Business took me to Durham, NC this past week, but it was my love of great BBQ that took me to downtown Raleigh to visit Ed Mitchell's restaurant, The Pit. Ed is one of the true superstars of the BBQ world. He has been featured many times on TV, including the Today show and Throwdown with Bobby Flay (in which he beat Bobby in a spare rib contest). Ed is not only famous for his traditional NC style BBQ but also for his belief in cooking with local and sustainable vegetables and meat. Ed has organized a co-op of local hog farmers that raise free range hogs (I was told they eat better than most humans) which he then uses for the BBQ in his restaurant. He also sources his vegetables in the same manner. In addition to fantastic BBQ and vegetables, the wine and beer selections are better than most high end restaurants I've visited. I've spent a lot of time in this blog talking about the idea of taking BBQ to the next level and presenting it in a quasi-fine dining format. Unquestionably, The Pit is the closest I have come to seeing that idea manifested.
I had made 7pm reservations at the Pit, but the walls were starting to close in at the hotel by 5pm. So, I decided to show up a little early and have a couple drinks. I am so, so glad I did. I decided to kick off the night with a house specialty, a smoked bourbon and coke. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it tastes fantastic. At first taste, it is a standard bourbon and coke, but then there is this lingering flavor of smoke that really takes the drink to a different level. Right now, you are probably asking the same question I asked when I ordered my drink. How do you smoke bourbon? When I asked the bartender, I learned that the drink is infused with their homemade Hickory extract. My guess is that The Pit is making their own liquid smoke. Sometime in the near future, I intend to see if I can replicate the results here at home. While I was enjoying my cocktail, I took the time to peruse the beer and wine list. The Pit has a dozen boutique beers on draft. I elected to go with a Weizenbock which comes from Downington, PA and weighs in at a staggering 8.77% alcohol by volume. The wine list was equally impressive as you can see in the picture below. Ed and company have even gone to the trouble to suggest certain wines that pair well with each different type of BBQ they serve. It's worth mentioning that The Pit is the first BBQ restaurant that I've visited where you receive three menus (beer, wine, and food) upon being seated.
(pictured above beginning top left and moving counterclockwise - spare ribs, smoked turkey, pulled pork, chopped pork, baby back ribs, cole slaw)
Since I only had one night in Raleigh, I knew I would need to get the most bang for my buck. Luckily, The Pit offers a 5 meat sampler plate (for $12) as part of their Appetizer menu. Far and away, the ribs were the standout. Both cuts were perfectly smoked with a well developed bark and some mysterious sweetness lurking underneath. The pork was definitely North Carolina style, and I chose to dress both with a traditional vinegar sauce. The biggest let down was the smoked turkey. Somehow, it was gamey and off. I've smoked many a turkey and never really encountered this flavor. The cole slaw was a complete throwaway. Over-mayoed and bad. But I didn't really care. I didn't come to The Pit for cole slaw.
It can be a little weird to be a blogger in a restaurant because you tend to whip out your camera and take pictures of your food before you eat it. So, I warned those sitting next to me early in the game that I would be taking pictures and that I wasn't a freak. As a result, I met a great guy named Mark who had assembled a ten-top of out-of-town friends for dinner to introduce them to his favorite cuisine in Raleigh. He was tremendously friendly and had a genuine love of food and BBQ. Then there was Star and Sam (seated to my right). They bellied up to the bar and ordered a plate of wings. It became quickly obvious that they were regulars at the restaurant as several staff members stopped by to say hi. Figuring they knew what was what, I leaned over and asked them for some advice on what sides to sample. We quickly fell into a conversation and I learned they had just dropped off a contract for 300 chicken wings to be served at their wedding in May (congrats!). I was stuffed from my sampler, but when their wing plate arrived they insisted that I try one, as they were obviously the best in the world. I can't say I disagreed. What I noticed about the wings was the rub. Delicious. Mark, Sam,and Star were a perfect example of Southern hospitality and Pit fans. They knew what they liked and they were more than happy to share that opinion with anyone within earshot. I considered them all a key part of the Pit experience. Below is a shot of the bar at The Pit. On the wall to the left is a great picture of Ed Mitchell. If you look very closely to the right of the flash flare in the mirror, you can see Sam.
Since I was in NC, I absolutely had to sample the Brunswick stew. The Pit's stew is not what I would consider a traditional NC stew, but it was still fantastic. By my book, NC stew needs to have limas, potatoes, and mix of both pork and chicken. To my mind, the stew at the Pit more closely resembles a really good vegetable soup. All the vegetables were fresh and locally sourced - green beans, corn, tomato - and the broth was a little thinner than a traditional stew. That said, it was Delicious. The bartender informed me that his breakfast every day was a cup of stew and biscuits with honey. Smart man, that barkeep. After the stew, I ordered a side of BBQ beans which were deliciously smokey, sweet, and just good. And with that, I was done. Maximum capacity reached.
So, lets look at a couple/few pictures of the restaurant, shall we? For a BBQ joint, it's pretty unique.
The view from my seat at the bar towards the back of the house. You can clearly see the size of the bar seating and the magnificent wine wall. Further right of the wine wall is one of three primary dining areas. The fire ry glow in the back left is the kitchen. Nothing was on fire. I just couldn't bring my good camera and was stuck with my craptastic CoolPix.
The Wine Wall. Keep in mind folks, this is a BBQ restaurant. Simply unheard of.
This is a view of the second dining area as seen from the kitchen (the fiery glow from a couple pictures earlier). To the right of this room , there is another dining area of equal size (photo coming up next). In total, The Pit seats roughly 200 and their highest day was 1700 covers.
Dining room number three. Unbelievable.
So, here is where the great mystery begins. What you are looking at is two of Ed's patent-pending cookers on the front line at The Pit. One is empty and the other is full of ribs. The real question is where are the other cookers? There is very, very little chance that these two cookers are supplying enough pork, beef, and turkey to feed several hundred customers a day. My call is that these are show cookers and that there are other cookers somewhere in the back of the house. I know exactly what it takes to feed a thousand or so people a day BBQ, and it usually involves a couple/few Southern Pride cookers. No way is this the whole operation.
This is the only other big letdown from my night at The Pit - roughly 14 feet of steam table and not a chef-type in sight. In the restaurant world, this type of cooking is referred to as scoop and dump. No live fire. No chef or sous chef. It's just pull a lid, and scoop and dump on the plate whatever vegetable or meat the ticket is calling for. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with scoop-and-dump. I've done it a million times, but it felt out of place with all the other trappings and surroundings in the restaurant. I counted a total of 10 kitchen staff and not a single one was firing ribs or any other meat. Although The Pit had come a long way towards my dream of a chef-driven BBQ restaurant, there was no chef on the line making magic happen. Bummer.
All in, I had a great time and a great meal. I would recommend The Pit to anyone that asked and to anyone that didn't. If you find yourself in the Raleigh area, DO NOT miss this restaurant. This is BBQ at its absolute best. The next generation.
