Carolina Baseball Trip

Eat at Buxton Hall.

 

12 Bones is better BBQ, but they have wonky hours (including being open only for lunch Mon-Fri and closed on the weekend), Buxton is good as well though. And open for dinner.

 

In my opinion, 12 bones is not better. Not even close. Cheaper but definitely not better. Buxton has been on point last few times I’ve been there.

 

If you like IPA and don’t hit Resident Culture, you are REALLY missing out. Legion is also very solid.

 

I like 12 Bones, but Buxton is the much better overall experience especially for a visitor. It’s right in the South Slope and has longer hours like you mentioned. It’s also got a James Beard nominated chef.

But you certainly could not go wrong hitting 12 Bones, or Luella’s for that matter.

 

I meant at the baseball stadium I typically drink Hi-Wire. You could visit them as well. Other than Burial I typically stay away from the South slope.

 

For the random visitor, I'd agree. For someone looking for the 'NC BBQ experience' (which admittedly isn't what OP asked) 12 Bones feels more authentic to me. Though I haven't made it to the new location or the place in Arden.

 

Pour is a cool concept, especially if you've never been to a pour-yourself place. I've been to a couple now (Asheville, Morganton, Denver) and the novelty wears off a bit, but its still pretty cool to pour however much you want.

Out of Catawba, French Broad, and Hillman I'd definitely go with Hillman. French Broad is fairly meh and I don't know if the Catawba at Biltmore Village has any of the one-offs that the Catawba on South Slope has that makes it at least somewhat interesting.

For me, out of those 4 Charlotte places, I'd pick NoDa and Wooden Robot. I really like the NoDa brewery and its spacious on a nice day. Wooden Robot turns out some really good beer as well; What He's Having What She's Having, and What I'm Having are all solid IPA-family beers.

 

To me Buxton is a great restaurant but it feels too big and 'fancy' to be a bbq place. I certainly eat at Buxton more often because of the location and the hours. I said something similar about the Pit in Raleigh when Ed Mitchell was running it (and he has some serious bbq chops), just didn't 'feel' right. But I certainly did (and still do) like eating at the Pit as well.

Hell, its tough for me to call anywhere with cocktails a bbq joint

 

As far as the extra 2 of 4 Charlotte breweries, definitely pick up Wooden Robot. Unless you're just looking for a great venue, I would drop Sycamore from your consideration. To me, they pick up alot of their business due to their location and their wonderful outdoor space, not their beer.

So I guess my other recommendation would be between Triple C and Noda. I don't visit either often. I enjoy Triple C's barrel aged beers that release seasonally but have grown pretty bored with their core lineup. Noda definitely has a cooler space. I feel like most of their beer falls into the "meh" category for me. Nothing ever blows me away but nothing is awful either. For a first-time visitor, I'd probably recommend Noda over Triple C.

 

I hear ya, it is definitely fancier than a classic bbq joint. But I think it fits the Asheville vibe to elevate it into more of an artisanal thing

The Pit in Raleigh is fancy for a bbq place too, but the difference is their food is not very good. Buxton at least delivers on the expectation IMO.

 

If you can walk to Pour then you can walk to Hi-Wire or App Vintner. Both of which will offer you better beer than Pour will. I have always found Pour to be average beers at extremely high prices because they charge you per ounce.

 

In Asheville and near where your staying is Moe’s BBQ. They have good wings. They had burial and Fonta Flora on tap the other day. It sits between Hillman and Catawba.

 

The Pit was pretty darn good when it first opened and Ed Mitchell was around. But yeah, that's been years now.

 

App Vintner is definitely worth checking out. They'll oftentimes have the best tap list in the city plus they have a ton of interesting bottles.