Dinner in Fuquay Varina

We are starting to get out a bit more. The weekends here in North Carolina include an increasing amount of sunshine. So Mary and I decided to take a more in-depth look at our neighboring city of Fuquay Varina. We generally make our trip to Sanford for our Taste of the Wild dog food, but the Tractor Supply Store has yet to be rebuilt after the tornado of April 16, 2010. So we drive to Fuquay Varina once a month or so to pick up a 35 pound bag of goodies for Lola and Kramer. On several of our previous travel through F-V, we pass what look like an old train station on Broad Street just south of the railroad tracks. There is a large marquee atop the building with the words “Fuquay Varina Station.” The building houses the Aviator Brewing Company bar. Across the street is the Aviator Brewing Company Smokehouse. We were in the mood for some North Carolina BBQ. Walking into the Smokehouse, we were impressed with the openness and simplistic uncluttered décor. It is refreshing to find a place that doesn’t feel the need to compete with Appleby’s or Cracker Barrel by filling every inch of their walls with memorabilia.
Our server was quick, polite and very accommodating. The menu was reasonably priced with most appetizers under $7.99, burgers around $8.49 with a wide variety of goodies and entrees between $9.99 and $16.99 with the triple rack of ribs coming in at $39.99 and the offer to pin your picture to the wall should you consume the entire plate by yourself. I wondered if the man vs. food guy had been here before he retired.
We started with two varieties of the house beer, Mary had the Hot Shot, and I had a darker red Belgium version. Both were very well crafted. We also did onion rings as an appetizer. We enjoyed our beers and started in on the onion rings as we waited for our Cobb salad and pulled pork plate.
Did I mention the server was great? Other than our server and the beer the rest of the evening was far from great; actually it even missed the mark for being “good.”
The onion rings looked astounding sitting on the 8X12 aluminum pan. There were piled high and the batter was crying out for some of the southwest dip that came with. The rings were a bit greasier than we would have liked, and after 2-3 of the rings, they sat in the stomach like a lead sinker. The dip was different from other southwest dips we have had at other chain restaurants. The onion rings were a great reason to drink more beer. I still think over salted peanuts would accomplish the same and be cheaper. Our server was great and had our water refills and ketchup (which did NOTHIN for the onion rings) quickly and effortlessly. It wasn’t long before our dinners arrived—on those 8 X 12 aluminum pans covered with wax paper.
Mary’s Cobb salad was more like a wedge salad that was spread across the aluminum tray like a deck of cards. The components were draped across the top of the lettuce, not layered and were very cumbersome to eat. By the time we were ready to leave, the wax paper under the Cobb was deteriorating and created a very unappetizing image.
My pulled pork plate looked excellent. I had two traditional BBQ sides—greens and mac-n-cheese. I was ready to partake. The greens were sweet. Although cooked to perfection, I could not get past the overall sweetness of the collards. I found the BBQ to have a similar taste. Other than the “smoke” flavor of the pork, I had a difficult time distinguishing the meat from the greens. The pork had what I believe was the house red sauce that was rather bland and empty. In this part of North Carolina one expects a great vinegar base sauce on their pork. The mac-n-cheese was the best part of the meal. Again, it had a unique flavor, which is good for an eatery to have its own signature, and it was prepared really well. Over all the service was great. We would love to have another beer at the Aviator Brewing Company. As for the dining experience and the food, we would say it is a 4 out of 10 in the world of pork BBQ and if not for the saving grace of the service, the beer and the mac-n-cheese (in that order) it might not have been a 4.
Our thoughts are it is a great hang out for some fine micro brewed beer, but if we were hungry we would head over to real BBQ just up the road on NC 55 in Durham.