BBQ Road Trip! Reviews for Palmira and City Limits

[00:00:02] In the big wide world of BBQ, social media is a great place to discover new destinations for meat, smoke, low and slow and served up along your favorite southern sides. But it is also a place for controversy, especially when it comes to declaring the best BBQ in

[00:00:31] the Carolinas. We're not going to wade too deep into that best BBQ fray right here on the show, but I'm more than willing to help you validate some of the things you may be seeing out there on Instagram and other places in social media.

[00:00:45] That's right, I'm willing to put my appetite, my wallet and my family's food preferences on the line to explore the BBQ places that people say you just gotta try. Plus it's time for a BBQ Road Trip or two.

[00:01:01] So in this episode we're talking about three popular BBQ places that I've visited recently and these are restaurants you may have heard about in the BBQ circles around the Carolinas. First up, it's Palmira BBQ in the West Ashley community of Charleston, South Carolina.

[00:01:16] I'm also excited to give you the lowdown on what Robbie Robinson's serving up on Sundays at City Limits BBQ in West Columbia, South Carolina. Finally, I'm probing a place that's close to my own hickory home where there's always a hot debate about the best BBQ.

[00:01:33] Before we get into the details of this BBQ Road Trip and our restaurant review episode of the Low and Slow BBQ Show, here's a quick reminder. Please visit LowSlowBBQShow.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Lowdown.

[00:01:48] It delivers all the latest Carolina BBQ news to your email inbox every Tuesday morning plus it serves up some of my favorite recipes, the latest Low and Slow BBQ Show podcasts and some of our blogs.

[00:02:01] In our most recent newsletter we shared the sad news of a fire that destroyed the primary food trailer for Ben's Backdraft BBQ in Western North Carolina. We recorded a podcast episode with Ben just last week and a little while after

[00:02:16] that, this former firefighter was battling a blaze in his own BBQ trailer. I need you to know a GoFundMe has been set up to help Ben recover. Please visit his Instagram page at Ben's Backdraft BBQ One for details and you can help out right there.

[00:02:32] He's got a big goal to fill but already friends in the BBQ community are helping him out. And then of course be sure to listen to our conversation with Ben. It's going to be coming up in July. Ben's a great guy with a servant's heart.

[00:02:46] He left a career in the fire service to work full time in this BBQ business and now, boy it's tough to see fire deal him that difficult setback. So find out about the fire with Ben's Backdraft BBQ and you can do that in the lowdown newsletter.

[00:03:00] We also talk about Edmar Samoas' new BBQ classes, Grady's BBQ and Dudley being inducted into the Hall of Fame. And in the last episode or our last edition, we shared a recipe for Midwood Smokehouse's Cola sauce. It served on all the burn ins at Midwood Smokehouse.

[00:03:18] Just visit LowSlowBBQShow.com. Click subscribe to get the newsletter and we'll send you the lowdown every Tuesday. Now let's get to those restaurant reviews. First, Palmyra BBQ. What you guys need to know is that Palmyra just opened up in February this year in West Ashley

[00:03:35] in the Charleston Metro of South Carolina. Hector Garate combined flavors and techniques from Texas, Carolina and his native home in Puerto Rico. And of course that name is a tribute to his grandmother who grew up on a sustainable cattle ranch.

[00:03:50] So it's got a close connection for Hector and the BBQ world. And I know Hector did a lot of work on food trucks around the Charleston Metro before he finally opened up that brick and mortar location there in West Ashley. You can follow Palmyra. That's P-A-L-M-I-R-A.

[00:04:06] It's on Instagram and see all their beautiful food photos when you get to the locations you can't miss. It's got a big colorful mural by Carl Z. Creations that dresses up with some pretty much otherwise unremarkable building there in West Ashley.

[00:04:22] But once you step inside that location, boy, the inside is full of flavor of Texas BBQ. It just explodes in the meat service line. Now when we were there, we enjoyed beef cheeks, pulled pork, spare ribs, house sausage, smoked chicken.

