Pit Master Restaurant

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Review coming tomorrow! Devildeac and I will let y'all know what we think after we have dinner there tonight. Yummmm!

[devilish]

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/926361.html

I guess "the pitmaster" had to move operations to as he owes money to too many people in Wilson. His barbeque was never as good as Parkers or Bills, but boy his ribs were mighty tasty!

Shouldn't this be on the main board?

[devildeac]

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/926361.html

I guess "the pitmaster" had to move operations to as he owes money to too many people in Wilson. His barbeque was never as good as Parkers or Bills, but boy his ribs were mighty tasty!

Shouldn't this be on the main board?

Never ate at Parker's or Bill's but some folks swear Mitchell's was better.

Could be on the EK board but I think OZZIE had a restaurant/food review in mind and not a 'cue discussion/debate. I had linked the n&o review of The Pitmaster several weeks ago and then they had a 3 page feature about Mr. Mitchell several days later which chronicled his history/troubles. Review later today, from 4 semi-independent diners(OZ, DD and our highly respected and vivacious wives who accompanied us):D .

[CMS2478]

Parker's is some good stuff!!! I cater at McCall's BBQ & Seafood as a second part-time job. They have two locations in Goldsboro and Clayton, both of them are right on HWY 70 (you know the restaraunt the plane flew into). So if you are in the area stop by, their BBQ is pretty good as well. I am actually having it today here at school. (mmmmmm leftovers). :D

[OZZIE4DUKE]

As promised, we (my wife and I, Devildeac and his wife) had dinner last night at The Pit (interestingly enough, "Master" was not on the sign, just The Pit). Thank you Devildeac for the invitation!

Knowing how good Ed Mitchell's Q and ribs are from his days in Wilson, I planned on getting a combo. But talking to Ed before we ordered (he was in the kitchen, separated from the dining room by a glass case, like you would see in a bakery), the pork chops looked so good I ordered the combo of 3 - pulled pork shoulder, 1/2 rack of baby back ribs and the pork chop. It came with slaw and 2 sides, but if you are going for the veggies, well, what a waste!

We got there early, about 5 pm. The waiter suggested the pulled pork over the chopped Q, as the chopped might have been a bit dry, being left over from the end of lunch. I took his advice, but even the pulled pork was a bit dry. It had delicious flavor, but needed some of his famous sauce (described as sweet and sour with a bit of kick, but mostly slightly sweet) or vinegar that is served with the meal. I used his sauce and was very pleased with it. The pork chop was also just slightly dry but delicious. The baby backs were fabulous, falling off the bone tender and just right! I told Ed about the dry meats and he was appreciative that I told him. Don't know what he could or might have done for the rest of that batch, but he probably figured out something.

My wife had a crusted tilapia dish and she loved it.

Having dissed the veggies above, I ordered brussel sprouts as one of the sides. These were excellent - fire grilled and had a fresh, sweet taste and a slightly crunchy texture. If you like brussel sprouts, these are not to be missed. Get them with the full rack of ribs!

For desert, my wife and I shared an Egg Nog Creme Brulet (please forgive the spelling of brulet). Absolutely delicious. Nice crust top and a distinct taste of rum in the nog!

Devildeac - your turn!

[devildeac]

As promised, we (my wife and I, Devildeac and his wife) had dinner last night at The Pit (interestingly enough, "Master" was not on the sign, just The Pit). Thank you Devildeac for the invitation!

Knowing how good Ed Mitchell's Q and ribs are from his days in Wilson, I planned on getting a combo. But talking to Ed before we ordered (he was in the kitchen, separated from the dining room by a glass case, like you would see in a bakery), the pork chops looked so good I ordered the combo of 3 - pulled pork shoulder, 1/2 rack of baby back ribs and the pork chop. It came with slaw and 2 sides, but if you are going for the veggies, well, what a waste!

We got there early, about 5 pm. The waiter suggested the pulled pork over the chopped Q, as the chopped might have been a bit dry, being left over from the end of lunch. I took his advice, but even the pulled pork was a bit dry. It had delicious flavor, but needed some of his famous sauce (described as sweet and sour with a bit of kick, but mostly slightly sweet) or vinegar that is served with the meal. I used his sauce and was very pleased with it. The pork chop was also just slightly dry but delicious. The baby backs were fabulous, falling off the bone tender and just right! I told Ed about the dry meats and he was appreciative that I told him. Don't know what he could or might have done for the rest of that batch, but he probably figured out something.

