Ed Mitchell’s Que

Unfortunately this location is closed permanently.

Eastern-​style pork. You can get chopped or pulled pork. You also can get Turkey/​Beef Brisket. I have no idea if these are any good. I came for the pork.
Biggest Minus: this place doesn’t feel like a BBQ joint at all. It is «upscale» BBQ dining, which, I think, as a concept, fails. When I eat BBQ, I want to do so in a shack or a family feeling restaurant. That’s part of the BBQ experience for me.
Pork: I got pulled and it was delicious. Moist. Good sauce on the table.
Sides: Slaw was above average. The collards weren’t worth eating. Soupy, large leafs of bland collards. The collard fail (and the atmosphere) is why I gave it a 3. If you want to eat pork in a fancy restaurant, then count my rating as 4 stars.
Another plus is Ed is often on site and is very friendly.

Tried it for the first time on New Year’s Day and I was so glad it was open as I do have some superstitions… One of them is that I must have my Black Eyed Peas and Collards for good luck on New Year’s and I didn’t know where I was getting it… Fortunately, I came upon Que and they were open and had what I needed… They also had a delicious Barbeque Chicken to go with it… Was definitely quite pleased and the entire staff was very friendly… Definitely worth checking it out…

For a check that hit $ 15, I expected just a little bit more.
The portion sizes were great. I definitely left full and even struggled a little at the end. In that sense, the price was good.
Furthermore, the service was pretty good. Our server was a tad awkward, but really friendly and did his best. We were greeted by several staff when we came.
The restaurant had a great atmosphere and nice interior. I loved the decorations and style, which created a good atmosphere.
However, I wasn’t all that impressed by the food. It seems like they’re attempting to please both parties in the Eastern vs. Western Carolina BBQ battle by letting you choose the sauce once you get the BBQ. However, by cooking the BBQ without any sauce, it was a little dry. I also prevented the sauce from really sticking and getting soaked up into the meat. Plus, I didn’t like the sauces regardless. I got the Mac n’ cheese and vegetable medley as a side and enjoyed them though!
In the end, I probably won’t go back. But, I feel like this has the potential to be a good place for someone.

In need of a quick dinner before Wicked at DPAC on a cold Wednesday night, we picked Que because there was a bar with alcohol-​warmth to go with food! Unfortunately the friendly Hostess told us there was a 15-​minute wait. Not having the time to wait, we squeezed in at the bar (she was kind enough to bring us an extra stool) closest to the door, which led to some bone-​chilling door-​opening moments. But we chose to sit there rather than venture on. A nice glass of Cabernet helped me and a Josie Brown made Husband happy.
I wasn’t overly hungry, so I opted for two sides: mac n cheese and collards at just $ 1.99 each. For folks that have griped about the prices, may I say that this was quite the filling dinner for $ 4! Especially considering they threw in some very tasty hushpuppies. Mac n Cheese is rich but not in a creamy way. Rich in a baked butter/​cheese way with a crunchy topping. Collards were just right and extra good with a squirt or two of bbq sauce (yes, both kinds)
Meanwhile, Husband’s brisket sandwich he would rate in the 3 ½ star range. One half of it was considerably fattier than the other. He liked the mac n cheese he chose for his side with it. Also came with a small cup of sweet mayo slaw.
I will say that the gals next to us were enjoying some very good-​looking bbq chicken!
Service: they were busy… Bartender was doing the best she could. I would have had a second glass of wine, but by the time it was offered it was too late. Food took awhile to show up, so if you’re going to a show like we were, plan accordingly. We rushed through ours once it arrived.
Bathrooms: Single-​room. So if it’s locked… wait.

I went in for a very late Lunch this trip.
The food was great all the way around. The staff recommended a mixture of 2 sauces and it was a good call.
I am writing this review weeks after my meal, so I guess I am forced to go back and experience it all again so I can be detailed in the description. Which is not a bad thing.

Minus a star for floors you could ice skate on…
Food is delicious, as ed’s creations never disappoint. The pulled pork is very tender and it’s nice to have the traditional vinegar based as well as tomato based que sauce. The collards have a great hint of vinegar, but could use a little bacon (just me).
Beer options are local on draft which is typical of the ATC.
This is my third time and always enjoy the food. Service was even good this time!

