Southern Belly BBQ, Columbia, SC.

Southern Belly BBQ, Columbia, SC.

"BBQ in Columbia is about as disappointing as a South Carolina win over the Bulldogs!"

I love my sister.  I love my sister's three daughters.  However, when it comes to getting married, they all have adopted this younger generation's penchant for destination weddings.  As I said, I love them dearly, and if they read this blog, please know that most of this is tongue in cheek and written to only invoke sympathy as well as make this blog relevant to what perhaps most all of you have experienced!  The final of my sister's daughters chose her current city of employment of Columbia, SC.  She's in the television business in some way, and I suppose they have televisions in South Carolina.

So this wedding was set for Friday, September 8.  Actually, after wondering briefly why someone would get married on a Friday, I concluded that it is actually a pretty good idea!  Folks like me get to take of work on Friday missing POTUS Donald J. Trump's nightmare of traffic jam visit to Atlanta and not conflicting with other options for the weekend!  Debbie and I left the farm in Bolingbroke that morning with two destinations in mind:  Courtney's wedding and Southern Belly BBQ in Columbia.  Southern Belly has allegedly been voted the best in Columbia, among the best in South Carolina, etc.  In fact, I love the fact that there are some subtle sauce differences among bbq served in South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Memphis, etc.  Georgia sort of ends up with a hodgepodge of bbq sauce selections except when some of my favorite places wind up making a successful Vidalia onion enhanced sauce which can be pretty good, and I even predict may make for a signature sauce for Georgia!.

Anyway, now to the bbq.  After starving ourselves until we could get to Columbia, which is about a 4 hour drive, we get to the Capitol City of South Carolina.  One thing that I will say that Columbia has going for it compared to Atlanta, is the lack of traffic issues and driveability.  We cruised right into downtown Columbia, followed our GPS directly to Harden Street and with only a little challenge, drove right to the dive....and the original Southern Belly is a dive.

The building isn't well marked, and parking isn't very easy either.  We did find a shopping center two blocks away and enjoyed the little walk among USC college students following the drive over from Georgia.  The building, as indicated wasn't well marked.  If it hadn't been for the two neon light pigs in the window (dead give away, huh?), we'd have gone around the block again!  We slipped into the little dive, which probably wouldn't seat more than about 40 including the 10 or so seats at the bar.  The place wasn't packed, so finding a seat wasn't a problem.  After hours of driving, of course, we wanted to use the "facilities".  The women's restroom was taped off, so I "stood guard" while Shug washed her hands in the men's restroom.

We had already checked out the menu online at www.southernbellybbq.com.  We had found the menu to be fairly unique in that there wasn't really a lot of variety on the menu other than bbq "sandwiches".  Now in all fairness, you could get the sandwich in more varieties than any other place I'd ever seen!  In fact, you could get your sandwich topped in 7 different ways including the "Wookie" which is a $17 bbq sandwich with extra meat, cheese, bacon, and other toppings!  So, there are no ribs at this place.  There is no brisket, and there is no Brunswick stew or baked beans.  Your sides are pretty much slaw, chips, or curly fries.  I'm not really being critical as I think this is probably a pretty good business model if you can be successful at it.  Having a lot of distractions on a bbq joint's menu can detract from the main menu, or so that has been my observation from time to time over years of dong these reviews.

What Southern Belly lacked in menu variety, they made up for in their variety of sauces.  There are no less than 7 different sauces on the menu pretty much running the gamut of bbq sauce options most regionally recognized in the southeast.  Being in South Carolina, we had to try their "Midas" sauce which is the mustard based South Carolina inspired sauce.  We also tried the Southern Belly Alabama white sauce and the sweeter Rebel Red.  Again, what Southern Belly lacked in meat and side options, the sauce options at least partially created an acceptable event.

To the food.  The slaw and curly fries were sufficient but nothing spectacular in terms of uniqueness.  I will say there was nothing left of these two items in my basket when I get finished.  We sort of got off on the wrong start (for the second time) when the USC college student waitress announced that they were out of catsup for the fries.   Who runs any kind of eating place that serves fries and runs out of catsup?  This is America, not Moscow!!!!

