Black Powder Smokehouse — Restaurant in Asheboro

I want to start with I don't normally write negative reviews... that being said, I hate that this was just that bad.

Service and staff were super nice, I ordered online and picked up at a designated time which was extremely convenient and no part of my rating has to do with food being hot or anything. I fully understand I picked food up at like 345 for a couple hours later.

Now, to preface my feelings on the food, I want to point out that I love BBQ, but am no aficionado. My group ordered a variety, starting with the hot dogs (atw) which I was told were decent. Not great but pretty good, I mean it's a hot dog after all so that was okay. Price there wasn't bad either. The other "main" we got was the turkey, this was really dry but did taste good as far as flavor. Texture and dryness really made it seem like it was yesterday's turkey reheated under lamps or something. For sides we did the mac & cheese, which was okay, not great, especially not great for the price of the sides. The baked beans were just off, not a typical flavor and not one we liked. Might be someone else's delight though. A plus here is they didn't seem like they came out of a can. Collards were spicy AF and the person who got them couldn't even eat them they were so spicy. Not sure what was used but it was not good. We also got the coleslaw, which was okay. Not great, I'd honestly say the coleslaw at CookOut is better. It was like there wasn't enough dressing and it just didn't taste good. Like not enough sugar or vinegar? It needed one or the other. The cherry on top of this was the banana pudding.... I have never in my life had worse. The best part was the wafers and the whip because one is bought and the other is practically impossible to mess up. The bananas were from green bananas by the taste, and the pudding tasted like it was made with water, no flavor, and it was almost clear which was weird. I've made enough pudding in my life to know that if you made that with milk it wouldn't have been practically clear. Southern grandmas are rolling in their grave over that mess. And to think I paid $4 for a child sized scoop of it to boot!

On that note, all the sides were like a single scoop and everything is a la cart and rather pricy for the portion size. Meets are accurately measured at least. Note that a 1/4 pound per person is a little light if you're trying to figure out how much to buy...

We've gotten Black Powder one other time not too long after they opened and while very expensive it was pretty good. The beans then weren't near as off tasting, and the mac was certainly cheesier/more flavorful. We got brisket, pork and turkey then too and I can tell you the turkey was WAY better then which is why we ordered it again. The brisket and pork had both been good also but the turkey had been our fav the first time. It was delicious, smokey, and very juicy. Sadly this is NOT the place to get BBQ in Asheboro, maybe the other location is better but I probably won't risk wasting the money to try. Heck maybe someone there was on holiday and I just...

Nice smokehouse in the heart of Asheboro. Place was extremely clean and organized. Staff was as friendly and accommodating as any I’ve seen before.

Now to what your hear for. The food. I basically made my own sampler platter. -1/4lb Texas brisket -1/4lb smoked turkey -1 jalapeño sausage -1 rib bone smoked Mac and cheese -cole slaw strawberry pudding

Total with 15% tip $42

Cole slaw was crisp and sweet. Not much to say about cole slaw but it’s very good.

Mac and cheese was ridiculous. Heavy cheese flavor layered with crispy bits and flavors from its time in the smoker.

Sausage was good but not a lot of heat. No much to the jalapeño side of it but a well cooked sausage.

Brisket was good and rub was good and they coat it well. I was not asked if I wanted wet or dry but I only got 1/4lb so not really much room for choice there. Got dry cut and it was good. Pull apart easy and tons of flavor.

Turkey is my favorite smoked meat and this did not disappoint. Tender and smoked to perfection. They did not go to crazy with the rub on this one so it really lets you get that smoked turkey flavor. Highly recommend.

The ribs. I got one bone and even though I got all this food I wanted more ribs. The rub is astounding in pepper and spice just caked on these things man. Pulls clean of the bone but not all wet and soft like some ribs. Perfectly smoked and hold together well. Tons of flavor in the ribs.

Okay now for the surprise contestant. Was gonna do banana pudding but hello seasonal strawberry pudding. Yup it’s everything you’re thinking it is. That’s all I got to say about that.

All in all. Great smokehouse. Please go support I want them to stay for...

Leaving this review after giving this place a couple tries. Also going to leave a disclaimer and say that maybe I just went on bad nights considering they have a decent amount of good reviews. Both of my trips have been forgettable experiences. I was kind of skeptical when the place was practically empty at 7pm on a Friday. Ordered 1/4 lb of brisket and 1/2 of pulled pork. Less than a lb of food for nearly $20 and probably one of the driest briskets I've ever had. Couldn't even tell that it had been smoked. The pulled pork was not any better. I literally watched the kid have to reach into the pan to pull it out by hand because there was nearly nothing left in it. As a result of that a large portion of it was just skin and the hard bits that are impossible to chew. Considering these places often have plenty in reserve, I'm kind of confused as to why the pan hadn't been replaced with a new one that early in the night. You can't charge people that amount of money and give them the literal bottom of the bucket. Really the only positive takeaway I have from both of my visits there is that they have a comfortable little set up going on. Plenty of spacing, seemed like a warm environment. I always recommend people go try something out on their own instead of letting the reviews tell the story, so if you've never been still go try it for yourself. As for me personally I will not be back. Way too many better food options in the area for me to be wasting money and not getting anything close to what...