So my grandparents and I were trying to figure out what we wanted for dinner last night, and Mamaw says, "How about Brandon's BBQ?" It's the first time I'd been since they moved from Westport, and apparently I hadn't been much in the past ten years even because I asked when they stopped serving mutton, and the man behind the counter, who I also assume is the owner, said "Wow, I haven't served that since I took over 10 years ago!"
The restaurant is a lot smaller than the old location, with about ten or so tables and a counter with stools. There is a huge screen TV (I think it was on ESPN, but I really wasn't paying attention), which was fairly loud, but amazingly it didn't disrupt conversation (particularly since our table was right by it). Although the menu still says they have their buffet Friday and Saturday nights, we were informed that now the buffet is just on Saturdays.
They have a choice of beef, chicken, pork, and ribs. You can either get it as a sandwich or a dinner, which the main difference (of $1) gives you more meat in the dinner. I got a chicken BBQ dinner, which came with two sides and a roll. My green beans were good, though surprisingly sweet. I'm not accustomed to sweet green beans. My cinnamon apples were good, though they were more like apple pie filling (I prefer baked apples with a meal). The roll was a split white dinner roll, a smaller version of the sandwich bun, which was soft and fresh tasting. The BBQ was actually better than I remembered it (not that it wasn't good then!)- the chicken was lean and savory, not dry at all. The sauce I would guess would be closest to North Carolina style- though without the kick of Mark's Feed Store. Though I think Mark's sauce was am ever so slight edge on Brandon's, I think the chicken I had edges out Mark's, as I think Mark's can be dry. Maybe it's because they serve the meat already in the sauce?
My grandparents both got the BBQ pork, which I tasted. I thought it was a bit fatty, though that could be because I've been holding off on pork for the last few weeks due to some GERD issues that are thankfully being taken care of (plug for Nexium!). The baked potato was small, and not the best, I was told. It did come with sour cream, chives, and cheese. The BBQ baked beans were decent- I like WW Cousin's and Mark's a lot better.
The prices were very reasonable- you'd be hard pressed to spend more than $10 a person there. I noted that they had a piece of buttermilk pie for $1.89, but my meal was filling, and I'd already used my dessert quota for the week!
So, it is worth going back to again! We have precious few BBQ places in town anyway.
I miss Pig City though!