My wife had a crusted tilapia dish and she loved it.

Having dissed the veggies above, I ordered brussel sprouts as one of the sides. These were excellent - fire grilled and had a fresh, sweet taste and a slightly crunchy texture. If you like brussel sprouts, these are not to be missed. Get them with the full rack of ribs!

For desert, my wife and I shared an Egg Nog Creme Brulet (please forgive the spelling of brulet). Absolutely delicious. Nice crust top and a distinct taste of rum in the nog!

Devildeac - your turn!

Thanks for the intro.

My selection was the full rack of baby back ribs which were fall-off-the-rib tender and quite meaty with a small amount of fat for flavor. Nicely grilled and a bit smoky. The remainder will be dinner tomorrow. My veggies were mashed potatoes and gravy-southern style. Rich and creamy. The mac and cheese was excellent with the cheesy sauce, a pinch or two of black pepper and a nice crust of real cheddar on top of the baked final product. Yeh, I know, TWO starches, but down-home good. Mrs. Devildeac did allow me to share her green bean salad, which is not what either of us expected. They were slightly cooked but crunchy fresh, small green beens with red peppers and gorgonzola cheese crumbles in a vinegar sauce. Quite distinctive and unusual but delicious. Here's where OZZIE and I differ. I HATE BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!! I also thought the slaw was done well-coarsely shredded cabbage, green and a bit of red, with carrots and a typical eastern NC mayo-vinegar base. I would eat a couple servings of that, either with or without the 'cue.

OZZIE was kind enough to share a taste of his pork chop(OZZIE does NOT part with food easily:D ) and I agree with his call on the slightly dry but smoky and quite tender. The pulled pork was also very slightly dry but the wood flavoring and smokiness here were excellent. Ed's secret sauce(sweet and sour brown sauce) and the vinegar-based, fairly traditional eastern NC sauce moistened up the meats perfectly and added their own respective flavors without overpowering or drenching the meats.

Corn muffins, with a hint of nutmeg, and some biscuits rounded out the meal well. Portions were reasonable but the entrees were a bit pricey. This is an upscale 'cue joint with fish and even filets on the menu. It is in the old Nana's location on Davie St. in the 'warehouse' district in downtown Raleigh. They left a lot of the wood panels for the walls and serve your meal with real table cloths and cloth napkins.

No dessert for us as we had to leave for a couple dance lessons and wanted to remain light on our feet.

The beer review for the evening/meal can be found on the appropriate thread. How else can I pad my post count:D ?

[Lavabe]

For desert,

Well no wonder the Q was dry!;)

More importantly, how many 9F's do you rate this place?:D
Cheers,
Lavabe

[Olympic Fan]

Disappointed to see that when you guys ordered ribs, you ended up with baby backs ... not my favorite.

I'm still desperately looking for any decent barbequed ribs in the Triangle region (I'll stretch that to Wilson). By that I mean a KC style (dry rubbed, smoked with sauce on the side; tender, but NOT falling off the bone -- it should be firm enough to bite) sparerib -- definitely NOT that abomination known as the St. Louis rib.

I used to get what I craved at Danny's, a small joint in Cary. Then they switched to the St. Louis cut. The Q-Shaq in Durham went the same route. Bullocks has spareribs, but they are overcooked and smothered in sauce. Kind of the same at Mama Dips. The less said about Jim's Famous Ribs in Chapel Hill the better, only in Chapel Hill could someone get away with that c%^p.

Please ... anybody ... I'm begging for a recommendation. If you like baby backs, you have dozens of choices. Good for you. But I'd settle for just one decent rib joint serving real ribs.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

More importantly, how many 9F's do you rate this place?:D
Cheers,
Lavabe

I'll go along with the N&O's review, and give it 3 9F's out of 5. I'll go back and try it again, maybe get some Q for lunch one day before it dries out :)

Hopefully my next rating will be higher the 3.