"The Pit - A Review"

Before I begin my extremely personal review of "The Pit," let me explain myself to you. I grew up in a small town in the foothills of Western North Carolina. Called "The Barbecue Capital of the World" by locals, and some not-so-locals, Lexington, NC is truly a BBQ Mecca. With that being said, please understand that I am a barbecue snob, from head to toe. Nothing will every compare to Lexington BBQ to me. However, I'm also an honest man with a good taste for good food. So, with that out of the way, let’s get to the review. For the record, I have ranked each item with a number of pig faces. A 5 is the maximum number of pig faces one can receive.

First off, let it be known that I've driven by "The Pit" at least half a dozen times and I've never seen it without a line out the door. By reputation alone, this place should rank among the best BBQ restaurants in North Carolina. The restaurant has been featured on "Throwdown With Bobby Flay" on the Food Network, in which Pit Master Ed Mitchell actually won a BBQ Rib throwdown. As I made my way through the meal, it became evident to me just how he won that competition, but we'll get to that in a few minutes.

The atmosphere at "The Pit" is not what you would expect from a typical North Carolina BBQ restaurant. The establishment is dimly lit, with first come, first serve seating in the front bar area and the outside area. It almost seems a little too fancy for a BBQ restaurant to an old fashioned BBQ purist like myself. In sharp contrast to the uppity atmosphere inside, the outside boasts typical wooden tables, which are leveled out by coasters underneath the legs nonetheless. "The Pit" is situated in what I would refer to as the swanky part of downtown Raleigh. Anchored on both sides by the tapas style "Humble Pie" (Entrees ranging from $13-20) to the rear and "Jibarra" (Entrees ranging from $17-$40) to the front, The Pit's entrees, ranging from $11.99 - $23.99 (for the triple combo) seem very reasonable and right in line with what the area has to offer. While I did not find the restaurant to be overpriced, those used to a $7.00 BBQ and Chicken Plate from Smithfield’s BBQ will be digging a little deeper in their pockets. But enough about the atmosphere. Let's get down to the meat and potatoes of this review (no pun intended): The food.

I think the easiest way to review the food offerings from The Pit will be to do it an item at a time, in the order that I sampled them.

Appetizers

Upon being seated at The Pit, each table is presented with a small basket of miniature biscuits and hush puppies, at no cost. While this is not customary for the majority of local BBQ restaurants, it was a nice feature to have at an upscale restaurant such as this.

The Biscuits - The miniature biscuits were presented very well and had just the right consistency of doughy-ness that you would expect from a good southern biscuit. They were served with a side of what my table referred to as "sugar-butter." The butter did not have the typical sweetness of a table butter, but rather something very similar to a splenda taste. For those of you who despise splenda, this is not meant to be a deterrent, as the "sugar-butter" was quite delicious.

Hushpuppies - The hushpuppies were cooked exactly to my liking: Crispy and crunchy on the outside; soft and warm on the inside. As with the biscuits, the hushpuppies were sweet and had just the right hint of onion to give them a true North Carolina hushpuppy flavor. I would have to say that the hushpuppies served to me on that muggy June evening were some of the best I've ever had.

Vegetables/Sides

BBQ Baked Beans - The BBQ baked beans served at The Pit should actually be referred to as "The Mixed Bean Bowl." The small side consists of pinto, black, and baked beans. The only thing missing was the BBQ flavor. Now, when I say that the beans were bad, I'm not saying they tasted bad. I'm simply saying that they were not as advertised. Luckily, there was BBQ sauce readily available at the table, which was promptly dumped all over the suspect bean dish.

Macaroni & Cheese – I prefer my mac & cheese to be just that: Macaroni and Cheese. The latter part of the concoction, unfortunately, was all but lost on the dish at The Pit. While there was a hint of cheesiness, the main taste that I got was of a sweet buttery flavor, very reminiscent of the ‘sugar-butter’ previously mentioned. I would gladly take KFC’s mac & cheese over The Pit any day of the week.

Entrees

BBQ – “Authentic BBQ” is how they describe The Pit in all advertisements, and on the sign at the top of this review. Now, here’s the issue. Authentic BBQ is different to everyone. Where I grew up, authentic BBQ was slow cooked for 6-8 hours over a pit of hot coals. Ed Mitchell’s brand of BBQ is done the same way. The only difference is in what is being cooked. While we Lexingtonians are accustomed to the shoulders and butts alone, Mitchell’s hickory fired pits feature whole hog, a tradition steeped in Eastern North Carolina. Either way, we all agree that the BBQ must maintain a distinct smoky flavor, only available over true hickory coals. For my entrée, I ordered the chopped BBQ plate. The BBQ was served in very plentiful quantities; with enough on the plate that I was unable to finish it all (note the biscuits and hushpuppies earlier). To my dismay, the BBQ itself was way to finely chopped. Finely chopped, to the point where it became mushy. The issue with this is, when you chop the BBQ too finely, you actually chop the smoky flavor out of it. With that being said, I was left to savor the eastern style, vinegar based sauce instead of the smoky flavor that I was hoping for. The BBQ was served very lean without a hint of brown (sigh). The vinegar based sauce was very typical of an Eastern NC style sauce, and honestly didn’t taste all that different from the dip one would find at any local Smithfield’s BBQ. Another diner at the table, Brian, actually ordered the pulled BBQ, which he explained had a distinct smoky flavor. Point taken. I’ll stick with the pulled instead of chopped next time.

BBQ Ribs – Let’s not waste any time here. This is the bread and butter of the Pit. This is how Ed Mitchell defeated world renowned chef Bobby Flay. This is barbecuing at its finest. The baby back ribs are served wet, but not too wet. The amount of sauce on the meat is almost perfect, as it does not overpower the smoky flavor of the meat. A key to any good BBQ is to slow cook the meat. And I’ll be the first to tell you that Ed Mitchell knows a lot about this. The ribs were ‘fall-off-the-bone’ tender. Literally, they could have been eaten with a fork. However, what got my attention was the amount of ‘brown’ on the edge of the ribs. ‘Brown’ commonly refers to the outer edges of the meat, of the skin that browns while being slow cooked over hot coals on a true pit cooker. The ‘brown’ on these ribs was absolutely fantastic. Dry, smoky, tough, but not to the point of being difficult to eat. And if you like your ribs extra wet, just throw on some more of the sauce that you added to the baked beans. You’ll be in for a treat. While I did not order the ribs, I did sample them, and they were clearly the only choice to be made upon repeat visits.

So, in conclusion, I would have to say that “The Pit” is simply a BBQ restaurant searching for its true self. While the BBQ leaves little to be desired, and the sides range from mediocre to decent, the ribs truly will win over anyone with a craving for slow cooked meat. Please take this review for what its worth. If you disagree, I completely understand. This is just one humble BBQ fans opinion. Feel free to comment.