Let me start off by asking a rhetorical question: Who reading this is familiar with the South Carolina Barbecue Trail Map?
If you're like me and you absolutely love barbecue (there is no like or puppy love about it, you know this feeling is true love) then you are probably always up for trying a new barbecue place. If that's the case, the SC BBQ Trail Map is for you.
The map in question features all the best places in South Carolina to get barbecue. I get the feeling that they are ranked by region (our state can be divided into three regions, if you didn't already know). Now, you may be thinking, "There can't possibly be that many places worth trying in South Carolina."
You would be wrong. So very, very wrong.
According to the map, our state has 220 establishments that offer the best barbecue the southeast has to offer. 220. That's 48 in the upstate, 108 in the midlands (of course), and 64 on the coast. And it makes sense! SC is the birthplace of barbecue. We are where you can find pork and beef, mustard, vinegar and ketchup based all within one state... of course, we as South Carolinians know the best way to go is mustard base with pulled pork and you better not forget the hash over your rice, but we can't all be perfect.
So, how many of these establishments have I tried? 9 (I know, I know, kind of low. But I like what I like). There's one that I think is missing off of the map because Sweatman's near Holly Hill is some good eatin', but I don't see it on the map. That's a shame. Trust me, you will want to give them a try if you're driving through Orangeburg County around lunch time.
Anyways, if you're around the Aiken area and you love barbecue, then you know some of the ones I've tried: Shealy's, Duke's, Bobby's and Carolina. You may also know Shane's Rib Shack, Barbecue Barn, and Maurice's.
Now, I HOPE the map isn't ranked in each region because Barbecue Barn is No. 7 in the Midlands and is ahead of Carolina (No. 22)... and that just ain't right. Carolina is far and away better. It's also ahead of Shealy's (No. 92), Dukes (No. 37), and Bobby's (No. 15) which I also think are better, but not better than Carolina... And I don't think Shealy's should be ranked near the bottom of the region, but that may just be personal preference.
Anyways! There are two that folks from Aiken probably won't have heard of unless they ate there and I am here to tell you, they are worth a trek to try.
The first I don't have much to say about because I ate there last football season while my dad and I were on assignment covering a game in Swansea for the Aiken Standard and I wasn't writing this blog at the time. That one, is Country Side BBQ on St. Matthews Rd in Swansea, SC (not to be confused with the one in Marion, NC). Anyways, I loved that place and was in a food coma for much of the Aiken vs. Swansea game I was supposed to be covering. Don't eat and drive. You'll want to take a walk afterwards.
The second one is the one that I intended on writing this blog post about and that one is actually in the Mountains/Upstate region:
Welcome to No. 3 in the Upstate, but now No. 1 in my heart/belly, Black's Smokehouse (website HERE) in Seneca, S.C. What you're looking at is a little bit of everything for them. You have pulled pork, brisket and ribs all on top of some toast (it's under there, I swear). For a side, I went with their loaded potato salad and fried okra. I promise, I'll get into both of those in a second.
Let me just say, they do it right. I tackled a couple of the ribs first and they had lots of meat on them and were fall-off-the-bone. And I didn't have to add any sauce. They were already that good that I kind of wish I had just gotten a couple racks of ribs.
Then I moved on to some of the brisket and you have to admire that smoke ring. Bee-ee-ae-Uteeful. And it was so tender, didn't need a knife to cut into/pull it apart. Now, I do like sauce with my brisket, so I went with their red mild. Oh-so good. I tried a dab of each (they have four sauces, so everybody should be good to go there) but I went mild red for the brisket. And suddenly, I'm wishing I had ordered just a slab of brisket.
I finally tried the pulled pork and for that, I went with their mustard sauce, of course (let's be real for a minute North Carolina and Georgia, pulled pork is meant to have a yellow mustard sauce on it. End of debate). Again, why did I not go with just that?
All three of the main courses were so good that I literally saved enough for a second helping. That and they give you enough that you have almost no choice if you wish to actually enjoy yourself and not have an upset stomach later.
Now for the sides. The loaded potato salad, you cannot go wrong. I don't see how people mess this up, but I have been places that do. Black's did not. It was delicious. Creamy. Chunky. Crunchy. Yes. I was hooked. And the fried okra. This is where people are getting tripped up. "Those look like fries," I had a couple people tell me. But no, those are okra. They are just cut horizontally, instead of into cubes, and then breaded and fried. WHY DON'T MORE PLACES DO THIS?! Seriously, that was the main thought going through my head as I wolfed those down. FYI, the sides did NOT make the return trip home. They were too good to not eat fresh.
The one thing that I like better about our local places is that they are buffets. I just like being able to sample everything I can see and there wasn't any banana pudding. But, in my opinion, those were minor things considering how good the barbecue was. I told the one manager, "Hands down, best barbecue I've ever had" and I honestly believe that. Oh, and they are only open Thursday through Saturday. It kind of sucks... But, it is the south. And they seem to be doing pretty well.
So, now you all know what's next on my plate (pun very much intended). As I try new barbecue places (and other ones, let's be honest), I will be sure to write about them and let you know if you need to go and try them out... there are over 200, so this could take some time. If you have a place you think I should try (or avoid), let me know in the comments section and I will see what I can do!
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