Sweet Carolina Barbecue Company — Restaurant in Toms River

It was our first time and we went there on a Friday around 7:00pm. The staff was friendly. They only had a table with 4 people eating in. We told the lady (owner ?) That it was our first time, so she was excited to welcome us. She explained a few things and we decided on the pulled pork plate and the sandwich version. They were out of Mashed potatoes and brisket. We will try them next time. One thing we realized was that the prices online were way higher than on site. Good surprise but it had given us some kind of negative idea, a con because it seemed expensive for what the pictures were showing. Maybe they can get that fixed because that might turned away some potential customers. Back to the food. It took less than 10 minutes to get served. They have real silverware and plastic straws. :) The plate came with some hush puppies and 2 sides of our choice. We picked fried okra and a slice of corn bread. The sandwich came with fries. They have a sauce as well to dip your sides. On the table, ketchup, sweet BBQ sauce and the buffalo one. The BBQ sauce was good and simple. I had a lot of it. I enjoyed it all. We will definitely go back to try something else. The menu is not extensive but as long as the food is good and fresh, who cares. They also have burgers... something that I had missed on the online menu. Food was good. Service was good. Maybe an extra trah can would be nice but we were instructed to leave everything on the table, that they would take care of it. What was lacking was the decor and atmosphere. That made me think about the music, it was older tunes and I liked it. They have 2 license plates from North Carolina, a map, 2 funny tin signs and... that's pretty much it. The walls are grey. It's really bare. I understand that we go there for the food but the atmosphere is important as well. They need to find their vibe. Like "Shut up and Eat", "Mission BBQ", etc. It was well organized, too "strict", too safe. I will go back and offer my services to help them improve on that point but also their Facebook page and maybe the food presentation because they could...

Our first visit to Sweet Carolina Barbecue in Toms River (1839 Hooper Avenue, in the plaza with Red Rose Bakery and Philly Pretzel Factory. It's across Hooper Avenue from Lenny's Silverton Market.)

In the first pic, closest to the camera is their Chicken Filet sandwich, which is breaded chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, and onion on a soft, toasted roll. It comes with fries and a pickle for $12. Very delicious. I did not add any mayo or BBQ sauce. Second pic shows their Sweet Burger, super-thick, super-juicy (ordered medium rare), with onion rings, cheddar and BBQ sauce. With fries and a pickle for $14.

We added sides of mac & cheese and coleslaw, both of which were housemade. The flavor on the mac & cheese is very good. It's not baked and has more of a 'wet' sauce. The coleslaw is a few steps above what you find in most places.

They also have Cheerwine soda, and have Zero Sugar in cans, and the regular version in cans or at the self-serve fountain. (Cheerwine is a brand associated with the South, and has a flavor that is very similar to Dr. Pepper, with a heavy cherry-forward flavor.)

You place your order at the counter, seat yourself, and the friendly staff brings everything out. Everything was clean, and the food was quickly, accurately prepared. ...

Wow this was bad. Maybe for northern Yankees who don't know what Carolina BBQ is supposed to taste like, this is considered good but for anyone who spent any time living in the South, this was not good. Who uses spiral noodles for their Mac and cheese and why did they use wall spackle for their cheese? Ain't no one's mama in Moore County ever made Mac and Cheese that looked like that. I get it, Carolina BBQ is vinegar based but come on, the key to life is moderation. The vinegar was overpowering and distracted from the meat. Now to the meat, I've never had BBQ that tough before. The tough meat combined with an overpowering vinegar made it rather unappealing. Now to the one bright spot. The way I evaluate the quality of a REAL BBQ joint is how do they make their collards. Surprisingly they knocked it out of the park. I would put their collards up against some of the finest BBQ joints in NC, eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia. Those collards were incredible. The staff was friendly and the restaurant area had a decent vibe to it but someone especially their pit master needs to spend a few months living in Carolina to see what quality BBQ is supposed to taste like and learn how to make...