Fire Pit BBQ & Smokehouse

Great food, but unfortunately, this place has closed up shop.

What a find! The ribs and barbecue are killer. Such a great smokey flavor. Everything comes out without sauce which I love. You add your sauce at the table if you want. My opinion is that it doesn’t need any. They give you plenty of food. Go try it. You won’t be disappointed. 5 stars

Very good food. We particularly enjoyed the pulled pork and the cajun mac. Only criticism would be the beer selection was too limited but they had the standard fare and a couple of local brews on tap.

Waitress was fantastic. She went out of her way to make sure we got the best experience. Food was really good. Collards, hush puppies, and pork BBQ was great. Coleslaw was a little runny and sweet for my personal preference. Fortunately the plates have dividers so the sauce didn’t touch my other food. Perfect for kids.

My wife and I tried this place a while back, but I never got around to reviewing it until now. We went around 8pm on a Saturday night. It was still fairly full but we found a table without a problem. The atmosphere was nice and the employees were very friendly. When we walked in, we were greeted and they made sure we understood how the restaurant works (order at the counter, find a seat, and they bring the food out to you). They also allow you to sample any side dish before you order it to see if you like it. Because we arrived fairly late, they had run out of their normal mac n cheese and they were getting low on their sausage.
By wife had the quarter white meat chicken with two sides and I had the sausage and pulled pork combination plate. For my sides, I had the greens and potato salad. Although not the best I’ve ever had, the pulled pork was really good. It was very tender and not dried out. I also really enjoyed the sausage. And my wife really loved her chicken, which says a lot as she can be picky with her meat quality. Overall, everything was really good. We hate that we hadn’t tried it earlier. We will definitely be back.

Now under new management. Very disappointed with prices. Our normal price for 1lb of pork and 1lb of brisket was about $ 22 out the door. Now about $ 35! Crazy unreasonable price hike. When I ordered on the phone I got no warning of this at all until I paid. On top of that the brisket was very fatty and much of the 1lb was not edible. Sorry to say it but we will not be back unless the prices become reasonable again.

Long wait to sit down. Long wait for waitress to acknowledge. No Brisket which is common from other reviews. Mac and cheese not hot. Ribs were ok.

As a Texan, BBQ is a staple to me. I am working in the Raleigh area for about six weeks and have decided to try a different area Que joint each weekend I am here. I really try to focus on the meat flavors, texture and tenderness and not compare to Texas style BBQ.
Got there about 12:30 on Sunday. Three tables of diners that looked like they were waiting on their food so I couldn’t «view» the food before ordering. Went to counter to order and staff was very friendly. Ordered the two meat plate (Brisket and Sausage) with sides of Cajun Mac n Cheese and creamy Cole Slaw ($ 10.95). Also ordered a ½ rack of pork ribs ($ 12.95). Plate came with hush puppy fingers too.
Combo came plated nicely and quantity was plentiful. Ribs came basket style as a side dish. I purposely ordered enough so I could take some back to the hotel for another meal or snack.
While waiting for my food I gazed into the prep area through the windows and much to my dismay I saw my ½ rib rack placed on the griddle, squirted with water, and covered. I guess this to steam and warm them before serving.
Brisket — Was disappointed. Dry (probably should have «steamed» before serving too), no bark (crust) meant not much flavor, and not very warm when served.
Sausage — OK! Maybe I’m just not acquainted with the regions sausage. I thought the consistency was a little too mealy for me and didn’t have any much flavor.
Ribs — Very good. I think the «steaming» actually helped them! Tender but not falling off the bone and good seasoning made for a good flavor.
Cajun Mac N Cheese — Great! Had a good bite as any Cajun dish should.
Creamy Cole Slaw — OK but was not creamy but very juicy! Plated with the brisket and ribs so juice ran into the meats. Should have been in separate bowl!
Hush Puppy Fingers — Excellent. Crunchy and obviously «homemade».
Sauces:
House — A good smoky flavor.
Hot House — My Favorite — good smoky flavor with a bite to it.
Mustard — Reminded me of honey mustard.
Piedmont — Vinegar based. Good, just not a fan of vinegar.
Like:
Put your own sauce on. Meats not drowned in sauce when served.
Service was very good and attentive.
Dislike:
Cole Slaw plated with meats — juice running soaking into meats.