[00:04:37] Yeah, we had a big crew with us, so we got a lot of food and we skipped the barbacoa. I don't really know why, but ever since then, I've been regretting that decision.

[00:04:46] And of course, Palmyra's got a lot of other rotating meats like beef ribs, brisket, other things that are often on the menu. Really can't go wrong. Some of the sides that we enjoyed hash and rice, mac and cheese, mustard slaw, collards, Puerto Rican beans.

[00:05:01] And I got to tell you ordinarily, I'm not a huge fan of collard greens. I'll eat them now and again, especially on New Year's Day. But something that Hector and his crew are doing there at Palmyra, man, those collards were fantastic.

[00:05:13] I could eat a whole plate of those. Well, most of the plate. I'll just say that. So let me ask you to mention this as well. They have sauce there at Palmyra, and I got to tell you that the meat is great without the sauce.

[00:05:26] Man, I sampled the sauce anyway. It's a nice mix of Western style and mustard. It's pretty unique. Not really a lot like anything else I've ever had. But like I said, it really just complements the meat. You don't hardly need any of that sauce on there.

[00:05:41] It's really super good. And speaking of super, the staff there at Palmyra was super friendly and they're really helpful. When we were there, Hector wasn't there. But his number two man, Craig, was really hospitable. They made all of our big crew feel at home.

[00:05:55] And of course, we had four adults and I think there were five children with us and just a big crowd. And man, they welcomed us with open arms, gave us some samples, talked us through the ordering process so that we knew what to do and what we wanted

[00:06:08] and how much food would serve, how many people we had, and really just made for a really nice experience. And let me just tell you, if you go there, get the beef cheeks. You'll see everywhere in Palmyra's social media that beef cheeks are king.

[00:06:22] And he's definitely right. I'd never had beef cheeks before, but it is definitely one of the best barbecue bites that I've enjoyed in the last many years, if ever. I'm not sure if I've ever had anything that was as good as those beef cheeks.

[00:06:34] Man, they were really good. So when we went, it was Friday and there wasn't really a huge crowd. It was kind of a late lunch. Didn't have to stand in line. They had a big nice restaurant area and you have outdoor seating as well.

[00:06:47] So plenty of space for us to spread out and enjoy our food there. You can find out more about the restaurant. It's at PalmyraBBQ.com. Again, that's P-A-L-M-I-R-A-B-B-Q.com. And Palmyra is located at 2366 Ashley River Road and Building 1.

[00:07:06] I say Building 1 because it's kind of an area where there's a lot of, you know, business park, industrial type buildings. But again, you can't miss the big Carl Z Creations mural on the outside of it. You'll be so glad that you went there when you step inside.

[00:07:19] Palmyra is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. And again, I can't recommend it enough if you're in the Charleston area. Now there's a lot of good food down in Charleston, a lot of good barbecue. But check out Palmyra there in West Ashley.

[00:07:35] And now when we came back from Charleston in this special trip that we had, we had to hit West Columbia and see my man Robbie Robinson there at City Limits Barbecue. You know, you guys probably have heard.

[00:07:47] Robbie was a finalist for the James Beard Award, did not win that award. But again, it's a great honor for him to come in second. I just had to get a taste of what he has going on there at City Limits.

[00:07:58] And so we hit that on Sunday on our way headed back north from the coast. We called him there just after 2 p.m. And when we got there, there was no line, there was no waiting. A few of the items were sold out.

[00:08:09] Alabama white sauce chicken and the pork steaks. We just missed those. But we got there in time for Robbie's experimentation. And as a James Beard Award finalist, he's pretty well known for experimenting and pushing the envelope with what you can do in barbecue and in the barbecue world.

[00:08:25] And so when we were there Sunday, Robbie had experimented, I think maybe for the first time, one of his house dogs, that's a brisket hot dog, served up as a corn dog. And if you've got kids, you understand children love a corn dog.

[00:08:40] And man, my boys love this brisket corn dog. So we got that for them. You know, for the grownups, I got a sandy slaw dog. And again, that's the brisket corn dog and chili and onions and slaw on the top of it.

