I Will Keep Repeating: Overrated Is Not Bad, but Underrated is Great
I find barbeque overrated as a genre. I know people lose their shit over it, and there are entire subcultures devoted to it—and really good bbq could very easily be a transcendent experience—but I’d say a good 8 out of 10 times I visit a bbq joint everyone raves about, my takeaway is always like, an “it was good but not great.”
Additionally, my peasantly palate can’t tell the difference half the time between a truly good bbq sauce and Kraft, nor between meat smoked for several hours and meat that was just plain old grilled. I also think true bbq aficionados are more meat people than sauce people, and though I can’t tell the difference between a good sauce and store-bought sauce, I’m a sauce person who, for example, wants to have to eat ribs so sauced it doesn’t matter what state the meat’s in.
I’ve been to plenty of the Asheville bbq offerings, many of them the places people have raved I must try, and my general consensus is that they are overwhelmingly just decent—remember, overrated isn’t bad…it’s just overrated. However, I’ve recently found a local bbq joint that I’ve not yet heard anyone else talk about, but I find so good that as of this writing, I’ve literally had three weekends in a row: the rare underrated Asheville bbq, which is Iron and Oak Brisket Company at Riverside Rhapsody Beer Company.
It’s actually fucking poetic that the most underrated Asheville bbq spot is at what I consider the most underrated Asheville brewery. Riverside Rhapsody is located on Riverside Drive, technically in Asheville’s northern neighbor Woodfin, but just a minute drive past the intersection that holds the popular Ginger’s Revenge tasting room and Zilicoah Brewing (which is so popular they often have to turn cars away) and it’s wild how many people I talk to who’ve not only never been to it, but have never heard of it (though, I’m happy to report the last few times I’ve been, the place has been packed—those of us with taste know).
Riverside Rhapsody is home to one of my very favorite Asheville beers—Bebop Tange (a hazy, tangerine IPA)…they also recently released a lime-tinged lager reminiscent of my beloved BLL—often has very good, very chill Saturday night bands, and overall has a very good, very chill little vibe—both the brewery itself and the small yard feel very cozy and intimate, without feeling claustrophobic. Anyway, we’re here to talk Iron and Oak Brisket Co., not Riverside Rhapsody, even though they are intrinsically linked, so I’ll move on.
Iron & Oak Brisket is just the first BBQ I’ve had here in a while that made me text friends to let them know how good it was and generally rave about it to anyone that listened. This is definitely subjective, but for me, it just checks all the right boxes, and I haven’t even tried the brisket yet, probably because I’m obsessed with the pulled pork plate.
The pulled pork plate is a very generous heaping of smoky pulled pork that I sauce to the gills with a combo of their sweet bbq sauce and spicy black pepper sauce. My go-to sides are a cup of pickles and their dill macaroni salad, which I could write an entire blog around. I historically do not like mayo-based macaroni salads, yet, like the demi glaze at Copper Crown, I would take this macaroni salad home and fuck it if I could find a way (and honestly, I’d probably develop feelings and try to marry it). I won’t try to describe it more because my words wouldn’t do it justice. Every time I’ve had a meal at Iron and Oak, I end up talking about how good the food was for the rest of that day/night. I urge you to check it out.
Other AVL BBQ Joints (fine, two AVL BBQ Joints)That Have My Highly Sought After Seal of Approval
I know I said it earlier, but I will repeat it: overrated doesn’t mean bad! There are plenty of other bbq joints (fine…just two) I’d happily send anyone visiting Asheville to, which, funnily enough, many locals would probably say are overrated.
Bears Smokehouse BBQ
Bears BBQ is smack dab on the South Slope in the most touristy part of the city, which might make you think it was more marketing than meat, but I disagree. I enjoy both the venue (a new and large patio) and the food (also: shoutout to the experience…you order Bear’s cafeteria style and then find somewhere to eat, and it’s always super quick if you’re on the South Slope and starving).
My go-to is their bbq-ed wings and mac and cheese, BUT the star of their show is the cornbread. Like bbq, I find that the vast majority of cornbread is oversung (and typically, overly dry), but the cornbread here is, to use a controversial term that I think shouldn’t be controversial, moist as hell, and just the right amount of sweet.
12 Bones Smokehouse
12 Bones is the other AVL bbq joint that’s constantly being accused of being overrated since Obama ate there once and said he likes it, but I think plenty of its options live up to the hype. I love the Texas toast sandwich they offer, their dessert selection is top tier, and you can order just three ribs, which is a great option when you want some bbq but don’t want meat sweats. My one gripe about the 12 Bones RAD location (there’s a south Asheville locale I’ve never been to) is that they have very weird hours, so I don’t go half as much as I’d like.
AshevilleExplorer 
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