Maurice's BBQ in S. Carolina

We were coming home from DisneyWorld a couple weeks ago on I-77 and saw signs for Maurice's real pit BBQ. Being in a different part of the country for me and being such a lover of Q I decided to stop and feed the family. We went in and a nice lady seated us at a booth.

In a few minutes she brought us our order of a slab of ribs and a lb of pulled pork with buns, sauce and slaw on the side. I immediately dug into the ribs and boy were they good! I'd almost have to say they were the best I've ever had. After a few ribs I made a sandwich out of the pulled pork, it too was very good. The mustard based sauce she brought was totally different but good.

If you get down this way I'd definetely give them a try.

MikeS.

I am glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the info.
I have seen his place on the Interstate in SC.
Didn't stop though.
Curious to see where this thread goes.

This BBQ places has been discussed, cussed and many other descriptive thoughts. Some like it and some do not. I think some of his philosophies are questioned by some.

I have been by there because I too was lured by his many interstate billboards. I figured anybody who had the bucks to advertise that much had to have good BBQ. Personally I did not care for it but it was probably because I am use to a non mustard based sweet BBQ sauce.

I suggest any who are interested in this place use the search feature at the top of the page to research it and form your own opinion.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Sundancer was being very diplomatic. Maurice's owner, Maurice Beeinger has some rather Southern(read Confedererate) views on life.

I don'tt care for the BBQ but lovee the hash

I hate my Dell keyboard for repeating things from the left side. Never will I buy another deell.

Maurice is a racist- I grew up on his BBQ and love the yellow sauce, but will not buy it as an adult as I don't want to make him any richer than he already is. Luckily, I was in Charleston last week and had the pleasure of eating at Melvin's (Maurice's brother). Both the BBQ and the suace were much better than maurice's (although very similar.) I am now a Melvin's devotee - They have a nice mail order catalog. Also, I noticed Melvin reports that many of staff members are long termers (10+ years) and they get health insurance. Maurice has a huge turnover rate - I suspect he treats him employees poorly.

I googled him:
http://www.mauricesbbq.com
You can purchase his book, and even a car horn that plays dixie.

ernieson, you have my complete respect and support in your opinions of Maurice. I've posted similar responses in numerous other threads regarding his attitudes and political leanings.

I too discovered Melvin's sauces (they donated a few cases to the charity fund raising Barbecue Sauce Store at last year's American Royal) and they seem pretty good.

So here are my questions: How do we know that Melvin is any less of a racist than his brother Maurice? Is he truly not a racist, or was he just smart enough not to advertise it the way his brother did? And if he isn't a racist, how did two brothers grow so far apart in their life attitudes?

Hoping you've got some answers,

Buddy

I should not chime in but I have to tell you that a few years ago, I took our director of HR to Maurice's. I stopped primarily because of interstate advertising. I like BBQ and so did this individual.

When I got there, I was embarassed because of the display. Some will say that it is not racist but that is not interpeted the same way by all.

I have read stuff on his web site and I can say that I guess it is not racially intended but to some, it is perceived that way.

I did not gain any points from our black female HR director. Needless to say, regardless of how good the meal was, I did not enjoy it.

I gotta say that I am not a fan of the mustard BBQ sauce anyway.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I stopped at Maurice's on my I95 to Florida trip this past November. When I first went to Maurice's back in 1999 in the Columbia area I really enjoyed it. When I returned in the Summer of 2002 I went to one that offered a buffet and still enjoyed it. A few months later I had the opportunity to go to Duke's BBQ in Waltberboro, well, it was much, much better. I wanted to go to Sweatman's on my last trip but timing didn't allow it due to their limited hours so I went to Maurice's since they were the only South Carolina Q restaurant opened on Mondays. I thought it was just "OK"

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse

How do we know that Melvin is any less of a racist than his brother Maurice?

I've never been to Melvin Bessinger's so I don't know what his place is like, but I don't spend a lot of time speculating on a restauranteur's political leanings, as long as he keeps them private. After all, you really never know what a person thinks unless they tell you. We are all entitled to our opinions.

