While we were in Raleigh I really wanted to try Carolina barbecue, which is smoked meat doused in a vinegar based sauce, but because we were there over Labor Day weekend, most of the bbq joints my brother wanted to take us to were closed. Boo. I really had my heart set on having it though so my brother found a place near his home called Danny’s Bar-B-Que that was still open.
The restaurant is located in kind of a nondescript strip mall and the décor is a bit generic but that didn’t really matter because we were here to sample the food. The restaurant is definitely kid-friendly and there was plenty of room for Alexander’s stroller at our table. The hostess and the servers were all super friendly and offered up their suggestions when Josh and I said we were inexperienced with Carolina barbecue.
We started off with an order of hush puppies, something that I’ve had before in Hilton Head. It’s basically deep fried corn bread batter. The ones at here were uniformly shaped logs so I think they were probably the frozen kind but at least they were served piping hot tasted pretty delicious. They had a crispy outer shell that gave way to a sweet corn center.
Crispy hush puppies
I really wanted to have some baby back ribs so I opted to go with a two meat combination with baby back ribs and beef brisket (baby backs are $4.75 extra). The combination came with Texas toast and a choice of two sides. I picked baked beans and the special of the day, collard greens. The ribs came in a huge slab and were really tender. The brisket was a bit on the dry side but I doused them in the vinegary carolina bbq sauce as well as a spicy bbq sauce. The baked beans were sweet and smokey, and the collard greens had a nice slightly bitter flavor to them.
Beef brisket, baby back ribs, baked beans, Texas toast, collard greens
We wanted to try all of the bbq meat offerings so Josh went with the three meat combination that came with St. Louis style ribs, chicken, and chopped pork. The St. Louis style ribs were larger than the baby backs but not as falling off the bone tender. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, while the chopped pork was a bit fatty but super moist. For his sides, Josh chose french fries and Brunswick stew. The french fries were standard and fried well, but the Brunswick stew was a bit of a disappointment. There was no meat in it, just beans, and it tasted like they were just dumped straight from a can. The stew didn’t have much seasoning and still had a tinny metallic taste to it.
Chicken, chopped pork, St. Louis style ribs, french fries, Brunswick stew
Overall I thought the food at Danny’s Bar-B-Que was decent but didn’t blow my mind. I don’t know what I was really expecting with Carolina barbecue but I thought it would be a bit smokier in flavor. Most of the meats we had were tender but unseasoned and a bit bland. I guess this is so you can pick what sauces you want to douse on top, but then all I tasted was the sauce and not the meat. I did like the vinegary bbq sauce though, as it’s not as sweet and overpowering as regular bbq sauce. Not being a barbecue connoisseur, I don’t know how authentic the food is but it was a nice place to have a fun, casual, and affordable family dinner.
Danny’s Bar-B-Que (multiple locations)
9561 Chapel Hill Rd.
Morrisville, NC
Tags: BBQ, North Carolina, Ribs