Cabin Creek BBQ, Nicholson, GA. "Nice Butts....Great Racks". You have to love a BBQ joint that boasts such a little slogan on the cover of their menu. The truth is, you will love Cabin Creek. Cabin Creek had been recommended to Debbie and I some months back, but frankly, though being on a major 4 lane in North GA, this was a road and community that we had no reason to visit except for the fact that it was supposed to have some good bbq. On this beautiful late winter day, Debbie and I decided to take off toward Nicholson and find out if Cabin Creek would live up to its recommendation. I had figured that doing a little shopping in Jefferson and Commerce areas would warrant me getting a bbq slip from Debbie. After enjoying the charming little town of Jefferson and some of its really neat "small town" shopping venues, we headed over toward Nicholson. We promptly found Cabin Creek. I sort of new it would be a hit when in the parking lot were a dozen vehicles from autos, pickup trucks, and the local septic tank pumping company's service vehicle. Located just about 15 minutes north of Athens toward Commerce, Cabin Creek is easily found and worth going a few miles out of the way to try it out.
We found Cabin Creek to be exceptionally clean. The two waitresses were working hard, but we were waited on pretty quickly. The menu was simple of enough. After I got past enjoying the cover found above, my choices were quickly made. I picked the bbq sandwich, slaw, and Brunswick stew while Debbie did almost the same except substituting baked beans for the stew. There were only 3 sauce options: Hot, Mild, and Vinegar. I settled in on both the Hot and Mild.
Our meals came out pretty quickly and we could not wait to taste our food. Everything pretty well passed the "appearance" test. The bbq had a really nice appearance while the stew and beans were just average in appearance. Make no mistake though, both the beans and stew were exceptional in taste. They were both surprisingly outstanding. It was obvious that the beans had been juiced up with brown sugar, and they were clearly some of the best baked beans I've had. I'd clearly give the stew a 4.5 out of 5. What it lacked in appearance, it made up for in taste. The stew was so wonderful I chatted with our waitress about it to get some details of the recipe. I think the key to their Brunswick stew was that first, it contained ground beef, pork and chicken as wel as the fact that the base was "stock" from all three. As indicated, the appearance was just average, but this is some seriously good stew.
Debbie and I differed a little on the bbq. She'd have liked to have seen a little less fat and a little more charring. To me, it was about perfect. The bbq had a great smoky taste. It was moist and pulled in nice sections that fit well on the bun. There was no "chopping to smitherines" but just nice sections of perfectly pulled pork. While it wasn't necessary to go heavy on the sauce, I did try both the Hot and Mild sauce varieties. My rating of the bbq will sit at 4.5 out of 5. Portion size could have been a little better, but other than that, this place is a hit. Though we passed on desserts, Cabin Creek offers home made offerings of their dishes to include banana pudding.
Cabin Creek BBQ does a few things that are particularly interesting, nice, or different. First of all, there is one entree' that as a South Georgia native, I was not familiar with, and that is Chicken Mull. Chicken Mull is offered by Cabin Creek during the winter months only. The "mull" is a chicken soup type of dish that is apparently common mostly to the Northeast Georgia Mountain area. I've attached the following link for those who want to know more about Chicken Mull! http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3394. Additionally, Cabin Creek does serve beef brisket, so for those who will drive for miles hunting good brisket, Cabin Creek offers this great bbq offering. Finally, from time to time (to include for the remainder of March), Cabin Creek will offer "all you can eat" bbq meals on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Cabin Creek offers catering as well as to go purchases in various sizes of their menu items. Owned by Randy and Teresa Kesler, this business is a local hit. If you are planning your UGA game day tailgate, placing an order with Cabin Creek would surely make your event a big hit. Whether or not we make it back over to Cabin Creek anytime in the near future is not certain, but I am glad that I found this gem of a northeast Georgia bbq joint. I offer the strong recommendation to check out the menus, and entree's, at Cabin Creek BBQ in Nicholson, GA.