What does affect my decision is how much respect the owner has for his guests. This is the crux of my problem with Maurice's -- he pushes his opinions via a display up by the order area* -- and they echo apologies for a "bygone way of life" that have been spouted by some of the most vile racists in this country's history. How bad does it get? Well, I don't recall seeing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion there but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up in his literature rack. Basically, if you know how to read the code words his pamphlets are one notch removed from Klan propaganda. Hopefully I don't have to explain why this really has no place in a restaurant in the 21st century.

Any restaurant that requires you to consider the race of your friends before you decide whether to recommend it is a racist place, and really I'm not interested in promoting racist places. I would feel uncomfortable taking a Black friend to the Piggy Park; heck, it wasn't too long ago that Southern "fraternal organizations" were running Greeks out of towns so honestly I don't know that I feel too welcome myself, regardless of whether that bunch thinks we're white enough to shake hands with now.

It seemed when I was spending a lot of time in Columbia for work a few years ago that Maurice's increasingly vocal opinions corresponded with a decline in food quality -- it got to the point where dumping him was a no-brainer. There's plenty of good 'Q places in the region (not that his ever was the best) that don't force you to swallow bigotry with your meal.

Keep smilin' Maurice, the days of you and your ilk are numbered.


*At least he did in the original Piggie Park the last and final time I was there 4 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by caratzas

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse

How do we know that Melvin is any less of a racist than his brother Maurice?

I've never been to Melvin Bessinger's so I don't know what his place is like, but I don't spend a lot of time speculating on a restauranteur's political leanings, as long as he keeps them private. After all, you really never know what a person thinks unless they tell you. We are all entitled to our opinions.

What does affect my decision is how much respect the owner has for his guests. This is the crux of my problem with Maurice's -- he pushes his opinions via a display up by the order area...

You are absolutely correct caratzas; I expressed myself poorly. What I meant to ask was, as you did, does Melvin force his views on his customers as does his brother?

So, does he?

Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

I have read stuff on his web site and I can say that I guess it is not racially intended but to some, it is perceived that way.

The website really understates his opinions. You need to check out the stores to get the full feel of it. It's been a while but I think I remember pamphlets talking about how the institution of slavery was really a blessing for Africans. Yes, this in 2002.

It's hard for me to perceive stuff like that as anything but racially intended.

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse
You are absolutely correct caratzas; I expressed myself poorly.

Not at all. I expressed myself poorly; in using your post as an entree to my screed rant
I didn't intend to suggest your question was anything but that.

You do raise a good point and I don't know either. If Melvin chooses to keep his opinions to himself, I wonder if his business picked up after his bro started getting more vocal (around the time of the whole Confederate flag flap in SC is when I first really became aware of it.)

Dearfolk,
What I am led to believe across the state line in the merely slightly more progressive outpost of Georgia is this: there are five Bessinger brothers; all of them have been or are in the BBQ business. Maurice is an embarassment to a good Huguenot/Dutch Fork family. His dabblings into Christian Identity beliefs (now there's a good one to Google up!) turned him off to everyone but the hardest core racists and Southern separatists (many of whom are racists to begin with and using that as a smokescreen).
The only person I know who is an untiring proponent of Maurice's is an outspoken First Amendment believer who says he will support him no matter what he says because it's utterly a freedom issue; if pressed, he will opine that the guy must be out there on an uncharted planet to believe what he does, but he will defend his right to believe what he wants to the death - regardless of what it is.
Compared to virtually any other mustard-based sauce I've ever tasted, Maurice's is preposterously inferior: he seems to use yellow mustard when brown is infinitely superior, especially with pork.
I'd recommend Shealy's in Batesburg/Leesville anytime over Maurice's. The camaraderie in the dining room the only night I ate there was proof for me that some South Carolineans live in the 21st.Century. (Plus Shealy's sauce is infinitely better.) If Maurice chooses to inhabit another time period, that's up to him... but he really needs to watch out for those outbreaks of bubonic plague if he's gonna stay there.
Not Suffering From Dropsy Myself, Ort. Carlton in Springtime Athens, Georgia.
P. S. The Dutch Fork is the area between the Broad and Congaree Rivers (I think that's right) above Columbia that was settled by Germans, many of whom fled in sympathy with the Huguenots when they were expelled from France. (Some others of those sympathetic were Roman Catholics, too, believe it or not.) Charleston has a large Huguenot church that still uses the original liturgy; it's deep in the city's most historic district in many more ways than one.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

dabblings into Christian Identity beliefs

No kidding?!? That explains a lot.

