Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009
Big Barbecue Flavor at Big KT's
BIG KT's BBQ SHACK
Setting the Table
What a difference a few months and a lot of work can make. In August Big KT's BBQ Shack was a literal description of the building (a shack) at 1501 U.S. 17 S. in North Myrtle Beach. Inside it was bare concrete floor, bare walls and barely any promise of turning it into a nice place to eat. Outside the appearance was even more dismal.
But then Big KT - that's owner Kim Talbot - rolled up his sleeves to his impressive biceps and began transforming.
Now there's a handsome pine plank ceiling, creamy mustard-yellow walls, pleasant vintage beach-inspired art, a nice little front porch and a really cool cigar-smoking shade-wearing pig logo. Tables are oak with matching Danish modern chairs, and to the left of the tables is a roomy L-shape bar with a couple of Megatouch games and a couple of televisions. Another bigger TV is high on the wall at the far end of the dining room, over a Silver Strike Bowling game. Near the front door is a TouchTunes juke box.
He may be new to the Grand Strand restaurant scene, but Talbot is a Myrtle Beach native and has 25 years' restaurant ownership experience to his credit. When Talbot left Myrtle Beach he moved to the North Carolina mountains where he owned and operated Green River BBQ in Saluda, N.C. It is still open; his ex-wife owns it now. Green River has been featured in a couple of barbecue cookbooks and in a public television show about barbecue, he said.
Down the Hatch
Talbot slow-cooks his chopped pork, beef brisket, chopped chicken and smoked turkey. The brisket cooks 12 to 15 hours, the pork stays over the fire 9 or 10 hours, and the ribs go 3 or 4 hours. You can get the meat on small or large sandwiches ($4.25-$5.75), which come with slaw or fries.
Plates (pork, sliced beef, pork ribs, barbecue chicken, smoked turkey) start at $8.95 for a small chopped pork barbecue, and run up to $14.95 for a full rack of ribs. Plates include two sides, and those choices are French fries, sweet potato fries, slaw, hushpuppies, barbecue slaw, mustard potato salad, baked potato salad, barbecue beans, Brunswick stew and tomato pie.
Finger foods include fried dill pickles and jalapeno poppers, and you can take home pints of sides and meats and sauces, or a whole barbecue chicken for $11.95, or a rack of ribs for $12.95. Beverages include soft drinks, tea, coffee and beer, including PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon), Bud Light, Sam Adams, Yuengling and Blue Moon on draft.
When a friend and I visited for lunch, several singles were at the bar enjoying the day's lunch special of a small barbecue sandwich, a cup of chili or Brunswick stew, slaw and iced tea or coffee for $5.95. That's what my companion ordered, and he enjoyed it all. The chili "has a bit of a kick," he said, "in a pleasant way."
I ordered a half-rack of ribs, sweet potato fries and Brunswick stew. The stew is also mildly spicy, and is a terrific example of this hearty vegetable/chicken Southeastern specialty. Ribs were served with a modest amount of barbecue sauce glaze, which Talbot says is a combination of all his sauces. Those four sauces are on every table in squeeze bottles: Mild, Hot, Mustard and Vinegar. The sweet potato fries were perfectly crispy-tender, and I like that the serving size is moderate, because often restaurants overdo it with the fries.
Check Please
Dessert when we visited was fresh blackberry cobbler ($3.45), which we could not resist. It has a thick-yet-flaky, slightly sugared and gorgeously-browned top crust on a pool of sweet blackberry syrup and hot berries. No ice cream was offered, and it didn't need it. This dessert stands alone just fine.
Big KT's is the first to open of four new barbecue restaurants coming to the Grand Strand, and it's going to be hard to beat for tastiness, friendliness and affordability.
Big KT's BBQ Shack is at 1501 U.S. 17 S., North Myrtle Beach. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. You can place carry-out orders by calling 427-4117.
Becky Billingsley serves daily restaurant news at MyrtleBeach RestaurantNews.com.
