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Creekside BBQ

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Bar-b-que

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Pelham

THE DOWN LOW

I had my mind blown today!  Absolutely mesmerized!  Dazed and confused!  I don’t know what kind of culinary voodoo is going on in the Creekside BBQ kitchen, but it’s left me befuddled.  It has to be some kind of enchantment, a mystical spell, some kind of hocus pocus that's been brought to light only by the Creekside pitmaster.  Or maybe it’s beast master, or master blaster, or master and commander, oh captain my captain.  Whatever power or authority is held by this place makes for a literally indescribable meal.  I’ll explain later.


Before the Creekside location became Creekside BBQ it was a Waffle House.  This previous life has led to a lot of my confusion.  How can the ruins of an old, run-down Waffle House be resurrected into a trendy, cool barbecue joint that belies the traditional fare of greasy spoons everywhere.  I couldn’t wrap my head around it and I couldn’t bring myself to try it without any type of recommendation.  My prejudice towards its previous life stunted my sense of adventure.  Even as I drove by it on the interstate, month after month, with cars filling the parking lot, I couldn’t bring myself to stop.  Terrible mistake.  This site is reborn and Creekside BBQ is alive!


This place is so exciting!  The atmosphere, décor, the setting, everything about it is imaginative, clean, and relaxed.  The dining rooms feels very bright and felt spacious even though it was very busy during the lunch hour.  I ate inside but the patio is super cool.  A steady flow of customers chose to sit outside where there’s a view of the creek, just perfect for a warm, sunny day.  I love the mix of texture, with wood, metal, slate, glass, all harmonizing in rustic and modern style.  Yes, the physical restaurant is cool, but bad food has wrecked many beautiful restaurants.  And good food has saved many ugly ones.  Refer back to paragraph one. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened today.


OH…MY…GOODNESS!!!  The pulled pork was absolutely brilliant!  The taste and texture were unlike anything I’ve had before.  The thing about it is I couldn’t pick out any distinct flavors.  This is the moistest pork I’ve ever had without it being greasy.  When I pressed it with my fork the juice would come right to the top.  That’s flavor that you can see.  Whatever they’re doing, it makes one unique bite that could be classified as its own flavor.


That brings a thought to mind.  As I’ve eaten at more and more barbecue restaurants, my palate is slowly developing to where I can pick out individual flavors.  I can tell if something contains a lot of cayenne, what type of sweetener it uses, if there’s a balance of acid, you get the point.  I’m not skilled at this but I’m learning to recognize individual elements and how they work together.  As I mentioned with the pork, I couldn’t make out any distinct flavors.  The pork as a whole was the distinct flavor.  The same goes for both of their sauces.  On the table was a bottle of white sauce and a tan sauce, which must be their version of a red.  The tan sauce was one uniform flavor and was amazing!  The white was silky smooth and kind of refreshing.  I’ll have to try them again and really concentrate if I’m to share more specifics.  All I can say is both were amazing on the pork and I had the tan sauce on my bread.  So delicious!


The baked beans were very good.  They were sweet and smoky with real bacon pieces and so tender.  There was a depth of flavor that comes from really working your ingredients.  I gave the feta potato salad a go.  It had red potatoes, mayo and green onions with plenty of feta cheese.  The cut on the potatoes was chunky and the cook was firm, completely different from the smooth and creamy texture commonly associated with potato salad.  The fries are golden and well-seasoned, and they serve something called a grit cake, which I’ve been told is fantastic!  My buddy that I ate lunch with raved about the brisket, so I pulled a bite off his sandwich.  It sort of flaked apart and was smoky with a bit of char, which I enjoy.  I also have a coworker who recommended the pork belly sandwich.  The what?!  I don’t know exactly what’s going on there, but I already have enough reasons to go back.


Bonus points for:

Order at the counter

Coke products

Self-serve fountain drinks

Sauce on the table

TV with sports

Exceptional baked beans

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