Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Pace

I've provided reviews on a number of restaurants on Google, some good, but sadly most leave a lot to be desired. To me it seems, you take a 70/30 chance with the odds against you of having a "good" experience at a restaurant and even less of having a "great" experience. Have you looked at the cost of eating out these days?

Lots of new restaurants in the area now that "compete" for your business. I was glad to see the new Jim N Nick's open in Pace. J n N's is a 40-year BBQ concept with impressive roots and management that allow it to be highly successful. There's lots of reasons why.

This J n N's model was a little different than what I expected and is what they refer to as the QC+ (Quick and Casual) business model. You place your order at the counter, be seated where you like and your meal is then delivered and any other needs taken care of.

This worked really well and allowed ample time to look over of the menu and to place your order. If anything, I saw that orders were delivered in far less time than I expected. Everything that I saw come from the kitchen looked amazing! For those who might prefer a more traditional sit down experience there is the bar area where they are happy to accommodate you. This is where my wife and I sat.

We wanted to try a little of everything. I ordered a 3-meat meal while she ordered a 1/2-chicken meal. We had 4-different sides. Ribs with both traditional and Carolina pulled pork, smoked chicken, baked beans, coleslaw collards, fries and some cheese biscuits arrived in record time.

Quality and taste was "off the charts" great. "Everything" was cooked to perfection. Quantity? You'd thought they were feeding an army. All of the sauces we tried were exceptional as were the cheese biscuits!

The accolades don't end there. There's a "culture" here that's not often found. A culture where the employees seem pleased to be there and have a "genuine" desire to take care of you. From the young lady that opened the door and greeted us to the 2-ladies who took care of us at the bar we felt "at home." Kaylin and KeKe are as good as it gets! This speaks volumes to the owner operator of the business. I asked to personally meet Rich to say thank you and who made it obvious "why" this business leaves us wanting to return again, soon!

This restaurant has my "highest"...

I'm so glad folks have rated Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q so well. However, I was not all that impressed. Don't get the wrong, the service was great and appreciated. Also, our food arrived rather quickly. But to be honest the pulled pork was not that great. Good BBQ does not need sauce. Secondly, as one reviewer stated the Brisket was dry. I'll give them a pass on the Brisket because it is not easy to smoke.

If you offer a vinegar sauce at least give some effort. A BBQ vinegar sauce must have spices. And usually it has just the slightest amount of "kick" to it. Their standard BBQ sauce is serviceable but is sorely lacking and I could tell it was lacking as soon as I saw the color of the sauce.

Lastly, Jim 'N Nicks offers Carolina BBQ with Mustard sauce. NOTE to Jim 'N Nicks, not all of "Carolina" uses Mustard. We are from the upstate of S.C. where the sauce is tomato based and usually a dark amber color. The lower part of the State is indeed Mustard based sauce. While most of North Carolina prefers vinegar. I realize the above is a bit obtuse and nick picking. But the sauce on the table is just not that great.

As an "ex" BBQ competition promoter...I feel I have a rather decent grasp on bad BBQ, Good BBQ, and Great BBQ. Jim 'N Nicks falls between...

You never get a second chance at a first impression and our first impression of our first visit to any Jim 'N Nick's was stellar! We were greeted by a friendly, sparkling smile and lilting voice from one of the staff (Bria?). Our questions were patiently answered in clear detail. The food arrived quickly and was HOT and most importantly, mouth-wateringly tasty. I had the marbled brisket, pulled pork and pulled chicken. My wife had the brisket. We were provided with generous portions of each. The cheddar dinner rolls were SUPERB! The only (relatively negative) comment is: we wished we were initially offered the meats without BBQ sauce, as we learned a "sampler tray" of their sauces was available. The house BBQ sauce was very tasty. The various staff members that checked on us were all polite and eager to please. Chef Allen, GM Lynette, and Larry (the CEO!) all positively interacted with us. The overall feeling of the staff's (and management's) appreciation for our visit and how we were treated is why we'll be steady customers. We very strongly recommend patronizing this restaurant. NOTE: Nothing frozen or microwaved. Reason? No freezers; no microwaves. ALL FRESH. Sonny's will be...