Red Hot & Blue - Morrisville — Restaurant in Morrisville

Pros: Very Nice Staff and Ownership Cons: Undercooked chicken, cold food, and expensive

Let me start off by saying that I love the traditional RHB restaurants and have been eagerly anticipating the opening of this location for months. We have been looking forward to a new lunch spot for work, and saw the "Now Open" signs as we rode by this afternoon. Without hesitating, we turned into the shopping center, and walked confidently into the restaurant ready to be impressed by the familiar taste of high quality barbeque that we have grown to love. My experience, was not quite what I expected.

This isn't a traditional, hostess based, guided seating restaurant, but a order at a counter and carry your quick food to your seat kind of joint. Staff was friendly, and greeted us with a smile. The menu is maybe 40% of the traditional RHB restaurant menu, but we ordered our meals and didn't have much of an issue with that process. However, we were admittedly taken back by how much it cost ($18 for my meal that included a meat, one side and a drink).

I was told some items would be made to order, so my food would have to wait a few minutes, and that was ok with me; who doesn't want fresh hot food. A short time later, an owner, partner, or manager walked over to explain that they did not have the side I ordered, and quickly swapped it out with a different side and complementary dessert. I was then approached by a separate person of equal (or greater) status who apologized for the missing item. This portion of my experience was very positive and I appreciate that. However, the remainder was more concerning.

The temperature of our food was not acceptable. I wouldn't describe it as being even "slightly warm." The proteins were cold and the mac and cheese felt like it might have been room temperature at best, and this was consistent for all of the plates at my table. The protein portions were extremely small considering the price. Halfway through my meal, I noticed that I was consuming RAW CHICKEN.

I understand it's a BBQ restaurant, but that wasn't a smoke ring, and that is not acceptable. I initially began to complain, but figured I would just exit the business as I wasn't interested in receiving a replacement for the day. Especially after the rest of the experience has been exceptionally underwhelming.

I have attached a picture for reference, and that is not a chewed portion, but a small portion of several similar chunks of chicken. I am disappointed, disgusted, and shamefully writing a review of a first impression of a new business from the cold porcelain comforts of a...

It kills me to review this place! We loved RHB at their first Waverley Place spot. Then when they left we started going to N. Raleigh- awesome staff. Then the second Waverley Place spot. They’ve catered many birthday parties, and was even my first meal I demanded after my daughter was born! So when we saw the Morrisville location we were super excited since we live in Apex.

We finally ordered for curbside last night. I’d been craving their chili since the Cary location closed down. Annnd it wasn’t on the menu?! Huge letdown.

Ok fine, onto the smokehouse salad. RHB has the best restaurant ranch out there. At the old locations, they knew us and when we asked for extra ranch, we got a side order size container full. It was sooo good. So imagine my surprise to open the bag at home and find 2 packets of Kens ranch!

So back to the actual salad. First glance, it didn’t look right. The pulled Turkey was actually sliced and very dry. The brisket was what I remembered, which was good. But the salad itself. It was just a house salad. The smokehouse salad was supposed to have peppers, corn, tortilla strips. This was lettuce, way too many tomatoes, a couple limp cucumbers and cheese.

We also got a side of my favorite potato salad and hush puppies. I’m going to blame the fact that it was take out for the hush puppies- they were very… moist? I’m guessing the plastic to go container wasn’t the best choice, as they must have steamed themselves? They were mushy and not enjoyable. (Perhaps look at a different type of container for takeout hush puppies?) The potato salad was fine. There was something missing but I can’t put my finger on what it was. It just wasn’t quite the same. The hot sauce was delicious as always though.

Overall I was pretty bummed. With kids, N. Raleigh has become too far to drive for RHB so we have missed it over the last few years. We were so...

The Great: Excellent prices/value, simply put it's hard to find a quality meal anywhere for less than $20 anymore. For $12 I was able to fill up and enjoyed a nice lunch with prompt and excellent service (Note: I ordered the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich with a side of hushpuppies). The hushpuppies were fantastic! The staff were very friendly and accommodating of every request.

The Good: I tried some of the Brisket as well, and it outdid any other typical chain bbq experience I've had in North Carolina. It was soft and tasty, with good portion sizes. If you're looking strictly for the best quality Brisket you can find, you're better off going to Dampf BBQ down the road, but at this price-point and availability, Red Hot & Blue does a very solid job.

The Not-So-Good: The Pulled Pork was so-so compared to other options in the area. Nothing critically wrong with it, but lacking in some flavor--my immediate impression was that they either aren't basting the Pork in enough vinegar during the smoking process, or not adding enough vinegar/pepper during the pulling/chopping stage. It definitely needed extra sauce to enjoy properly. Also, the sauces weren't particularly great compared to what you might find at other BBQ joints.

Verdict: 4.5 stars. Red Hot & Blue was a pleasant surprise for a chain bbq location. Their hushpuppies are worth a visit on their own, and frankly speaking the excellent value price-wise makes this an instant option going forward when it comes to quality lunch choices. While you can find better quality BBQ in the area if you look for it, you'll be paying twice as much for the experience. Definitely recommend a visit if you're looking for a quality meal at...