Burk’s BBQ

2012 Cherry Rd
Rock Hill, SC 29732
(803) 980-4444

Visited: March 26, 2009

Meals served: Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: BBQ, Southern
Dress Code: Casual
Best Atmosphere for:  Take out

Price: $-$$

Dishes Ordered:
Mike ordered the large pork plate that came with slaw, fries, and hushpuppies. Lauren ordered the pork/chicken plate with corn on the cob, slaw, and hushpuppies.

Mike’s Review:

We weren’t exactly sure what to expect from Burk’s BBQ.  We’ve heard mixed reviews and finally decided to try it.  Overall, the place is alright if you’re looking for an indoor picnic experience or want to take it to go.

The décor is somewhat odd.  Upon entry, there’s an autographed picture and jersey of some motocross guy paired with a few random bits of Winthrop sports memorabilia –they do help sponsor Winthrop athletics.  The ceilings are high and are bare from the roof to the middle, where you find a straight line of classic American television screenshots.  It was like the house of wonders meets Nick at Nite. (Does anyone miss “Block Party Summers” as much as I do?)

The tablecloths are black and white picnic table covers, and this is reflective of their type of service.  While the girl working the register was young, cute, friendly, and helpful, she does not serve the diner in any way other than taking your order.  They call your name for you to grab your order from the counter; you fill your own tea or water toward the back near the ice machine; you eat with plastic utensils; and you bus your own table.  The only sodas they carry are bottled.  It is truly like an indoor picnic.  I will note that we didn’t notice many people filling the dining room at 6:00, but there were several who came in for pick-up orders.  This might explain the service and drink situations.

On to the food. As soon as I stepped out into the parking lot, a strong, savory aroma struck my nostrils.  This caused me to salivate and sent me into Burk’s with high expectations of their three-time Buzzy-winning BBQ.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Without any sauce, the BBQ was moist and tender, although a bit flavorless.  The flavor, however, came hard in sauce form. (Alright, so I used “came,” “hard,” and “sauce” in the same sentence. This blog is for families, so save your comments and get your mind out of the gutter.)

The mustard sauce was thick and tangy with a bit of heat and sweet undertones. Loved it.  In contrast, the ketchup sauce was thinner, very vinegary and had smokey undertones.  Kinda liked it.  Lauren also had a baked chicken breast that she claimed “smelled like Cooper.”  He’s our dog. Woof.  I tried it too.  The white meat was surprisingly moist, but the skin was a bit too plain for me on the good bites and tasted utterly burnt on the bad ones.

The sides weren’t very impressive.  The slaw was a bit too finely diced, almost pureed, and was a bit flavorless.  Not vinegary, not mayonnaisey, not sweet, not anything…just kinda cabbagey.  Maybe this is for improved blending with the BBQ, which wasn’t a bad combo.  The potato wedges were decent; they seemed like frozen Ore-Ida fries, which is alright but not impressive.  The hush puppies were really nice: sweet, crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside.

Overall, the place is alright.  In truth, I prefer Sonny’s.  I know it’s a chain, but it offers more sides and a decent dining experience.  I’m not really inspired to go back to Burk’s, but if I do, it’ll be for takeout.

Mike’s Ratings:

• Menu Selection: 3
  Not a green to be found, no other country-style sides either, with the exception of fries, corn, beans, and hush puppies. This is ok if your BBQ is good enough to stand alone. It’s not.
• Food Presentation: 5
  They did the best with what they had.
• Taste of food: 6
  The BBQ was pretty good, and I really like the sauces. However, the sides were pretty lame, save for the hush puppies.
• Originality in food choices: 5
  Same old, same old.
• Restaurant cleanliness: 6
  Seemed pretty clean to me.
• Quality of staff: 5
  There’s no server, just a girl at the counter. She did a pretty good job, I guess.
• Speediness of service: 6
  Didn’t have to wait too long.
• Atmosphere: 4
  Quiet, save for the ESPN on the TV. Not too much in the way of décor.
• Drink Selection: 3
  Tea, water, soda bottles.
• Value: 4
  Slightly below average. I paid about $9 for a plate of food that didn’t leave me with leftovers. It was ok. In truth, I’d rather go to Sonny’s.

Lauren’s Ratings:

• Menu Selection: 3
  Their only entree options were BBQ, chicken, wings, or chicken fingers. Only side options were slaw, hushpuppies, fries, baked beans, corn.
  
• Food Presentation: 5
  I wasn’t amazed.
  
• Taste of food: 6
  Pulled pork was great. Both sauces were good. Chicken smelled funny. Corn is corn. Great hushpuppies.
  
• Originality in food choices: 5
  What you’d expect for a BBQ place, except fewer sides.
  
• Restaurant cleanliness: 5
  Since most people take their food to-go, there’s not much mess to be made.
  
• Quality of staff: 5
  Not much interaction with the staff, except the girl who took our order and called our name when our food was ready.
  
• Speediness of service: 6
  Fast enough.
  
• Atmosphere: 2
  Pretty empty in there. I feel like if I yelled something it would echo on for days.
  
• Drink Selection: 3
  Only tea and water to drink, unless you want to buy a bottled soda… But who wants to do that?
  
• Value: 5
  My BBQ/Chicken plate was $10. Had the chicken not smelled like a dirty dog, I would say it’s a good value, but since I really only ate a small plate of pork, a little cob o’corn, some flavorless slaw, and 3 small hushpuppies, I’d say I could get more for less at Sonny’s BBQ.

OVERALL RATING: 2.5/5 loaves

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