[00:08:52] We got one of the Frito chili boats that has the brisket chili and some fritos in there. Pinto beans, cornbread, and of course, you got a chopped brisket sandwich. I couldn't pass that up. I ordered one of those as well.

[00:09:05] And since I talk nice to the staff, they hooked me up with some chicharrones, you know, the little fried bacon skin. Some people call them fried pork rinds. That's a fancier name, I guess, chicharrones. And I'm probably saying that wrong, but it was really good.

[00:09:18] Very crispy, kind of hard, but a nice, nice crispy bite of fried pork skin. So as you listen to my description there, you probably recognize that, you know, on Sunday, the menu at City Limits is just a little bit different than normal.

[00:09:33] It's more of a laid back Sunday relaxed experience. Robbie and his staff are serving more chili, more corn dogs, slaw dogs, hot dogs. You know, they do the pork steaks a lot of times on Sunday.

[00:09:46] You know, it's a lot less, I guess you could say barbecue-y than Saturday is. Saturday is when they pull out the big barbecue menu with the brisket and the pulled pork, the beef ribs, the sausage.

[00:09:58] You know, I think that's really more of a full-on barbecue experience on Saturday. But for us, after a long weekend in Charleston and then two hours on the road coming back to Columbia, the slaw dogs and corn dogs were what we were looking for.

[00:10:12] They really hit the spot. Now let me just tell you, the brisket sandwich was great, super flavorful. The meat was really moist. I definitely recommend it if you get in there on a Sunday. And just like at Palmyra, the staff at City Limits was very friendly,

[00:10:27] from the guys that were working the meat counter to Robbie's wife, Blair, working the register, and of course, Robbie himself. You know, he took some time to come over. In fact, him and his wife and a couple other of the guys on the pit mass,

[00:10:38] on the meat service line, they came out and checked on us, talked to us, asked us how we were enjoying it. And again, Robbie gave me the smokehouse tour in the back and he shared some of

[00:10:49] the story of his smokers and, you know, watch out for the low and slow barbecue show social media. I'll try to get some of those interviews up there real soon. But again, extremely nice, a great experience. Again, it was on Sunday and it wasn't really busy.

[00:11:03] You know, they close around three-ish on Sunday, so we got them pretty close to closing. Probably missed the crowds. Everybody's a little more relaxed. Really just a great environment. And the building that they're in, as Robbie talked about during our podcast episode here before the Carolina Barbecue Festival,

[00:11:19] really got a unique building there on the City Limits edge of western Columbia. You got to check it out to really kind of see what I'm talking about there. So also inside, he served sauce as well. Man, he had a whole lineup of them.

[00:11:32] I think he had white sauce and mustard sauce, vinegar sauce. There was kind of a Texas sauce and a Kansas City sauce. Hey, I don't know what all yet. But again, these were really good to compliment the meat. But that meat stands alone just fine.

[00:11:47] You don't need the sauce. But if you want to add a little bit, it's good. It will help boost that flavor. But again, the meat's really good by itself. So stop by and check out City Limits there in west Columbia. They're at 1119 Methodist Park Road in west Columbia.

[00:12:03] Check him out at City Limits Q, the letter Q, citylimitsq.com. Or find him on Instagram at City Limits Q. Now, the last stop I want to share with you is about closer to my hometown here in the Hickory Metro of the Foothills in North Carolina.

[00:12:20] And around Hickory, we've got a lot of debate about where you can get good barbecue. JD Smokehouse and Apple City Barbecue, they're really staples. They set the bar high. A lot of people love those for good reason. Hughes Q is starting to build a following around Hickory.

[00:12:37] So is Cranford Brothers Barbecue. Hannah's Barbecue has been around for a really long time. They're closing their location in Viewmont. If you're local to Hickory, you know what that means. But Hannah's is closing their location in Viewmont. Don't worry, they're still going to be open in Mountain View,

[00:12:52] as well as Claremont and Granite Falls. Plenty of chances to still get Hannah's Barbecue. That's another favorite around these parks. Little Pigs over in Newton. Mike Stancil has been there a really long time doing some cool stuff there at Little Pigs.

