Tickle My Ribs BBQ (TMR) — Restaurant in Indian Trail

Start off by saying super happy a BBQ joint of any kind exists in my neck of the woods. TMR opened during the pandemic and is still up and running so thats great too.

Today was my first time going to TMR and wanted to give an honest review.

The menu was small enough yet big enough to satisfy any BBQ craving but not get overwhelmed by options or have to train cooks on too many dishes.

Menu items were of a fair price. I ordered the sliced brisket, hush puppies, and coleslaw. The lady taking my order what sauce I wanted “on” my brisket which I requested on the side (never sauce slices). Sides of original BBQ sauce and Habanero BBQ sauce.

Food took about 8 minutes to arrive. I assumed they made the hush puppies fresh which took the longest.

Hush puppies were very good, crispy yet moist interior.

Coleslaw was the finely minced type. I prefer the long shreds of purple and green but this is TMR coleslaw and thats ok.

The brisket was sliced very, very thin. Like deli meat thin. There was almost zero fat cap on the brisket. Smoke ring was very thin and smoke flavor was very faint. The meat its self was quite dry, which makes perfect sense considering the entire fat cap was removed. It was about an 8oz-10oz potion.

I do plan on returning to try the chicken, wings, and other sides.

I probably wouldn’t get the sliced brisket again. Or maybe only get the chopped with lots of sauce to compensate for dryness. There was just not enough fat on the brisket to give it a chance to retain moisture during the cooking process.

More on brisket. This is NC BBQ not Texas or Kansas city I realize that. But people travel now and know. Regardless brisket is a game of low heat and time to render the fat into meat candy. Leaving a good 1/4” of fat all around the brisket helps it retain moisture. As this brisket has zero fat on its edges no doubt it was very dry. Even on a slicer you should have good bark and a good smoke ring. Again little to no bark or noticeable smoke ring at TMR. Sliced brisket is typically hand carved and 1/4 slices. You can do the bend test and pull test, it should bend easy, not break when pulling and be oozing moisture. Perhaps a tallow injection and a paper wrap needed in addition to to leaving a reasonable fat cap. Typically when ordering brisket sliced you can request fatty or lean, i.e. point or flat. Im going to go out on a limb and say TMR only uses the flat.

Lastly things that could be done tomorrow to improve customer experience and retention.

put in a sauce and condiment bar with all the non original sauces, pickles, jalapeños, onions.

Leave original sauces in bottles on each table. Say one original, one eastern, and one mustard. Its high dollar BBQ not McDonald’s, I should’t have to keep running to the front to beg...

UPDATE: Hands down the best wings in the Charlotte metro area!

We've been back many times now, and have even taken out of town guests. We REALLY like the BBQ here. The sliced brisket melts in your mouth, and I swear the chicken wings come from Amazon birds... The are BIG and meaty, far surpassing those from nearby restaurants that specialize in wings.

Finally, the staff are super friendly and helpful. I challenge you to find better food service staff anywhere else.

Now... If you held a gun to my head and made me nit pick, here's what I would reluctantly utter. The side dishes could use an overhaul. Keep in mind that the star of the show is the meat. With a gun to my head I might also say that there sauces are lacking a bit. For example, I had their sweet and smoky sauce and it had WAY too much cummin. Tasted more like chili than BBQ sauce.

Once again, the BBQ and service are outstanding. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Overall very good - we will return. The wings were awesome! They are first smoked, then fried. Big, meaty pieces. There's a place near the same intersection with "wings" in their name, and TMR beats the pants off them. The "buffaque" flavor sauce had just enough heat.

With that being said, there's a few comments meant to be constructive. The portions are very generous, but the pulled pork was quite greasy. Probably wouldn't order that again. The Brunswick stew and banana pudding were just OK, but the fries, mac and cheese, and sweet potato casserole were quite good. The hush puppies were among the best I have ever had!

They charge "sit down" restaurant prices, but you have to place your order at the counter. Super polite staff made up for that a bit. The overall quality also made up for it.

One other oddity... They gave us eco friendly paper straws (which I hate) but styrofoam cups... canceling...

I have been here several times in the past and have had good service and food. Last night was not the case. If I could have given a negative 1 for the review I would have.

I stopped by last evening to pick regular 4 rib 1 side for my wife and me. The ribs were horrible. First, the ribs had been boiled. This evidenced by the fact that the meat fell off the bone but it was still red, there was the typical gray coloring on the edges. Second, the was limited char on the ribs. It looked like they had just been dropped on a grill pan to get a grill mark and the some sauce splashed on them. Third, there was no smoke flavor, none, zero! Fourth, the sauce appeared to be watered down and the flavor was lacking. I have smoked ribs several times and the meat should be tender and cooked with a red smoke line in the meat. As I stated above this was not the case at all. Last, I fully believe the ribs themselves were completely under cooked.

Bottom line, the $34 I spent on dinner was not worth it. Not sure if we'll be back.

Dear owner my review was honest and not meant to damage your business. My goal was to identify an issue that I experienced which allows you to course correct so that your business thrives.. I am sorry you feel that I was trying to damage your business.

Bottom line, the entire rib meat was red as in Undercooked, in my opinion. In my 20 plus years of eating or grilling ribs I have never seen the entire meat of a rib to be red. Red smoke line yes, absolutely not all meat red.

I should have taken pictures so you could see for yourself and could compare the picture they posted with their positive review vs what I received.

My purchase was on 3 July evening...