Out of brisket, sauce taste like dressed up ketchup. Sides were ok. BBQ was pretty good. Probably won’t be back.

Good food, good service! I had the special, chicken sandwich with one side. Delicious mac n cheese. My husband had BBQ and beef brisket w beans and coleslaw. He ate it all! I love all the sauces at the table. We’ll be back!

You order at the counter. Good BBQ, decent beer selection on tap, several locals. It is Lexington Style BBQ, so come prepared for that. I heard they make their own bacon, AFTER I LEFT! *grrrrrrr

Wife an I shared the smoked prime rib, which I thought was quite tasty. And my kids had chicken and brisket, which was also very good. The Cajun Mac&Cheese, my son thought it was too spicy. But the girls thought it was quite tasty. The other sides were run of the mill.
Seating is at a premium, so get there early. My wife wanted a beer, and our waitress was more than willing to suggest options.
I so wanted this to be a dining experience, but alas it was just a meal.

Great BBQ. I got a pork sandwich and brisket and port BBQ plate. It was delicious. The sweet BBQ sauce was also excellent. I will be going again.

Wow, went there for lunch today with some co-​workers. I got the ribs and OMG were they awesome! Plenty of meat on them and had a great flavor. I didn’t add any BBQ sauce just kept it with the dry rub smokey flavor. Yum!

We don’t come here extremely often but would like to more. Problem is I have idiots for children and they whine when we do. So this place is my wife and i’s screw the kids let’s go get lunch place.
I love the wings. They’re smoked nicely and in my opinion don’t need sauce at all. Brisket is great, they have some hand made sausage that my wife loves. Only problem is you want everything so it can get expensive! :)

I am trying to figure out why many reviews complain of the layout. It seemed pretty intuitive to me. And every time we have been here, some one greets us as we get to the menus anyway, offering printed menus, answering questions and offering samples of menu items.
This place has a static group of menu items and a varied menu of seasonal sides. I haven’t found anything yet that wasn’t delicious.
The newest tasty side was Bacon Jalapeño Poppers and OH MY are these wonderful!
I will be truly sad when the seasonal Cajun Mac & Cheese goes away!
LOVE the Fire Pit!

Great place for our family! Very friendly staff and the service was prompt and correct. Ribs were delicious and also the pulled pork. BBQ sauces were very good something for everyone’s taste.
We will be returning for sure and I will try the smoked wings!

I don’t know if this restaurant had some growing pains in the beginning, but I am here to tell you that it is pretty awesome now! It is REALLY good! Beyond good, kinda amazing! :)
I had my rehearsal dinner here and literally had every meat on their menu. I came in here with a pretty low expectation because of the Unilocal stars, but I tried it because we were desperate for BBQ for our rehearsal dinner. I ate before going to the tasting because I was just going to appease my mother in law and taste this BBQ that she wanted because I was totally sold on another place. I shouldn’t have eaten because it was DELICIOUS and we made the choice on the spot!!! I ate EVERYTHING Andrew (the head chef/​general manager) put on my GIGANTIC plate and I was so full I didn’t even eat dinner that night. I tried literally ALL their meats and all their sides, and can I just say that there is something for everyone. It was so good, I ate here twice BEFORE my rehearsal. (That’s like two times in three weeks not including my rehearsal.)
The people who serviced my rehearsal including I think his manager were SO NICE TO US! They were like part of my party without being weird ya know?! They cried in my toast, and just fit right in. It was having old friends host a party or something. So awesome! :)
Here’s what you need to know. Nothing comes sauced, but it’s on the table, so there are so many combinations, but I eat the pork with The Piedmont sauce (East Carolina base with a little tomato-​ish but mostly vinegar), I eat the rest with the hot bbq sauce.
Andrew was a pleasure to work with. He seriously went above and beyond to make our rehearsal dinner comfortable and wonderful including changing their pandora to a wedding channel that was SPOT on, getting rose for my champagne toast, changing their lights so they would dim and speaking with The Edible Arrangements woman who gave me a FREE fruit centerpiece. (The chocolate covered strawberries were better than Sherri’s Berries!) Andrew did it for us and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
Their BBQ is wood fired and it was delicious, but more than that… they cared about what they were serving me and my guests.
Everything tastes better with some love and you can tell they definitely do that with their food.