[00:13:05] So a lot of people have a lot of talk about what their favorite is. And as with any debate, everybody's got their preferences and what they think is better than another. But I'm not going to declare anybody right or wrong.

[00:13:18] I'm just going to try to check them all out and see what I like the best. And in some of these conversations, I've been hearing a lot about Anywhere's, that's with a Z, Anywhere's Fine and Sawmills. Now, Sawmills is pretty easy to miss.

[00:13:32] It's between Granite Falls and Hudson on Highway 321. So if you're going up to see Appalachian State or going up to Boone or Blowing Rock, it's on the way there on 321. A little town called Sawmills. Anywhere's Fine is just off the highway in the downtown area of Sawmills.

[00:13:48] And so this was my next visit. Anywhere's Fine has been a food truck since 2019 and they just opened up a brick and mortar location in October last year. And when you walk in, you'll see it really is a brand new facility. It's a nice restaurant.

[00:14:04] They got the smoker and the trailer all back. And I know the guys there still operate the trailer. They go to events, they do catering. They probably cook the meat there at the restaurant there and the smoker he's got on the trailer.

[00:14:15] But inside is super clean and nice. They got a full service bar. So it's a nice visit. Kind of like Palmyra, you don't really expect it to be a barbecue restaurant from the outside. But once you get inside and you start smelling and look at the menu,

[00:14:29] you know you've come to the right place. So when I was there, I ordered the brisket and the pulled pork as well as the mac and cheese. On the table they've got vinegar sauce and a Texas style sauce as well.

[00:14:41] Again, I felt like this was a really good taste. The brisket was good. It was super moist. Really tender. You know, the pulled pork was good. It was maybe a little bit salty for my liking, but it was still good. It was quality.

[00:14:55] I've definitely had worse around the Hickory Metro. And I'm not going to mention any names about who's got the bad stuff. But I will say that Anywhere's Fine was a good stop there. You probably would like it if you stopped through passing through.

[00:15:07] Now I did not get the wings. I've been told that they're really good. And speaking of the wings, you know, in terms of barbecue, Anywhere's Fine at the restaurant, when I was there, it has a fairly limited barbecue menu. They had brisket, pulled pork, wings.

[00:15:23] But they also have plenty of other what they call southern cuisine. So cheeseburgers, hot dogs, a smoked bologna burger, roast beef sandwiches, grilled cheese. They got a lot of different salads and a whole bunch of different sides. So a pretty broad menu of items.

[00:15:38] Not all of it necessarily related to barbecue. But again, what they did for barbecue was definitely quality. So is it my favorite in the Hickory area? Probably not. Apple City Barbecue still holds that honor. But again, I'll tell you Anywhere's Fine is worth a stop.

[00:15:55] If you have a barbecue hankering and you're going or coming to or from Boone, you know, and again, I'll be back again to Anywhere's Fine to check them out and try out those wings for sure. If you run across them at a festival, check it out.

[00:16:08] Anywhere's Fine is definitely a good bet. So that's the lowdown for this week for the low and slow barbecue show. Be sure to join us for our Fourth of July edition when I'll be sharing some of my favorite recipes for July Fourth barbecue and picnics.

[00:16:23] You've been listening to the low and slow barbecue show on the Mesh.tv network of podcast. Be sure to visit us online at lowslowbbqshow.com. That's where you'll find the blog and you can hear other podcast episodes like our interview with Robbie Robinson from City Limits Barbecue.

[00:16:40] He talks a little bit more about his story. Great guy there. If you like what you hear in the low and slow barbecue show, please be sure to give us a five star rating in your favorite podcast network. It really helps other people find their podcast.

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[00:17:13] Special thanks this week to our producer Andrew Moose and the whole team at the Mesh.tv network of podcasts. Most especially, thank you for listening to the low and slow barbecue show. Remember, for the best barbecue and the best barbecue podcast, make it low and slow.

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