'Que from Allen and his Son
A little bit ago, Sarah, the boys, and I went to Allen and Son's Barbecue in Chapel Hill. To many in the Triangle, Allen and Son's is the epitome of eastern style Carolina 'que. Those folks sing the restaurant's praises at every opportunity and take throngs of visitors to sample the delights of this Chapel Hill landmark. To others, Allen and Son's is completely overrated, with half-cooked, tough 'que, mediocre desserts, and ridiculously high prices.
I fall in the latter group.
Sure, the place is filled with many charming touches, like mounted deer and random pigs, peeking out from the foliage.
But you don't go to a que restaurant for the ceramics pigs, you go for the 'que and here Allen and Son's falls short. I got the large 'que and 'stew plate with slaw and hushpuppies (not in photo).
Complaint #1: Hushpuppies are not free. Sure, you get some with your 'que plate, but if you want more that the 6 or so they slop onto the plate, you have to pay for them. Okay, so you don't get free hushpuppies at the Q-Shack (here and here), but they don't pretend to be an old-timey 'que place. The Q-Shack is 'que for yuppies and it makes few pretenses otherwise.
Complaint #2: The expensive hushpuppies were half-fried. Lars and I shared a basket and many of the hushpuppies were still doughy in the middle. Bad, bad, bad. Normally, I would want more hushpuppies, but I REFUSE to pay money for half-done, fried cornbread.
Complaint #3: My 'que was tough. Not all of it. There were pieces that were tender and delicious, but there were many chunks that were tough, chewy, and under-cooked. If I wanted to gnaw on my meal, I'd go out for dim sum and order chicken feet. I go to a 'que joint for tender pieces of meat.
Complaint #4: Dessert.
That thing sitting in its own grease is coconut pie. It might have been good, if I didn't have to soap out my mouth to cut the oil slick that coated my tongue with each bite. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the sheen you see on the filling is oil and there was a slick of it on the plate. I've baked enough pies in my lifetime to know that you can prevent the Exxon Valdez with a good recipe. Homemade desserts are all well and fine, so long as they are good.
What I don't understand is that Allen and Son's was the caterer for the free 'que I had a while back (Surprise 'Que) and that 'que was fabulous. There were no chunks of nasty meat, no under-cooked hushpuppies. The 'que I had for lunch that day was really good. But I've been to Allen and Son's a couple of times and always been underwhelmed. How can their catered 'que be so good and their restaurant 'que be so bad? I guess that's just one of the mysteries of life.
I do fear this review will spark some debate between Sarah and myself. But, diversity of opinion is the spice of life.
My rating--
--Jennifer
I fall in the latter group.
Sure, the place is filled with many charming touches, like mounted deer and random pigs, peeking out from the foliage.
But you don't go to a que restaurant for the ceramics pigs, you go for the 'que and here Allen and Son's falls short. I got the large 'que and 'stew plate with slaw and hushpuppies (not in photo).
Complaint #1: Hushpuppies are not free. Sure, you get some with your 'que plate, but if you want more that the 6 or so they slop onto the plate, you have to pay for them. Okay, so you don't get free hushpuppies at the Q-Shack (here and here), but they don't pretend to be an old-timey 'que place. The Q-Shack is 'que for yuppies and it makes few pretenses otherwise.
Complaint #2: The expensive hushpuppies were half-fried. Lars and I shared a basket and many of the hushpuppies were still doughy in the middle. Bad, bad, bad. Normally, I would want more hushpuppies, but I REFUSE to pay money for half-done, fried cornbread.
Complaint #3: My 'que was tough. Not all of it. There were pieces that were tender and delicious, but there were many chunks that were tough, chewy, and under-cooked. If I wanted to gnaw on my meal, I'd go out for dim sum and order chicken feet. I go to a 'que joint for tender pieces of meat.
Complaint #4: Dessert.
That thing sitting in its own grease is coconut pie. It might have been good, if I didn't have to soap out my mouth to cut the oil slick that coated my tongue with each bite. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the sheen you see on the filling is oil and there was a slick of it on the plate. I've baked enough pies in my lifetime to know that you can prevent the Exxon Valdez with a good recipe. Homemade desserts are all well and fine, so long as they are good.
What I don't understand is that Allen and Son's was the caterer for the free 'que I had a while back (Surprise 'Que) and that 'que was fabulous. There were no chunks of nasty meat, no under-cooked hushpuppies. The 'que I had for lunch that day was really good. But I've been to Allen and Son's a couple of times and always been underwhelmed. How can their catered 'que be so good and their restaurant 'que be so bad? I guess that's just one of the mysteries of life.
I do fear this review will spark some debate between Sarah and myself. But, diversity of opinion is the spice of life.
My rating--
--Jennifer
posted by Seize the 'Que at 9:19 AM
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