THE SMOKE PIT — Restaurant in Concord

I’m from Austin TX region visiting the Charlotte area with my girlfriend. I had many recommendations to go here and was told I will look at Texas bbq differently after having this North Carolina bbq delicacy. Must say not at all up to par. I got the four meet plate, my girlfriend the three meat plate. All of the sides we had were five star excellent. And the portions of each meat they give you is way more than I would gave ever expected. The brisket which must throw in a pun was called Texas brisket was five star excellent. The dry run ribs I had were lacking flavor and were dry cooked as well, not fall off the bone in any way. The ribs I’d give at best a three star. I ordered pulled chicken and pulled pork which was good but was lacking smoke flavor and had a lil hint of a sweet flavor which is not a personal preference of mine but I’d still give it a decent three to four star rating. My girlfriend got the sausage which was again an excellent five star. But what nearly killed the entire experience was their chicken leg quarters my girlfriend got. I wish we had taken photos of how “severely undercooked and raw” the chicken was. Bright red blood running out from the meat when splitting / cutting over. We told the severs and showed them the first two leg quarters and they brought us two more to replace. Those two were fresh and hot yet severely worse than the first two. This time I asked the server for a manager and she asked what for. So we showed her all four pieces we had put into a separate tray to keep their raw blood coming off the meat away from the rest of our food. She took the tray and took it to the manager and we could see them toss the meat in the garbage then she came back and told us they apologize. What then got me wondering WTH was when she said when chicken quarters are smoked the blood vessels don’t fully cook nor drain so it’s normal for the chicken to look like that and that the meat was fully cooked. I can tell ya that’s a load of crap, never ever eat bloody chicken unless of want to be sick as a dog. They at least made right offering a refund or another replacement meat. She offered the Texas brisket 1/2 a pound so we decided that was good re-compensation. She brought back a tray with at least a pound to pound n a half of brisket. So excellent customer service, fairly good atmosphere makes up for the under delivering food. Would go back again hoping it was just a bad day for the ribs but I for sure would not get the chicken again unless they showed it to me before hand fully cooked before we put money invested into it. But to also settle the debate for now, Texas still has the upper hand in...

I've only been in Concord since Feb of '22 and of course there is so much to explore and so many restaurants to try. I would've never thought to try smoke pit cuz it's hard to find good bbq but I must say smoke pit has not disappointed yet. So the company I work for started a new program for students and we get lunch catered in weekly and Thursday is smoke pit day. I have had it a good 10 plus times and love just about everything I've tasted thus far... my favorite meats are the smoked sausage, Texas beef brisket, smoked chicken quarter, and ribs. I'm not a fan of the pull pork or pull chicken. It's always dry to me. Not sure why 🤷🏽‍♀️ but others love it and there is never any left. Nevertheless, there is so much other stuff for you to choose, so that doesn't bother me. As for sides, omg, they're all so good. Absolutely love the Mac & Cheese, baked beans, collard greens, green beans, and cole slaw... The deviled egg potato salad is is a different story and a bit deceiving. In my mind, going off the name, one would think you're getting deviled eggs in your potato salad but that's far from the truth. It is just NOT good and it's NOT seasoned and to me, quite mushy. Several guys got it and I was able to taste it. Have to admit, no one at the table enjoyed it. Glad I've never ordered it myself. What a waste of a side, but again, so many other choices, so who cares? Now let's talk about that amazing cornbread... so yummy 😋 and it actual has corn in it. It's sweet n savory and worth every bite!!! I recently was able to take a group of coworkers there to dine in a few weeks ago and was able to get a few good pictures. They all enjoyed as well. I've been told they have amazing salads and they are huge. And next on my to do list is the spud (is like a stuffed baked potato). Dining in was great but it's busy during lunch time and hard to sit a group of 8 because you can't hold tables. You're not allowed to sit until you order your food. And the table to fit us was taken while in line waiting but they managed to pull a couple tables together and get us seated. A little chaotic but no big deal. And last but not least the have great sweet tea and lemonade. Oh, kinda pricey but the food, portions, and service is good, so...

We went to The Smoke Pit for a wedding reception tasting. Taylor was so professional and had the details down to a science! After hearing all of their catering details, we got to sample the food. I hope my review does them justice because it was some of the best BBQ I have ever had.

Meats: we sampled their brisket, wings (dry and sauced), pulled pork, burnt ends, pulled chicken in sauce, ribs (sauced and dry), smoked sausage, 1/4 chicken, and turkey breast. From the first bite to the last—it was mouthwatering good. The meats has so much flavor. The brisket was really good. Just the right amount of fat and lean meat. Even without sauce, it melted in your mouth. The sauce on the wings, ribs, and 1/4 chicken was amazing! So much flavor. Just enough sweet mixed with spice. I think my favorite though was the turkey. So moist and melted in your mouth. When paired with their blueberry sauce, it was like nothing I had eaten before.

Their sides didn’t disappoint either. Mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, green beans, bbq and white slaws, egg potatoes salad, collards, baked beans, and cornbread. When I say every last bite was delicious, I am understating how good their sides were. I am not a fan of any greens chopped, cooked, and served but their collards were cooked just right-firm but thorough and had amazing taste. If you have never tried bbq slaw (the red one), you need to try theirs! WOW!

Desserts: we sampled the peach cobbler, banana pudding, strawberry yum yum (deconstructed strawberry cheesecake), and chocolate mousse. What a way to finish the meal! The banana pudding had so much flavor and the right amount of pudding to Nilla wafers ratio. It was light and airy and did both sit in the gut like a ton of bricks. My absolute favorite! Then, the peach cobbler was delicious too. Not too sweet but just right with the crust and peaches.

Everything’s was absolutely delicious and, when paired with the sauce recommendations of Taylor, it was even better. If you are ever near the Smoke Pit, you have to try it. You can...