We’ve waited so long for this place to open — such anticipation! With family in town we thought it would be a good time to finally check it out.
Wait for it. Wait for it.
Boo!
Not worth the wait.
First off as others have mentioned the ordering podium is so strange. You read the chalkboard, stare at the cooks, then slide down to order from the podium attendant. Very strange. You seat yourself, so pick a table the is level, no they don’t need sugar packets under one leg, the table tops are actually warped wood. So, if you go to set your drink down you’ll need to be careful or it will end up on the floor. Food came out fast. Too fast. All precooked we must assume.
I ordered two meats with two sides. White meat chicken was sold out, so I opted for double brisket, collards, and mac n’ cheese. I also sampled husband’s corn pudding. The brisket was fine, but it was thin and there was no bark. It was just not impressive. The collards were just barely cooked through and had not been veined, which was an issue since they were only slightly cooked. The macaroni was again fine, but it needed pepper and some crusty cheese. The corn pudding was basically undercooked corn bread. There was no pudding to it.
We were pretty disappointed by what we tasted and saw. Hubby saw giant cans of Bush’s baked beans in the kitchen. I think that really burst his bubble. Anyone can heat up canned beans! Oh well — back to Capital 1!

And yet even another bright, shiny BBQ restaurant in a new shopping mall, offering a variety of smoked meats, sides, and here, a full bar — BBQ & Scotch? Not sure about that one yet. And this is another new BBQ restaurant in this area with an interesting little twist — the owner, Ted Patterson, is a next door neighbor of Keith Allen, the long time owner of Allen & Son BBQ in Chapel Hill — producer of some of the very best Eastern NC BBQ. Coincidence? Karma? Strange But True?
They do cook with hardwood here, no gas. They offer Brisket, Pulled Pork, Smoked Pork Sausages, Smoked Chicken, and St Louis Ribs. Also have Shrimp & Oyster Po“Boys, and Fire Pit Gumbo, some way less than traditional NC BBQ items. Sides are the usual suspects, and they have both a white and a red BBQ slaw.
The Pulled Pork is definitely pulled not chopped, making it stringy in places, and this pork comes out fairly dry, and without a lot of smokiness. The result is a decent pork product, but not anything exceptional with either taste or texture. It really is bbq pork in search of an identity it’s neither Eastern or Lex style as served. A real good dose of sauce with some heat in it, and one or the other of this slaws help. This is not destination BBQ pork, IMO. Sandwich is $ 5.75, goes for $ 7.50 with slaw and a side — I’d pass on the slaw — I’d pass on the white slaw — too finely minced, watery, and sweet.
Now the Brisket is another matter — this is a destination item — tender, but not mushy, with some very nice outside char, and a great overall flavor. I don’t care for the roll (like a sub roll) they use on the Brisket Sandwich here — way too much brad, dilutes the Brisket taste. I’d suggest getting the plate or ask that they put it on the same roll as the Pork Sandwich. Good stuff and it needs room to be tasted, and I’d get the thick, red sauce on the side only. Sandwich goes for $ 7.50, plate for $ 9.95, not exactly cheap.
The Shrimp Po’Boy is served in the same style roll as the Brisket, and the shrimp, toppings, and remoulade sauce just get lost in the bread — and at $ 7,75, it is an expensive waste of money. Imagine the Oyster one would fare no better.
The setup here is fast food style, and they are not the most organized group I’ve encountered in the restaurant business. They took a while to handle our order, kept packaging and re-​packaging several takeout orders, and sure enough our order turned out wrong. I’d ordered the Pork Sausage, Pork Sandwich, Brisket Sandwich, and a Shrimp Po’Boy. Ended up with 2 Pork Sandwiches, and no Pork Sausage.
In addition, they do not accept take out calls — you have to place your order there, and wait. This is strictly for their convenience, and the heck with the customer, especially considering their lack of organization. I’d come back for the Brisket, maybe, and might even get to try the sausage, but you never know. They have some work to do here, but there is some potential