Little Red Smokehouse

Location:

145 South Main Street

(Rte. 58) Carver, Ma

Phone:  (508) 465-0018

Hours: Tue. – Sat.11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Sun. 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.  Closed Mon.

Credit cards: Master Card, Visa, Discover

Website: In the works

Handicap accessible.

My interest in Q dates from a drive to Florida during my childhood.  President Eisenhower’s dream of an interstate highway system had not yet come to fruition, so there was no I-95. Route 1 was paved, but many towns in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia had cross streets of red dirt. We passed slowly through these areas as unreconstructed police officers were rumored to lie in wait for cars with Yankee license plates.  

Riding with my sister in the back seat, I wondered about the barbecue joints with their hand painted signs, but we were not a family of adventurous eaters and sustained ourselves on more familiar fare.  I didn’t taste real barbecue until I reached manhood.  A dinner at Bessinger’s Barbecue in Charleston South Carolina was a life-changing experience. 

From that time on I’ve seldom passed up an opportunity to eat Q.  I was a fan of Little Red Smokehouse in Carver despite its faults, which included a badly-trained and under-supervised wait staff and, toward its close, uneven food. Nearly a year ago word spread that Little Red Smokehouse was to reopen, and I often made detours to watch the progress, which seemed glacial.  Now it’s back, and Annette and I had lunch there today. 

Our waitress was attentive.  She stood by the kitchen waiting for our appetizer of onion rings and rushed them to the table piping hot. “Flag me down if you need me,” she said.  A perfect onion ring is a rare thing, and these qualified.  They were covered with crisp batter that shattered when you bit into it.  The onions were sweet and perfectly done.  No one could have asked for more, but these rings came with a horseradish dipping sauce. I was filled with hope.

While we waited for our main dishes, I took stock of the surroundings.  There were cranberry scoops on the wall.  There was cranberry-rubbed apple-smoked turkey breast on the menu, and cranberry barbecue sauce on the table. This was, after all, Carver.  A background of country music and the curtains made of blue bandanas at the entrance contributed to the atmosphere. 

I noticed a card in a plastic holder on the table that announced the availability of De Loach Russian River Pinot Noir.  The description claimed that “delicate notes of anise and baking spices lace the fruit to unfold a rich palate of black cherries supported by medium fine grained tannins.”  It was perhaps not the sort of beverage available in those rustic southern eateries of the fifties, but I’m no purist.  If the meat is good, folks can drink what they want. 

My pulled pork sandwich was on golden slabs of Texas toast.  The meat was tender and smoky and better than I remembered from the restaurant’s first incarnation.  The moistness of the meat was enhanced by the crunch of creamy coleslaw.  There was a mound of crisp shoestring fried potatoes. 

Annette’s shrimp on grits caused her a little anxiety as it arrived covered with a sauce of tomatoes and peppers, but the grits were as creamy and fluffy as the finest polenta, and the sauce didn’t overpower.  The pineapple upside-down cake we had for dessert was baked as an individual serving, but was plenty for two fogies.  Instead of being in a ring, the pineapple was in bits and was accompanied by an equal amount of dried cranberries. 

If this were a restaurant review for a newspaper, I’d have to make at least two more visits before going to press.  There are certainly many things on the menu I want to try.  But since it’s a blog entry describing my lunch, I’ll just say that I expect Little Red Smokehouse to be an asset to the area.  Everything we tasted was good, and we plan to make the journey to Carver to eat there again and again.  I wish the management well for their sake and for mine.  They’re off to a great start.