The North End Barbecue & Moonshine

Awhile back, Tim and I met some friends at The North End Barbecue & Moonshine.  We'd heard good things, so we were excited to try it.

North End is owned by the same folks as Late Harvest Kitchen, which is  favorite of one of our friends.  We had a pretty good experience there (see my review here), so we wanted to like North End.  Our experience was middling.

I started with a cocktail--The Ginger Baker ($10)--bourbon, all-spiced rum, lemon, ginger syrup, and cracked pepper.  It was pretty refreshing and I liked the warmth that the ginger and pepper gave it.

For my meal, I ordered the Carolina Pulled Pork dinner ($11).  It came with two side, so I selected mac & cheese and cornbread.  The pork itself was fine--not the best ever, but pretty good.  However, it needed sauce, and none of the housemade sauces were satisfying to me.  They had a yellow mustard sauce that was tangy and mustardy (shocking!) and the best option available so I used it, but it wasn't perfect.  The other sauces weren't my cup of tea, either.  The others at the table agreed, especially Tim, who had gotten the chicken--he said none of them went with the chicken at all (though he said it had decent flavor on its own).

The cornbread's highlight was the maple-bourbon butter on top--soooo good--but sadly the bread itself was super dry.  The mac & cheese, however, was the best part of my meal.  The noodles were a bit al dente, with a nice cheesy sauce that was topped by "rib jam."  I have no words to explain what rib jam is--just look at it in the picture and know that it was delicious.

So, there were good parts and bad parts to our meal.  I'd probably go back, but only if friends wanted to go.  I can't see Tim and I going there on our own with so many other awesome places to visit and better, cheaper BBQ available elsewhere in town...unless the craving for that mac & cheese becomes overwhelming, of course.

Website:  The North End Barbecue & Moonshine