Special thanks to
Beth for the spot-on descriptions above for Sweet Cheeks! We were so happy to have gone as a group, so that we could sample many different items. As she stated, everything was fairly ho-hum, a couple items FABULOUS, and a few things just weird. First, the
fabulous:
DISCLAIMER: We're constantly skeptical of brisket, having had the greatest from Louie Mueller's. New England BBQ joints are notorious for really lousy BBQ in general, but this brisket was among the best we've ever had anywhere. Sure, it was on the fatty side, but it was so tender you could cut it with a fork -- and very, very flavorful:
My Aunt Blu in Virginia makes the greatest biscuits in the universe, but these were right up there with the very best:
Now for the
ho-hum...first up were the ribs. Tender pork, cooked just right, but where's the smoke flavor? Definitely not good enough to eat without sauce, but passable if you're really hankering for ribs:
Next were the BBQ beans and potato salad. Beth liked the potato salad more than we did; though I appreciate the use of red potatoes, the dressing just wasn't as delicious as it looked (the beans I'll describe further down):
The pulled pork was VERY jagged and a little fatty in places -- ultimately not flavorful enough for eating plain:
The collard greens were bland and the leaves not chopped enough before cooking. I don't like to take a forkful of greens and lift a 5-inch strip of leaf to my mouth (the cole slaw is described below):
The broccoli casserole was on the bland side, and the Brussels sprouts salad (here called "farm salad") didn't have enough sprouts for our taste. A valiant effort, though, for the latter:
And the sauces were okay -- could've been much better. From l. to r., the vinegar sauce was a little thick and syrupy for my taste, but the flavor was promising. In Carolina BBQ terms, it wasn't as sweet as Hursey's of Burlington, fortunately, but not quite as lip-smackingly spicy as Spoon's of Charlotte or Stamey's of Greensboro. The tomato-based sauce was medium-spicy, more on the tangy side, and the mango-colored hot sauce was the best of all -- a great spicy kick without wearing out its welcome:
Finally, the
just weird: the BBQ beans (photo above) were among the weirdest we've had. Kidney beans?!? These are reserved for chili only; they should not be used for BBQ beans. The slaw (photo above) was sadly a very rough-cut cabbage with huge chunks of purple cabbage, lots of fibrous stems, and a tasteless dressing. The sheer size of it prohibited it from gracing the pulled pork on a sandwich! And the hushpuppies...well, Beth liked these more than we did, but our three strikes were: (1) salt sprinkled all over them (who
does this?!?), (2) creamy insides but flavorless, and (3) the dipping sauce was -- get this -- maple sour cream...just downright weird:
But despite all this, we cannot emphasize enough how fantastic the brisket & biscuits were! But the company was the best part, as always, and we were graced by the presence of Beth's husband Steve, whom we hadn't seen on a RF trip in way too long. Though the p.a. inside is way too loud,
Sweet Cheeks was a fun time with great service, plus the chef chatted with us for a little while! Thanks to Beth, Karilyn, and Steve for another great Boston meet-up!
Chris
<message edited by ayersian on Sat, 02/11/12 5:43 PM>
