Rodney Scott's has been on my BBQ Bucket list for a while now. In 2015, Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown series paid a visit to Charleston, NC. Chefs Bourdain, Sean Brock, and Rodney Scott sit around and enjoy some of Scott's 12 hour, slow smoked, whole hog, barbecue. I watched that episode and it imprinted on my brain that someday, I HAD to eat there. That day came last week.
When I think of great southern BBQ my mind immediately turns to the Historic BBQ Trail of North Carolina:. B's Barbecue in Greenville, The Skylight Inn in Ayden, or Grady's BBQ in Dudley. The smell of smoke, a pile of wood against a windowless cinderblock building, linoleum floors, Formica topped tables, and vinyl backed chairs with metal frames. When I see these, I know the BBQ quality will be high.
Rodney Scott's has many of those elements. The smell of smoke, a pile of wood. Chairs reminiscent of what we used in Mr. Briggs 7th grade math class. Linoleum floors and Formica topped tables. There is also a freshness to Rodney Scott's. Brighter and more airy than what you might expect, it almost has a corporate feel. But the essence of down home, wood smoked, southern BBQ is still as omnipresent and inviting as the smoke outside.
In general, I won't do full restaurant reviews. To do that fairly requires multiple visits to try many menu items. Some of them repeatedly. To review an entire restaurant from just one visit would be an insult to their chef's and their staff. In most cases, I will just review a particular meal not the restaurant as a whole.
I had scoured the menu for weeks leading up to our trip to Charleston so I had an idea which way my order was headed. That would be Rod's Original Whole Hog Pork Plate. The menu describes it as "8oz of perfectly seasoned pit cooked whole hog. The heart and soul of my BBQ"
The description was right. The perfectly seasoned whole hog was moist and delicious. The vinegar based sauce I added was perfectly absorbed by the meat. The platter comes with choice of two sides. I opted for greens and potato salad. It was also served with a little loaf of cornbread.
I found the cornbread ironic. In the Parts Unknown episode Scott, Brock, and Bourdain discuss the preference for white bread with BBQ. Anthony says in the video, "That's what New Yorkers get wrong. They serve cornbread with BBQ and it crumbles". Yet, I got served cornbread. Don't get me wrong. I'm not ungrateful. I loved it. I just found it ironic.
The greens were excellent. Cut and slow prepared the way I prefer. I love greens. I love my greens. I cut them broadly into squares. Not all minced up. I would put my greens up against anyone's. Of course, there is more to great greens than just the cut. But that's another column for another time.
The potato salad was excellent. I wish I could make potato salad like this. Not too saucy. Slightly tangy. Nicely cooked potatoes. As much as I brag on my greens, my potato salad sucks. I keep trying and just can't seem to nail it. Part of the problem is that I hate eggs and keep trying to make potato salad without them. My wife believes Scott's potato salad has eggs in it which is why it tastes so good. To be fair, we did not ask anyone. So we could be wrong.
My wife had the Rib Sandwich and Slaw. She is a big fan of slaw. Really, just cabbage in general. But definitely slaw. This slaw was really good. Not too saucy. Finely shredded cabbage and carrots. I'm thinking it must be great on a pulled pork sandwich.
The rib sandwich needed some help. On the plus side, here is where the aforementioned white bread came in. The "sandwich" was four ribs served with two slices of white bread. This is a classic way to serve a rib sandwich. The ribs were fall off the bone tender. However, the bark on the ribs was tougher than one would expect. My wife, who knows her way around ribs, was setting the bark aside and just eating the tender pork on the inside. Yes, I know, BBQ bark can be crusty. But I have NEVER seen my wife set aside any part of a rib besides the bone. In any event, I helped myself to the chewy bark and enjoyed it. But I could see why she did not.
On the whole, I really enjoyed Rodney Scott's. The menu needs some extensive investigating which we didn't have time for. But I was glad that my eight years of anticipation to visit the James Beard Award Winning Chef's BBQ Joint was worth it. On a scale of 1-5 hogs I would give Rodney Scott's 4.7 Hogs.
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