Blues BBQ – South Charleston, WV
Dan says…
West Virginia is at such a weird latitude when it comes to food. The southern part of the state has, well, southern food, but the northern oddity – kraut and weiners can be found on menus, too. Pepperoni rolls are a specialty of the Fairmont and Clarksburg areas along with lots of Italian restaurants. You can find good crab cakes in the eastern panhandle, and you might as well be in Pittsburgh if you are in any county north of Wheeling. That leaves Charleston in some culinary void. Charleston is not southern enough to have a BBQ tradition of its own like South Carolina, Tenneessee, and Texas. What we do have is Blues BBQ on Jefferson Road in South Charleston. (Ownership Info – Blues BBQ sold their downtown location to a family member who is running it as O’Kay’s, but that is a different review.)
Blues BBQ has a loyal following and it is popular with several running buddies of mine. I would eat there more often, but I married a vegetarian so it’s not in the family’s rotation, dooh! Blues could be called a “BBQ Joint” since it is so small. It has five booths, a six top and a counter. The decor is mostly muscian and movie posters from the Jimmy Hendrix era. Saying that this place is broken in is an understatement. It is clean, but could stand a fresh coat of paint and some new fixtures.
The menu is simple. If a BBQ joint has more than 10 entrees don’t expect great food. Making good pulled pork and ribs takes time, and that doesn’t leave time for other non-BBQ items like veggie burgers. Blues has about several varieties of pulled pork sandwiches. I have tired all their sauces and I prefer the Blues Original. It is sweet and spicy with a thick consistency and I believe it closely resembles a Kansas City BBQ style. The Carolina sauce is a light vinegar-based sauce and it is good if you like that style. They have a Williamsburg style, which I will not describe for fear of misrepresenting it (think molasses). Ribs and burgers round out the menu with some munchies to go with the good selection of bottled beer. One of the signature dinner items is the Jamaican Jerked Chicken. For $8.99 you get a huge portion of chicken and three sides. This chicken is fall off the bone tender and spicy.
The Jamaican Jerked Chicken Sandwich is a new menu item for the Jefferson Road location. It is hand pulled chicken topped with Carolina kraut and pepper jack cheese. It is brow sweatin’ spicy and the kraut is really good. I could take or leave the cheese. I think a yogurt based sauce would go nice to cool the chicken, much like the riata sauce is used in Indian cuisine. This is a big sandwich, but it is a pricey $6.99 with no sides. I added the battered onion rings and baked beans for an addtional $2.59. The onion rings rock! Even if they are frozen. The baked beans are some of the best I’ve ever had. They are rich and thick with pulled pork added for flavor. I washed it all down with a Great Lakes – Dortmunder Gold. Blues has always had a nice selection of microbrews. I was told that they are not carrying the Rouge Dead Guy Ale, becuse the distributor has rasied the price above $10 per six pack. I wish that they had real frosted mugs.
I haven’t had a bad meal here, but since the sandwich is over priced without sides and the dining room needs a coat of paint, I rate Blues BBQ Three Forks.
1109 Jefferson Rd
Charleston, WV
(304) 744-8335
6 responses so far ↓
The Vegetarian Wife // May 28, 2008 at 9:50 pm |
“…and that doesn’t leave time for other non-BBQ items like veggie burgers.”
I don’t expect them to hand-pat the soy. How long does it really take someone to throw a Boca in the microwave? I’m just sayin’.
SagaciousHillbilly // October 17, 2008 at 10:14 am |
Last I checked Blues “BBQ” was pressure cooking their meat. That aint bbq and deserves NO rating at all.
pittsburgh bbq // November 10, 2009 at 1:29 pm |
great place great food. looking forward to going back there again
Phil I. Stein // November 10, 2009 at 5:22 pm |
Glad this old entry popped up in recent comments so hillbilly’s lie can be corrected. the BBQ is smokes and anyone who has actually ever been there would no doubt see the smoker as it is indeed a tiny place.
Why this bozo likes to lie, I don’t know. People can disagree about liking or disliking something but mean spirited lies intended to harm hard wodking people trying make a living is pure slime.
Hippie Killer // November 12, 2009 at 6:43 pm |
Sagacious Hillbilly hates everything. Didn’t you get the memo?
Phil I. Stein // November 13, 2009 at 10:17 am |
I got no quarrel with the hating.
If he wants to say he thinks the bbq sucks and tell us how it doesn’t compare to the authentic bbq he eats when he visits Mississippi juke joints and rubs shoulders with all the down home African-Americans who adore him — and share their best meat with him because he’s so much cooler than y’all– I’d let him be.
But, he should be able to get by lying only about himself and not make up negative things about others.