Now, to the bbq.  Well, in all fairness, the bbq sandwich pulls up the rating that Southern Belly will get but at least a little bit.  The sandwich was a good portion of pulled pork barbecue that had not been lathered down with some kind of base sauce.  It was a good, clean selection of barbecue that was moist and had enough bark to give it a speck of color but little to no evidence of fat .  In other words, it was clean, tasty, and of good consistency.  I rather enjoyed trying several of the sauces with our selection, and though Southern Belly sort of rations out the amount of sauce they give you, it is good stuff.

We left after burning $30 for the food and tip for the two of us with me thinking that I could have fed the whole family including the grandkids at our old standby, Scotts BBQ, for that kind of money.  In the grand scheme of things, I'm giving Southern Belly a 4 with room to grow for service.  Admittedly, they have another location or two in Columbia that may top this section nestled next to the University of South Carolina.

As we drove toward the destination of the wedding and went by the Gamecocks Stadium, I thought, "y'all may have beat us this year in the game that doomed the Bulldogs' chance at a national championship, but your BBQ, at least based on my experience in Columbia, needs to step up its game!

Thanks Courtney and Ernie for getting us to South Carolina to wish you guys the best in marriage...and have some pretty good South Carolina bbq!

Smoke Ring Atlanta, GA

Smoke Ring, Atlanta.
For most of my adult life, I loathed the idea of having a job in or near downtown Atlanta.  I've said for nearly the last 40 years that "the best view of Atlanta is in my rear view mirror!"  For the most part, I still feel that way despite the fact that I have worked inside the perimeter for the past 3 1/2 years.  Some jobs are just going to require location there (in fact, probably a couple of million jobs) as where you work, so you've just got to make the best of it.  For me, "making the best of it" means occasionally finding a new and interesting place to eat.  When it is a bbq joint, it is even better!

located just a few blocks west of the Capitol and within eyesight of Mercedez Benz stadium is a relatively new joint that, though a bit on the pricey side, has some great bbq and sides, has charm and character, and a staff that makes you feel good about stopping by.  As what seems to be the practice now days as we check out a new bbq joint in the ATL, I may try to hook up with an old friend or two who have the same appreciation for slow smoked meat and who appreciate the work and creativity necessary for a successful diner.  So I hooked up with an old friend and a couple of his key folks to try out Smoke Ring for the first time.

Getting there for us was no problem during the lunch hour.  We just cruised down Northside Drive, turned left just past the Benz, and found Smoke Ring just a couple of streets away.  We found ample parking in the available free deck, and went in to a cute and well done building adorned with things that give it eye appeal and character.  The menu, which can be located at the following link, was sufficiently varied without getting away from why you come to a good bbq joint.  www.smokeringatlanta.com. 

Now to the food.  When you look at the picture, you may ask, "what in the heck is that?"  I suppose there is a first time for everything! My selection for the day was pulled pork bbq, Brunswick stew, and....yep, Brussel sprouts!  Let me start there.  I know without a doubt that I had never ordered Brussel sprouts at a bbq joint before.  Homer had told me they were great, and so I tried them.  Frankly, these may have been the most distinctive item on my plate for the day.  They were braised, or something like that, with a slight sweetness to them.  I'd certainly select them again on a future visit.

The Brunswick stew was better than average with good visual evidence of meat, corn, and the usual ingredients.  The stew itself would make for a great lunchtime meal on a cold winter day, and in fact it probably will for me sometime this coming winter.

Finally, the bbq.  As evidenced in the picture, the bbq sandwich is a generous portion of pulled pork that is tender, clean, not overly dry, but also not excessively fatty.  While I find good bbq at several places in Atlanta, this was as good as I've found for the most part.  I've give it and the overall experience a 4.5 on the 5 point scale.

You sort of have to get used to this in the big city, but the major discount on the score is the price.  When you spend close to $20 for a sandwich plate, tea, and tip, tightwads like me don't eat like this every day.  I've been spoiled by eating many bbq joints across Georgia for a fraction of that price.  I will say, though, that the quality of the bbq at the top bbq joints in Atlanta continues to be most impressive and sets a high standard for the rest of Georgia!