City Barbeque — Restaurant in South Carolina

This is way above average chain barbecue for a great price. My wife, two teenagers, and toddler got the family pack and had enough for my two early elementary schoolers who'd been snacking also to fill up AND for me to have lunch the next day for about 28 dollars by getting the family meal. This came with some surprisingly moist, tender, and flavorful shredded pork; 4 pieces of corn bread that were big enough to halve; several buns (which we didn't use at the restaurant, so they weren't a factor in our filling up there); and two sides.

The sides we went with were macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. The cole slaw was great. It was coarsely chopped for a satisfying texture, and the dressing was neither too sweet nor too vinegary. The macaroni was more divisive, because the cheese used was either smoked or aged. My wife thought it was okay. One of my teenagers, my toddler, and I liked it. Everyone else only took one bite. However, there's a wide variety of sides available.

Speaking of wide variety, City Barbecue has several barbecue sauces available, 5 that I can remember. They have one called Swine Wine that's red wine vinegar based (I'm pretty sure) with chili pepper. Their original tastes like a mix of tomato and vinegar based, so you can have the best of both worlds. They have an Eastern Carolina vinegar and mustard based one called Low Country. They have another spicy one based on the Texas tradition and a sweet tomato based sauce (Memphis style) whose names escape me. They're all quite good, providing unique and tasty experiences within the familiar archetypes.

The service was incredible for a fast casual place. The young lady taking our order was very patient and answered all our questions, even providing additional pertinent information beyond the scope of our questions, as we dealt with our decision overload. At the end of our meal, staff were quick to get us boxes and help us with our dishes, even though dishes were supposed to be self-bussed.

My only complaints about the whole experience of eating there are that the cornbread was a little too crumbly, despite being moist and having excellent flavor; and that there were too many seats and customers for the space available. However, if they'd had fewer seats then we may not have gotten in, as the place was packed.

With all those positives and those few minor gripes, we'll...

We visited the new City BBQ location on a late Saturday afternoon around 5:30pm. It was very busy both inside, and the drive thru line. Upon entering it gives the aesthetics of a Chipotle restaurant as far as the open back area, which is a welcomed change of pace for many BBQ places. The staff was very friendly and helpful in explaining menu options during the ordering process. We decided to review the pulled chicken, brisket, ribs, mac n' cheese & baked beans. There was a wait for the food, maybe 20-25 minutes, which felt a little longer than it should have taken, but again, they were slammed both inside and out, so that wasn't a huge issue. No one really explains it to you, but after you order, you should go find a table or seat and they will literally call your name out loud to come up and get your order. The pulled chicken was alright, nothing to write home about. It actually seemed like just a good item to explore their various sauces with, and they did not disappoint. The brisket was really good. I'm not a HUGE brisket person, but it was pretty much just as I like it. Tender, juicy, flavorful. The portions were fair. The ribs were my personal favorite item of all. They were well prepared, tender, perfectly seasoned/sauced and a half rack was a pretty good portion. The mac n' cheese was typical BBQ style, kind of felt like they were "just add __" something, not bad, but its not something that I would be looking for upon returning. The baked beans were really good though. The toast that is served with the meal is also a perfect match! Not too bready, but not a bun or roll. I definitely recommend trying them out, have the ribs, be sure to play with the sauces and don't skip the toast! I will be checking out the peach cobbler I spotted on a neighbors table and a couple of the other sides that looked...

Edit: Unfortunately after trying this place half a dozen times, I'm going to have to decrease my original 4 stars to a low average 2.5/rounded to 3 stars. We keep hoping it'll get better, but the wings are either overcooked or too salty. They are never consistent. The ribs and brisket have not been tender the last few time. The last 2 times, ranch has been forgotten, which is a bummer because their ranch is really good. I tried their fried chicken sandwich. It had the potential to be good, but it looks deceiving. The chicken (inside the coating) was very very thin. At first glance, it looks like you're going to bite into a thick juicy chicken breast, but the chicken was maybe a 1/4 inch or less in thickness, and very very dry and chewy. It was only saved by the sauce.

Intial review: We went through the drive-thru and the attendant was very very nice. A+ on her part. We ordered "The Motherload" and 18 smoked wings. Wings: a bit small and pretty salty Ranch: Amazing (and countered the saltiness of the wings) Green Beans: Good flavor Collards: Good and tangy Macaroni and Cheese: Good but not great French Fries: Teen approved, especially with the ranch Chicken: tender and tasty Ribs: Really good snd husband approved Brisket: tasty but wished for a bit more flavor in the crust Pulled Pork: Good basic pulled pork, best as a sandwich Turkey: Okay, but probably wouldn't get again Sausage: Eh, it wasn't a favorite Bread: Teens devoured Cornbread: nope, no one liked it. Too much like cake. Banana Pudding: Amazing

Overall thoughts: good for the price, and we'll probably return. Do we recommend? Yes. EDITED: it's a toss up on recommending. Would I go for the BBQ? Nah. Banana...