It’s a nice atmosphere in a good location. Our server did a good job. The collards are great. The BBQ has a good flavor, about as much flavor as you can expect with whole hog BBQ. It was a bit dry.
The biggest issue I have is with the prices. For $ 15 for a plate of pulled pork, well, for that price my expectations are high. They should be high, as this is the most expensive BBQ in NC. For the price, I expect the best BBQ in the state, but it isn’t even the best BBQ in town.
I think the BBQ could be great here, but this is a small restaurant and they don’t serve much BBQ. Just count the customers and figure a pig will feed approx 60. It’s pretty simple, you could get fresh BBQ or you could get some that’s been waiting awhile. Also, the western style sauce is not even close to being western style. How can you run out of brisket at noon? How can you run out of lemons at noon?

The food may be great there, but my fiancé and I will never know. We came there after an afternoon show at DPAC and the crowd was light. We were seated quickly but then completely ignored for 10 minutes until we stopped the manager and inquired about where our server was. She then came over, but immediately helped the people right next to us who had just been seated about 30 seconds before she arrived.
We walked out.
The service reviews about this place seem to be spot on unfortunately. Here’s to hoping they fix it… but if not, there are a lot of other dining options in the area.

We haven’t gotten our food yet but the service here is inexcusable. This place is spitting distance from Durham Stadium and there’s a playoff game. You think you would have enough servers to handle the crowd. 10 minute wait to be seated was 25 only after I asked about our table.
10 minutes no server. I asked Host to get us one. She disappeared probably to get back to her phone. I then asked another head host about it. He said he’d get us one. I told him he was not leaving without our order. He out it in. It’s 30 minutes since being seated and still have not met a server. A runner just dropped off hush puppies we ordered.
I usually would leave but I have my family and grandsons here and we have tickets for the game.
Our server (70 minutes) just came up and told us the food is coming soon. A runner brought the food.
The food is average and a disappointment considering the reputation of the owner as a BBQ master.
My first zero tip because our server did nothing. Including asking us if we needed more drinks. I did speak to a manager To explain why I did that.

Update 2÷16÷15: News & Observer story today says this place is closing due to «limited cooking space». And also because it sucked.
We’d been looking forward to trying this and were sorely disappointed. My pulled pork sandwich was completely flavorless and managed to be both greasy and dry at the same time. My husband said his brisket was «ok». Ridiculously overpriced for a bbq place– $ 9 for a sandwich, plates $ 13 and up. The sides — collards and baked beans — were pretty good, and unlike others we had no complaints with service. As others have noted the atmosphere has something of a trying-​too-​hard chain feel, which I can’t understand at all. It’ll be a draw because of the location by the ball park so can always palm off mediocre stuff. Sorry we wasted a meal opportunity there. Won’t go back.

Our visit coincided with a game, so we parked at the parking structure behind the stadium. Pro tip from a local-​friiend: If you mention you’re going to Ed Mitchell’s Que, you will not have to pay the parking fee.
The line was 30 minutes, so we took a table outside, where they’ll start your order (if you’d like), we got our drinks and waited for a table to open up. It was raining, otherwise, we would have eaten outside.
Now, if this is your first time going there, you ABSOLUTELY have to try the N.C. Charcuterie, it’s an assortment of meats and cheeses from North Carolina. A server was kind enough to tell us where everything came from, and it was more than enough for 3 of us. I didn’t think Coffee-​flavored Sweetened Goat’s Milk Caramel would complement pork grinds but it was delicious. For the latino clientele, it’s basically Cajeta con Chicarrones. It was delicious. It also came with Brie, crackers, and cheese. You MUST get this. If you go to QUE and don’t get this, you are not doing this right.
Anyways, we had pork, turkey, and chicken, and it was all delicious, tender and just hits the spot. There’s a tv screen near the entrance to the kitchen that shows the pig baking. Don’t know how often they cook one but, it’s great to watch.
They have a decent bar, and like basically all of NC, you can only find Pepsi products. We also asked our waiter if we could buy the Cajeta and the said they don’t normally do so, but they sold us a small jar ($ 25) of it. It was delicious, but perhaps the Mexican equivalent is far more wallet-​friendly. We took one home, and loved it though.
Overall, worth the little hassle to get to it.

