Yelps rating scale:
1 star: Not good…read more
2 stars: Could've been better
3 stars: OK
4 Stars: Good
5 Stars: Great
A Taste of North Carolina in the City: High Smoke, Mixed Hospitality
If you are looking for authentic barbecue with roots straight out of North Carolina, reportedly run by three brothers from the state, though we didn't spot them during our visit, this spot has the craft down, and it is definitely one of the better BBQ places I have been in NY. Still, it misses a few foundational beats when it comes to true Southern hospitality and comfort.
Atmosphere & First Impressions
From the outside, you might easily mistake the restaurant for being closed. The windows make it tough to see in, and on a rainy day with the outdoor seating empty, it feels a bit hidden away. You are greeted by a wonderfully comfortable waiting area featuring plush sofas and a seating bench. I also really appreciated seeing such a diverse crowd of customers dining here, which is especially refreshing to see for this area.
Be warned before you walk through the door: bring a sweater. They do not skimp on the air conditioning; they blast it! On the positive side, the bathrooms are immaculate while keeping that traditional, classic BBQ joint feel.
Seating & Service
When we arrived, I requested a quieter area due to sensory sensitivities. We waited a bit and were ultimately seated right next to the noisy bar. It looked like there was a cozy little nook past the fireplace that would have been ideal, but it had a laptop sitting on it. Even for a Sunday supper, keeping areas like that closed off when a guest needs a quieter space felt like a missed opportunity.
Our waitress was working double duty as a bartender, so she was straight to business. She was efficient enough to give us what we needed, but lacking that warm, conversational touch. At the end of the meal, we weren't thanked for coming in but told to drive safely. We were accidentally overcharged for a fountain soda we never ordered. While the waitress corrected it when pointed out, there was an absolute lack of an apology. Taking responsibility is part of the package.
The Meal: Highs and Lows
The Cornbread: Starting off, the meal kicks off with complimentary cornbread, but it comes with a couple of caveats. Depending on how you were raised, cornbread camps are deeply divided on sweetness. This version is very sweet, crumbly, and honey forward. It is almost tasting like a boxed Jiffy honey mix with some extras. Unfortunately, it was cold and served with ice cold, solid butter that wouldn't spread. If you want more, it's $2 a piece, a detail they really ought to mention upfront rather than leaving it as a surprise. It is nice that they give it complimentary but they are banking on you consuming it and when you get your BBQ you want more but have to pay. It would be nice to be upfront about this.
The Meats: The barbecue itself delivers. The meat is smoked nicely. We sampled the pulled pork, brisket, chicken, and sausage, paired with table-side salt, pepper, and just one single type of BBQ sauce available on the table.
The Sides & Fixins: The baked beans were good, but the sides could have been much hotter. The collard greens had a noticeable crunch from the stems and consisted strictly of greens without any pieces of pork or turkey mixed in. I liked that it was not too salty for my liking. As for the mac and cheese, it lacked that signature baked cheese crust on top as seen in photos online. Visiting around 5:30pm on a Sunday evening left us wondering if we caught the tail end of things or were served leftover portions.
Tableware & Details
The tableware leaves room for improvement. Aside from the metal meat trays, everything is served on melamine (plastic) plates rather than real ceramic and you are each given a cloth napkin. Furthermore, guests are only given butter knives, and the cutlery could definitely be elevated to better enjoy the experience - especially to ensure proper access to napkins for a messy barbecue meal.
Drinks & Hospitality
The Sweet Tea: The sweet tea is sweet and good. However, you are not offered a refill here. For a Southern style spot, not offering a complimentary or even low cost refill on sweet tea felt neglectful and impolite. It's a small touch of hospitality that goes a long way. With roots that spread throughout the south, I have not experienced this even consuming BBQ at home in NY.
Other Drinks: Cocktails run around $16 a person (which made neighboring tables wince a bit at $32 for two drinks), but I thoroughly enjoyed a cold Shiner beer straight from Texas. My beer was $12 tall boy and COLD.
Ultimately, despite a few missteps with the sides and service, they have the smoking technique down well. True Southern hospitality is about making folks feel welcome, warm, and genuinely cared for from the moment they step in to the moment they leave, and bringing more of that heart to the dining room would elevate this place immensely.