And yeah -- Shealy's totally rocks.

oh man i promised myself i wouldn't but here goes.
where i live there is a palastinian (please excuse the spelling) restaurant.
his food is great
his politics i don't agree with.
now based off of that do i no longer eat there?
heck no!!!
when i am buying a meal the food is what i am buying
the politics may make for interesting conversation but has no bearing on why i am there.
the man is nice
but does me eating there make me antisementic??
who the heck cares!!! food is great and i like it.
his politics aren't and don't enter into it.
just some grist for the old mind mill.
are you buying a meal or engaging in politics?
jack

Jack,

I understand and respect your point of view here. Good food is good food, and politics is politics, and ne'er the twain shall meet, right? Unfortunately, this can be a very gray, very tricky area.

As caratzas offered, what if the owner never states his political/religious/racist views? You'd never know who or what you're supporting. Frankly, I can live with that. But when a guy is blatantly spewing hate or intolerance and you support him with your hard earned dollar, then yeah, you are engaging in politics.

In fact, here's the perfect example: In the early days of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks and the boycott of the Montgomery bus company; the loss of that income caused major changes in the company's policy. They had to adapt or go out of business. This one small change lead the way for more change as a matter of public law.

Where you choose to spend, or not spend your money does make a difference.

Now, on the other hand, this being America and all, with that whole First Amendment thingy, I will defend Maurice's right and the right of your Palestinian acquaintance to believe and say whatever they want. However, I would not give them one nickel in support of their business.

Does that make sense?

Buddy

To begin w/ I am a very political person. I have tried to persuade my children in that direction...two kids...50% isn't so bad.

We have a number of pictures in my home office that reflect my views and concerns. Pictures of signs stating "No Coloreds", "Whites Only", "Irish need not apply", "Soldiers and dogs stay off the grass", and my all time fav "Irish and Niggers come to the back door for service"

Maurice is a joke but makes a great hash...don't care for his bbq. My wife will sit, giggle (terrible thing for lady of her years to do) and ask "Who ate that first" when looking at my hash plate.

I try not to let my politics stop me from eating hash at Maurice's. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Great hash...crap BBQ, but then again I live thirty five miles from Lexington, NC.

When SC Legislature finally took the Confederate flag off the statehouse dome, Maurice took personal offense. He changed the order of the flags at his restaurants and on his billboards: Conferderate flag first, State flag second, and United States flag - last or non-existant. (They have been returned to the proper order now.)

That was it. I haven't given him a nickel since. My son continued to eat there anyway, but has recently decided that the prices are so high and the quality is so bad that he too has eaten his last Little Joe sandwich.

Had the man kept his racist, states' rights views to himself he'd still have a viable business. He'll go under within a few years...

Dearfolk,
It's not Maurice's political beliefs that keep me from partonizing the place, it's the fact that I can easily find what I consider to be better BBQ and far better mustard-based sauce in enough elsewheres that his location(s) aren't worthy of my consideration.
My lament is that my old favorite place, Ray Lever's in Blythewood's postal territory (north of Columbia between U. S. 21 and 321) is long gone. Mercy, that was some goooood Q and excellent sauce... same is true for Hite's at the U. S. 1 and 378 junction on the western edge of downtown Lexington.
Ah, me - so many good places to try, so little time to go venturing there....
As If On 'Cue (And Wishing I Were!), Ort. Carlton in 'Cuelinarily Decent Athens, Georgia.