If a spaceship landed and its occupants demanded sustenance– I’d take them to Ed Mitchell.
We had an incredible meal that stands head and shoulders above any other so-​called barbecue in the Tri. The she crab soup was rich and flavourful and did not skimp on the crab meat. We enjoyed the sides, mac & cheese was creamy and not at all oily. Greens were on point and baked beans were unique and excellent.
The entrees… The fried chicken had crispy crust, was incredibly juicy and tender inside~ that perfect duality of textures made this southern staple truly outstanding. The whole hog pulled pork barbecue was simply masterful. Tender fronds of unctuous flesh mixed with more cooked «bark» and just the right amount of seasoning. It arrived hot and was distinctly produced by the artist himself.
Here’s the bad news… the service is really poor. On this my second visit, there were MORE serving foibles than when I dined last week. The table behind me complained (quite loudly) to the Manager Randy about their order being wrong and I heard shouted F-​bombs coming from the «back of the house».
Stopped by today (a Sunday)…WAY disappointed. After waiting alone at the front door for approx 5 mins we noticed the «hostess» outside lighting the cigarettes of passers by (no exaggeration)! She rolls back in only to chat with some guy at the bar and when she finally gets to us; no greeting, she just grunts, «It’ll be a 10 – 15 min wait.» Aghast, we just left. On the way out we counted 5 empty tables; there was also bar seating available and no groups waiting. The service here STILL SUCKS!!!
C’mon Que, you are better than this!

Who doesn’t love a hip new bbq joint right by the ball park? Well I loved the idea of it, especially after the first experience we had there was great. Granted we got takeout, but everyone was friendly and helpful. Made us truly feel like our business was appreciated. However, our second visit with out of town guests was less than impressive .
Firstly, the hostess completely ignored out party of 5. She didn’t acknowledge out presence, didn’t say hi, didn’t even make eye contact with us as we stood there hoping to be seated. What a horrible first impression.
The waitress finally alerted the hostess that we have been waiting. She didn’t ask how many people or whether we wanted to sit inside or out. She threw some menus on the table inside and tried to tell us our table was ready. Oh was she pissed when I told her we wanted to sit outside.
We then asked her to get her manager. She completely ignored out request. On the bright side, our waitress was actually really sweet but I was so turned off by the hostess that I couldn’t even begin to enjoy our experience.
Honestly, it is so embarrassing for a new business that is named after the bbq master himself to have such awful customer service. We were finally able to talk to a manager (thanks to our waitress) and he seemed like he wanted to make our experience better but Meh. There are too many other great restaurants in durham to waste time at places that treat customers that way.

Nice looking joint, friendly staff. Incredibly overpriced for what you get, and what you get is mediocre at best as far as BBQ goes. I can’t even call it BBQ with a straight face, because I believe the primary cooking method is steam (which is reflected in the lack of flavor that would be present in traditional NC pit smoked BBQ). Prices are high, portions are small. I went several times with co-​workers after they first opened, hoping for the best. Ultimately we all decided it just wasn’t worth the $$$.

Not being the biggest barbecue fan I’m always worried if I will find things I like on the menu. Luckily, there was a variety of southern style food on the menu in addition to BBQ. We split the pork rind crusted brie which was topped with maple syrup. Surprisingly, you could not taste the pork rinds at all and it added a crunchy texture to the cheese. It was not jaw dropping but I am happy I tried it.
I ordered the Rachel which was a turkey BBQ sandwich topped with cabbage and thousand island dressing. This was completely out of my comfort zone and completely delicious! The pickled cabbage added a kick to the sandwich that really balanced the sandwich. Also, I enjoyed a delicious moonshine cocktail. The BBQ plate was so moist that no sauce was needed!

Stopped in with a friend for a quick meal at Ed Mitchell’s Que prior to a D-​Bulls game. We only had about a ten minute wait till we were seated. One of the first things I noticed was that it was sweltering inside. My inquiring revealed an AC outage. (Probably due to one of the recent storms). This is totally not their fault, but I thought maybe the hostess should mention it to arriving guest, so they can choose to eat there or not considering the circumstances. It was definitely uncomfortable, and I am know the staff was suffering even more than the guest.
I ordered the pulled pork que plate with baked beans and mac and cheese as the sides. I thought the pork was kinda dry and bland, so had to add a liberal amount of the vinegar sauce to satisfy my taste. Not the best barbecue I have had, but decent. The baked beans were very good, a mixture of spicy and sweet. The mac and cheese, wasn’t as sinfully cheesy and delicious as Backyard BBQ, but was satisfying in an understated kind of a way.
Our waitress was very good. Prompt and attentive with drink re-​fills and willing to answer our questions about the food.
The interior is very nice and upscale for a que restaurant, but one small pet peeve is the bathrooms are difficult to locate. When I was pointed in the right direction, I had to walk past the kitchen and dirty dishes to get to it. Maybe that was their only option due to space constrictions, but it was pretty inconvenient.
I would go back to Ed Mitchell’s Que to dry other dishes and site items. A 3.5 experience on my first visit. Hopefully they will get the AC issue fixed soon!

