85 South (Closed)

Item: 85 South
Rating: 5
Author: Dead2k1

3.5

21 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

580

Central

$51-100

Western American BBQ Western Restaurant Bar

Dead2k1

Level2

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Saw 85 South's booth at Clockenflap this weekend and immediately planned a visit.

Showed up about 8:15pm for dinner with 6 friends of mine. The dining setup is similar to barbecue joints I've been to in the US. You place your order at the counter first and then find a seat. Seating is limited to 3 picnic tables which seat about 8 each (unless there's someone being selfish by occupying a space with a bag like these guys did today).
Now, disclaimer, although I LOVE barbecue and was fortunate enough to try some of the best barbecue in America (lived in Missouri), I only have a basic grasp of what makes barbecue yummeh in the tummeh.
I ordered the Big Boi Plate and an Arnold Palmer (for a total of about 150$) which I took a bite of before taking a picture... I just couldn't wait.

The Big Boi consists of ribs, pulled pork, two scoops of slaw, and fries. It's not huge, and I wouldn't consider it american sized like me, BUT! It should be enough for the average human. (For reference, I ate two thanksgiving dinners one night last week)

Now onto the dirty details.
85 does a dry rub for their ribs before smoking them. The ribs are excellent. They rub was full of flavor and the meat was still moist after the smoking. The style of these ribs differs from those I've had before in that the ribs I had in Missouri were given a heavy HEAVY rub and saucing before the smoke and the smoke was a large part of the taste. These at 85 were a wonderful new experience for my mouth, placing emphasis more on the meat and the rub than the smokiness, which of course was still there.
The ribs went great with all 3 of their sauces, but my favorite was the...one in the red bottle. Followed closely by the mustard and vinegar sauces. I believe the red was the 'west' tomato based sauce. The red sauce was the clear winner at my table, with the bottle EMPTY by the time we finished our meals. The choice of sauces was also a new experience, and I'd never had sauce quite like the vinegar before; it's not too sharp, and surprisingly goes quite well with the barbecue. I'm more used to thick, heavy, and sweet or peppery sauces.
The pulled pork was also delicious. Once again, I liked it with the red sauce, but it was also great with the mustard sauce.
To drink I had an Arnold Palmer and then a sweet tea. The drinks were solid, and served in a red dixie-style cup.
Onto the slaw. It was truly, a different experience. Slaw in my mind has always been mayonnaise and other stuff. This slaw was different, it was less heavy with the sauce as 'typical' coleslaw, and was a pleasure to eat. It is also darker in color than regular slaw, due to the tomato base of 85's slaw.
After the big boi I had to have more, so I got a pulled pork sandwich. Report on that? Same old, same old. It was solid. The bun was toasted and hot (nice touch. shows they really care about detail) and the pork was topped with a healthy sized scoop of slaw.

The only issue I had with my experience was that food came out slower than I'd have liked and seating took a while due to the crowd. I'd recommend going during off-hours if you don't like waiting. The food is all solid, and I make this next comment only out of personal preference. I think 85 south could try getting softer, sweeter, bread for the sandwiches. It's nice when the bread and pork have almost the same consistency and almost become part of each other. It's just a personal preference though, and maybe it wouldn't go well with their North Carolina style of barbecue. Overall, 85 South is SOLID and I would really recommend it if you were in the mood for some good american barbecue.
Oh, and here's a photo of the menu.