original q shack

theribswere actually quite good. the original q shack serves spare ribs, pre-cut and lightly glazed. they were cooked almost perfectly – tender but not falling off the bone, with a good combination of sauce and a dry rub taste. this is the meat i would recommend and would have if i ever find myself back.

service. prices are incorrect on the website. they would not honor the pricing. not good business. okra was soggy. hush puppies soggy too!ribswere the best.

dropped in when i was in the neighborhood today and was really happy i did. being located in the nc bbq dmz, durham is in the headwaters of eastern style, an hour east of lexington and far from the thick tomato western style, i had no clue what to expect.

ordered a combo plate of brisket, ribs, and smoked sausage along with sides of creamed spinach and mac and cheese. just offering sausage is almost a novelty in nc, but to learn that it is straight outta texas and not available at a big box stores was a real treat. i highly recommend it! the brisket was smoked well and had a little rub on it, well done for a restaurant. but the star of the meat show were the ribs. while overdone by my standards, they were the cliche fall off the bone perfection that most people want. the combination of the rub, sauce and hickory smoke were about the bestribsi've had at a restaurant. the weatern-ish sauce is very well done, sweet and savory. the sides were a little unconventional, but very well done. the m&c is certainly homemade, was perfectly done and super cheesy and had an abundance of black pepper, which i really enjoyed, however some may not. the creamed spinach was excellent although certainly non traditional in a bbq joint.

lastly the hush puppies were very good and when combined with the western sauce almost evaporated once they were uncovered.

i recognize that i am raving about a bbq shack in nc and didnt try any pulled pork, but to my defense, when the other meat is so well done, maybe next time i will try one of the many other protein treats, but i can assure you theribsand sausage will be on my plate.

really good!. might be bestribsthis northern boy has had! bit pricy but very large portions. i liked must better over the pulled pork and brisket. hush puppies ok...but don't forget the okra.

there's better, especially the pork. came here for the pork barbecue, which is identified as smoked pork butt - hum, a hint, perhaps the aforementioned smoked pork butt is shredded, not chopped - falling into the definition of pulled pork, or in this case - pulled smoked pork butt.

it comes out of the kitchen very lightly sauced, close to dry, and with out the pork barbecue taste that i favor. there is a hint of smokiness, which i guess comes from a combination of hickory and mesquite wood that is used here. the vinegar based sauce helped some, but to me this is just ordinary pork barbecue, and is not a version i would seek out again. sandwich, with 3 or 4 hush puppies and a side, goes for $5.95

the slaw was more like a salad than the slaw normally associated with pork barbecue, at least in north carolina - a touch sweet, not to my liking. the fries here might be quite good, but my order was under done. the hush puppies were nice. the brisket was very good, but the plate is a little pricey at $10.95 - regular brisket plate at smokey's bbq shack in morrisville is $8.89 with hush puppies and 2 sides.ribswere also just ok.

botom line, nothing really special here, at least not for my taste. it seems that most barbecue joints that offer multiple smoked meat choices rarely offer a good chopped pork product.