The Sides Review

So The Pedant blogged all about meats, which I don't eat so here are the sides review. I won't tell you too much about the places because 1) TP already did and 2) I don't feel like it.

Buz N' Eds

As TP already said, it was very tasty. The sides we got (mostly, throughout the trip my parents, TP and I all shared various sides) were:

Mac and cheese
BBQ Baked Beans
Collards
Cole Slaw
Hush Puppies

The best was by far the beans. Smokey, definitely made with pork, and perfect. The mac and cheese was fantastic - creamy, gooey and the like. (I was going to rate the best mac and cheese but it's hard to - they were all really about the same level at all the places.) The coleslaw was good and had a kick to it. The collards were a bit on the greasy side but pretty tasty. The hush puppies were perhaps the best puppies we had that day - fried to perfection but not too dense.

Q Shack

For dinner in Durham we went to Q Shack which was recommended by several people. It was worth it. They had a cobb salad with meats (I got it without and therefore actually ate a meal) avocado (how could you go wrong??!), crumbled egg, tomatoes (meh) and lettuce. It came with a chipotle blue cheese dressing that was fair. It had the potential to being better, but was kind of thin. I really like my blue cheese to be on the thick and creamy side. The sides we got were:

Cole Slaw
Mac and Cheese
Creamed Spinach with Jack Cheese
Onion Rings
Hush Puppied
Fried Okra
Baked Beans

Again, very good mac and cheese. The onion rings were what I wanted to order - I saw someone with them when we walked in and thought they looked amazing. They were by no means as good as the onion rings we had in Iceland, but very good. The beans were not nearly as good as the ones we had for lunch, but the Creamed Spinach made up for that (it was the best of the sides) - really tasty and cheesy. The slaw was fine and the hush puppies were good but a bit on the heavy side.

The Pit

For lunch yesterday we went to The Pit in Raleigh which not only was recommended but also had BBQ Tofu. The place itself was a bit more upscale - sit down restaurant with waiters - and the food really good. I got the Tofu which was fantastic. Smokey and in a the molasses sauce. It came with grilled vegetables, but I did, for good measure, try all the sides:

Baked Beans
Mac and Cheese
Sweet Potato Fries
Green Beans
Fried Okra
Cole Slaw
Biscuit
Hush Puppies

(All the other meals came with hush puppies, a biscuit and 2 sides. Mine was the grilled vegetables - asparagus, onion, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. The vegetables were all amazing.)

The mac and cheese was once again really good. Maybe the best but only by a little since it was probably made with a roux. The sweet potato fries were perfect and the best - not quite shoe string but really great. I actually never tried the slaw because by the time I wanted to my mom finished it, which is a good sign. She said it was good. The beans were interesting - a mix of beans and nice and smokey. The okra wasn't too heavy and the green beans not too greasy. the hush puppies were also really good - round and not heavy at all. The biscuits were also to die for.