A little pricey for lunch, but the food was excellent. Finally some moist not dry tough brisket in Durham. The service was a bit slow but with it being a new place people should give them time to work out the kinks, but the service staff was very friendly and i am confident they will improve as time goes on.
The smoked deviled eggs were amazing as was the mac n cheese. The collards were good not great and the brisket was great. Tasted some of my wife’s pulled whole hog and it was excellent as well. Oh and the hush puppies were very good.
The price for lunch is what prevents 5 stars.

I have been stalking the glass locked doors to Ed Mitchell’s new restaurant FOREVER! I come here every week, expecting to sink my teeth into some delicious and juicy barbecue, but always retreated across the street to Cuban Rev for dinner.
Not anymore!
This week the «Que» has finally opened this week, and quickly it became a popular spot. The menu is simple yet covering the soul of his cooking, just as I remembered years ago when I first (and then repeatedly) visited the original «Pit.»
–The pulled pork is succulent, and also basted lightly in vinegar sauce.
–Brisket is tender enough to eat without knife, although I wish they would serve it without sauce, or sauce on the side. I enjoy the smoke smell on the brisket.
–Collards is cooked just right; not too soggy
–Mac and cheese is well made; wished we had gotten two serving
–Smoked veggie is great idea and feel like it just came off my own backyard grill
–That tomato pie though! I never had of such a thing. It’s like a mini quiche with slices of tomato at the bottom, with arugula, balsamic, E.V.O.O., you know, the works.
–The pickled shrimp, well, was not what I imagined. It was almost like a fruity/​salty cocktail with fruits, and a couple shrimps in it… It was interesting to see, but not much on taste
–Great patio seating on a warm summer afternoon, and on game nights you might even catch a fly ball off third base (maybe not)
Besides the great food, the great grill master himself will randomly drop by your table to make sure you enjoy his cooking. So make sure to add the QUE to your DPAC night dinner line-​up!

I had lunch at Que last week during their soft opening/​dry-​run. The food was delicious and the staff were all very friendly and efficient. I was really impressed by both since it was just practice before their grand opening today.
I want to say that Wendell’s review should be taken with a grain of salt. The restaurant did not officially open until today, so on the 24^th when he went they were still working out the kinks. It sucks that he had a bad experience, but I don’t think it paints a good picture of what to expect since they weren’t officially open yet.
About the food. I had the tomato pie as an appetizer and it was WOW. I work in the area and am certain that I will stop in a few times a month just to pick one up for carry-​out. For my main meal, I had the Wild Turkey sandwich and greens. I really liked the combination of what was on the sandwich. The slaw and chutney gave it a nice kick. I really liked the taste of the greens. Most greens I’ve had were either too salty or had too much vinegar, which always makes me think they don’t know how else to flavor them. This was not the case with Que’s greens.
My friend had the brunswick stew as her appetizer. (We shared everything.) It had more meat than I expected and the broth was very flavorful without being too salty. I don’t like most soups because of the high salt content, so that was a great surprise. For her main meal, she had the chopped barbecue turkey and mac and cheese. The turkey was very moist but could have used a little more flavor. I’m more of a saucy barbecue fan, so keep that in mind. The flavor was great, though. I did not like the mac and cheese, but I don’t ever like mac and cheese anywhere I’ve ever eaten it. My friend thought it was pretty good though.
The only negative thing I can say is that I thought it was a little pricey for lunch, but I’m also pretty cheap so maybe that’s just me. The food was definitely worth the money, though.
One thing to keep in mind with the pictures I’m including is that my friend and I shared the brunswick stew, so what you see in my bowl is only half of it and she kept most of the broth in her bowl.