here in the last few years for them to take such a downhill turn. I can only guess that their management has decided to take some shortcuts in the kitchen and hope enough new tourists will stop by to keep them going. The sad thing is the great character of the building would have made it an awesome place if the food was up to par.

FOOD RATING: 2 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 3 OF 5

Kay Bros. BBQ- Gainesville,FL

 

Recently I took the opportunity to visit this new (opened this spring) bbq place in a strip mall just across from UF. I came on a Monday afternoon during school break, so it was fairly quiet. In fact, they were about to close for the day (they close at 2PM on Mondays during summer), but I imagine it could be difficult to find a parking spot when students are in town, since it shares a parking lot with a bookstore and a couple other restaurants. From the outside, Kay Bros. looks like it has existed there for a long time. The inside has had a little more renovation and is roomy and comfortable.

You place your order at this counter and take a number. It is then brought to your table by one of the waitresses, whose apparent dress code is Daisy Dukes, tank tops and cowboy boots. I understand they are targeting the male college student demographic, but in my opinion, good barbecue shouldn't need a sideshow to attract a following.

According to their website, the brothers Darren and Steven grew up working in a barbecue restaurant, and after college traveled the country visiting the most famous barbecue meccas. From those experiences, they claim to bring together the best of many of the regional variations of 'cue. To test this assertion, I ordered a combo platter of pulled pork and brisket.

The brisket was chopped, not sliced. It was very tender with just a hint of smoke. The few bits of bark I got had a little more flavor, but overall it was lacking in taste from what I would expect great brisket to be. Don't get me wrong, it was among the best I've had, by since I usually stick with pork I don't have a lot to compare it to. The pork had a little more crust and more perceptible smoke, but still not quite enough for me. Like the beef, it was moist and tender. The flavor of both was improved by adding one of their choices from the sauce bar:

I tried the Texas style sauce on the brisket and Carolina mustard on my pork, and liked them both, though I can't say the flavor was as big as the pictures. The remainder of my meal- texas toast, sweet tea plus side dishes of mac and cheese and potato salad was all good. An unusual addition to the potato salad was corn, which added some texture contrast but wasn't enough to add to or take away from the flavor. The macaroni was a cheese lover's dream, creamy and smooth with extra cheese on top.

This place will probably stay busy because of it's location. Hopefully once they are more established they can kick the smoking up a notch and get a little closer to perfection. In the meantime, it's a good option if you're already in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip to this location.

FOOD RATING: 3.5 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 3 OF 5

Gator Q BBQ Wings & Things-High Springs,FL

 
As promised after an earlier unsatisfying visit, I made a return trip to Gator Q. I was  looking forward to hopefully being able to upgrade their rating. To that end, I ordered a combo of chopped pork and five of the smoked chicken wings that had gotten my attention when I sampled them on my first visit. I paired these with sweet tea, sweet potato fries and mac and cheese. Again, my order was ready quickly and brought to my table.

The sweet potato fries were hot, just crisp on the outside and soft inside. They were delicious and definitely the best part of my meal. The mac and cheese was also good, and I liked their home-brewed tea. The meats, which should have been the star of the show, were quite disappointing. My chopped pork was dry, barely warm and had little flavor. The wings I had been looking forward to were not even warm. Although they had a good smoke flavor and were thoroughly cooked, they must have forgot or not tried very hard to reheat them. I was not even able to finish the meats. I contemplated bringing this up to the owner when he came by and asked how my meal was, but he disappeared before I could answer.

This was not the way I envisioned my second visit turning out, but with the lack of attention shown for one of their signature items, there is no way I can improve my rating.

FOOD RATING: 2 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 2 OF 5