Last updated: August 10, 2020

In the Weeds

Thumbing through my well worn copy of Robert F. Moss’ Barbecue: The History of an American Institution, I was struck by a passage describing the first written account of barbecue. It’s mid-morning some time during the summer of 1706 in the small colonial town of Peckham, Jamaica, a motley gang of British sailors had been up all night getting drunk on rum. They got it into their minds that they would try to replicate the feasts they had seen so many of the island natives and slaves preparing, a tradition that went back centuries and may have started with the Taino people of Hispaniola. The sailors found three pigs, slaughtered them, split them open, scooped out their soft innards, and placed them on wooden racks over hot coals to cook until evening. 

One of these drunken buffoons conjured up a sauce of green Virginia peppers and madeira wine, basting the beasts as they slowly turned into barbecue. In an odd and disgusting touch, a severed fox tail was used to spread this hastily made concoction over the skin of the cooking pigs. The smell wafting through the Jamaican air would have been familiar to any modern pitmaster. If those British sailors could be transported to the world of today, one of the only things they would recognize is a modern barbecue cook pit — a sign of how tradition-bound and conservative the world of barbecue really is. 

Located in the same shopping center as another Unpretentious Palate favorite, Boiling Pot, is Bobbee O’s, the best barbecue in North Charlotte, and some of the best barbecue in the area period. I stake that claim in large part to the excellence of the baby back ribs at Bobbee O’s. Less fatty than their St. Louis-style counterparts, baby back ribs still pack a lot of flavor with fall-off-the-bone tenderness and the woodsmoke infusion from slow cooking over wood embers. The baby back ribs at Bobbee O’s also have the distinction of being hefty enough to put a professional eater into a near permanent food coma. 

Of course, we have to talk about that sauce. Bobbee O’s puts a lot of its reputation on the back of its homemade barbecue sauce, what they affectionately call “da’ sauce.” A slight variant of Kansas City sweet red sauce, da’ sauce has sugary notes up front that give way to hints of peppery spice that linger on the palate. Generous amounts of da’ sauce are applied to the ribs for their slow cooking, creating a nice caramelization. After they’re done on the pit, they get another good slathering of da’ sauce before they’re ready to be devoured. 

Bobbee O’s does a lot more than just ribs; other protein options include pulled pork, brisket, chicken wings, hot links, and various burgers. Two of these stand out from the group: the pulled pork and the hot links. Due to its many fervent devotees, the popularity of Texas beef brisket has exploded in the last few years. I have my qualms about this popularity, mainly that a ribeye cooked in a cast-iron skillet at your favorite steakhouse is the best expression of beef’s flavorful potential, and the fact that fattier, and therefore more delicious, pulled pork takes a backseat to this Texas scene stealer. I’m a Carolina boy; love of the hog runs in my blood. Whether the whole pig or a pork shoulder, pork is the heart of American barbecue, and Bobbee O’s does this vaunted Southern staple due justice. Texture can make or break pulled pork, but the heaps of it you’ll get at Bobbee O’s are a fine mix of crunchy skin, marbled shoulder, and lean meat pulled but not chopped to a pulp. 

Smoked sausage is another staple of Texas barbecue due to the heavy German and Czech migration to the state in the 1800s. Bobbee O’s adds another textual layer to their take by first smoking the links, then frying them and adding some more of da’ sauce. Da’ sauce goes well with both the pulled pork and the links, the sweet and spice helping to balance out the natural fattiness of pork.

Brunswick stew is a dish rapidly disappearing from the menus of Southern restaurants. A tomato-based stew that either has its origins in Germany or Brunswick County, Virginia, it’s a kitchen sink recipe that varies from state to state and cook to cook. Whatever happens to be on hand gets thrown into the stew. Bobbee O’s does theirs with cut-up sausage, chicken, corn, lima beans, onions, and herbs and spices, and its flavor profile matches up nicely with pozole, a popular Mexican stew. 

Sides might take the back seat to any pit barbecue joint but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t also shine. The sides at Bobbee O’s mostly hold up on their own, with five that are must orders: mac-and-cheese, collard greens, fried pickles, baked beans, and their hushpuppies. The mac-and-cheese is not exactly traditional, with larger rigatoni noodles taking the place of the more common macaroni elbows. The noodles are bathed in a velveeta-like sauce that has all the comfort and pleasure of your grandma’s mac-and-cheese from when you were growing up, if not the totally homemade feel. Collards, as far as I’m concerned, are an essential side for any barbecue lunch or dinner. Bobbee O’s collards are especially tender, giving way to the slightest poke from your fork. The earthy complexity of collard greens are a welcome contrast to the heavy flavors of barbecue. 

Fried pickles were all the rage a few years back when places like The Penguin, and its culinary offspring, Pinky’s and The Diamond, were serving them up to hungry customers looking for greasy goodness. Now, they linger around at various establishments with less fanfare. At Bobbee O’s, they’re thick-cut and generously battered, the acidic bite of vinegar softened by the rich, crispy skin. Baked beans hold a special place in my gourmand heart, the ones at Bobbee O’s especially. If you’re looking for the almost sickeningly-sweet flavors of Bush’s Baked Beans, Bobbee O’s is not the place for you. More reminiscent of the frijoles charros I get in the Rio Grande Valley when I’m visiting my wife’s family, these baked beans are subtly spicy and lean heavily on the savory side. Chopped chiles and onions help to heighten the smooth heartiness of the beans.

Service during a pandemic can certainly be forgiven certain hiccups and shortcomings, however, I must say that the service at Bobbee O’s over the years that I have been visiting can, at times,  be frustrating. Most of the time, things run smoothly and my order is quick and accurate. Other times, I am left waiting and waiting, and the food I get might not be what I ordered. 

As discouraging as these lapses in service might be, Bobbee O’s food is good enough to keep me coming back for more, again and again. Barbecue is an ancient art proudly practiced at this North Charlotte joint. And don’t worry, they won’t be basting your pork shoulder, brisket, and ribs with a fox tail. — Travis Mullis

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