Don Murray's Barbecue and Seafood
A couple of weeks ago, The ’Que Gang (me, Jennifer, Lars, and David) made its first Raleigh ’que trip. We decided to try Don Murray's, which Citysearch calls “hands-down some of the best barbecue in town,” but another blogger speaks of disparagingly. I was a little nervous after reading the bad review, and was hoping we were going on a good night. To my delight, we did go on a good night, at least as far as I'm concerned.
First, the decor. There isn't much. It's pretty low-key, with the buffet up by the door and some plain tables and chairs. The waitress was pleasant and brought us good sweet tea by the pitcher. Then we hit the buffet...and kept hitting it until we were all STUFFED. Besides the ’que and slaw, there was fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, salisbury steak, some kind of fried fish (catfish?), greens, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, hushpuppies, banana pudding, and cobbler. Probably a few more items I can't remember.
The pork was tender and tasty, and the yellowish slaw was quite good. David and I also enjoyed the fried chicken. I was nervous about the hushpuppies after reading the other review, but they were fine. The greens and other vegetables were also tasty, and I love it when a ’que joint has greens. You need to balance out the meat and fried food a bit (which is also where the slaw comes in).
The chicken and dumplings was a bit soupy for my taste (I know it should be a little soupy, but this was too much), but it was edible, and there were certainly other options. Finally, although the banana pudding wasn't the best (but better than some I've had at other ’que restaurants), the apple cobbler was very good.
All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by Don Murray's. I would definitely go back if I was in the area, but I'd have to try not to eat quite so much. Both David—who estimates that he ate two pounds of ’que plus chicken and sides that night—and I regretted not stopping sooner. But hey, that is probably one sign of a good ’que joint. And as a grad student, I feel any place where I can happily stuff myself to a step away from nausea for about $10 is a pretty good place!
Rating:
—Sarah
First, the decor. There isn't much. It's pretty low-key, with the buffet up by the door and some plain tables and chairs. The waitress was pleasant and brought us good sweet tea by the pitcher. Then we hit the buffet...and kept hitting it until we were all STUFFED. Besides the ’que and slaw, there was fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, salisbury steak, some kind of fried fish (catfish?), greens, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, hushpuppies, banana pudding, and cobbler. Probably a few more items I can't remember.
The pork was tender and tasty, and the yellowish slaw was quite good. David and I also enjoyed the fried chicken. I was nervous about the hushpuppies after reading the other review, but they were fine. The greens and other vegetables were also tasty, and I love it when a ’que joint has greens. You need to balance out the meat and fried food a bit (which is also where the slaw comes in).
The chicken and dumplings was a bit soupy for my taste (I know it should be a little soupy, but this was too much), but it was edible, and there were certainly other options. Finally, although the banana pudding wasn't the best (but better than some I've had at other ’que restaurants), the apple cobbler was very good.
All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by Don Murray's. I would definitely go back if I was in the area, but I'd have to try not to eat quite so much. Both David—who estimates that he ate two pounds of ’que plus chicken and sides that night—and I regretted not stopping sooner. But hey, that is probably one sign of a good ’que joint. And as a grad student, I feel any place where I can happily stuff myself to a step away from nausea for about $10 is a pretty good place!
Rating:
—Sarah
posted by Seize the 'Que at 3:48 PM
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