Judging from the posts above, I am perhaps the only one of the contributors to this thread who have actually read Maurice's book. I ordered it a couple of years ago because I'd read so much bad press about him, and I wanted to get his take.

I honestly don't think he's so much a racist as he is a person who's kinda screwed up. His book made it very clear that he's a "state's rights" person (which I TOTALLY agree with because it's the foundation of our Constitution), but he also comes across as bitter. Perhaps that's justified if what his book says is true, but I think he embellishes the events in his life to make himself look like a good person who has been unfairly "persecuted".

That's just the impression I walked away with. Frankly, I threw the book in the trash after I was done. Again, I don't think he's a hateful, bad man, but his book certainly wasn't something I would have passed along to someone else.

Although I've seen his signs along the highway, I've never stopped. Primarily because when I used to travel on business a lot, it was just never a very good time. These days, I hear his BBQ isn't that good anyway, so I doubt that I would go there given the opportunity.

I don't think he's an evil guy, though.

Bushie,
I find Columbia to be a good lunch stop. What else is near? Watford's in Bisophville if headed east but nothing until you hit Augusta if headed west. Maurice has great hash but so-so q unless you like that mustard stuff.

BTW...Maurice has the largest processing facility for BBQ in the world. not bad for a jerk who claims some remote relation to Nathan bedford Forrest. A person who was a millionaire in the 1860s, rose from a private to a four star general, had thirty plus horses shot out from under him and killed in hand to hand combat thirty plus men. His biggest mistake was founding the KKK.

I would never enter any establishment that advertises with a confederatee flag, which is what Maurice's does on their billboards.
Go on down the road to Sonny's or Georgia Pig.

BTW: Good bbq is not dependent upon the type of sauce provided. In fact, good bbq doesn't really need sauce, especially properly rubbed ribs.

Well the reason there is a WV is because they went yankee and VA went Southern. Unfortutately the Stars and Bars battle flag has come to mean oppression and racism...not duty to state and family. Sad state of affairs.

I agree with V...not going to get into a Civil War debate here, but over 90 percent of Confederate troops had no slaves.
They fought for home. And that's why I love the flag. Alas, it has become a symbol for racism, so not wanting to offend anyone, I don't fly it. I might eat at Maurice's once just to try it, but I couldn't
patronize him regularly. That, and the fact that once you learn how to smoke meat, you just can't eat any joints food and be happy!

Been away a few days - I don't know that Melvin isn't racist...but he doesn't talk about it, if he is. That's all I ask-don't hit me over the head with your beliefs if you want my business.

I think siblings CAN be very different from each other - I would hate to think people who meet my brother think I agree with his opinions! (on anything....)

Also, from what I have heard from relatives in the area - Maurice was actively involved in....shall I say "the non-civil rights movement" in the 60's.

And yes, I have also heard the story of state's rights and very few people owning slaves and yankees made money in the slave trade - but once there was no money in it- they decided it was immoral, etc. etc., from my very Southern parents.

Everyone should visit a Maurice's just to view the Confererate shrine. Comical at best. I make sure to bring all visiting firemen to it once.

My Father's parents were still digging potatoes in Ireland at the time and my Mother's side was running from the conscriptors from both sides in the Tennessee mountains.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

We have a number of pictures in my home office that reflect my views and concerns. Pictures of signs stating "No Coloreds", "Whites Only", "Irish need not apply", "Soldiers and dogs stay off the grass", and my all time fav "Irish and Niggers come to the back door for service"

Uh, stated in this fashion, one might think you to be a racist. Could you clarify this point, ie why are such pictures hanging in your home office?

Maurice's has the worlds worst q IMHO

Can't say I care a lot for some of Maurice's politics,and I'm not too crazy about his bbq.

That said,he does appear to have the courage of his convictions,gave up millions in annual income and would hold his head up to disagree with his "good" friends and kinfolks, that made good money from their association with him.

It was a little puzzling how folks that loved him when he provided their riches,couldn't handle his politics when it hurt their income.

Just a couple thouhts.

Tom