Carrie and I finally made it to a BBQ spot we've been meaning to try a few blocks away from our apartment, and the weather decided to cooperate tonight.
I decided to try as much as I could for this review, so I ordered the "Downtown Sampler", which for $21.99 gives you generous portions of brisket, pulled pork, and a 1/4 chicken plus two sides. For my sides I chose to go for the carbs, adding hush puppies and mac & cheese.
The meat arrived unsauced but perfectly prepared, giving me the opportunity to try all five sauces on the table. The Carolina vinegar sauce was almost straight vinegar instead of the spicy vinegar sauce I was expecting. The Memphis tomato sauce was good, but a little sweeter than I prefer. The Daddy-G, their house BBQ sauce was good but didn't have enough spice to rise above the tomatoes and brown sugar. The spicy grandpa, a spicy version of their house sauce was better at rising above the tomatoes but still wasn't great. Surprising me was the eastern Carolina mustard sauce, which gave me everything I was looking for on all three meats.
Turning to the sides, the mac & cheese was good but not great because the cheese broke during preparation leaving clumps of cheddar and oil. The hush puppies were perfectly cooked, served light and fluffy as they should be but rarely are.
In all it was a good meal with better company, but I'm still looking for perfect BBQ in Columbus. You can try it for yourself and let me know what you think.