The main dining room and kitchen area are in the "lower level" of the building, but it is open, bright, and cheery. No Wayne or Garth were harmed in the making
of this restaurant. There is a second
room with a full wall of exterior windows.
(This room would be great for large groups.) The whole place has a nice energy to it.
I stopped by for lunch and ordered a brisket+sausage
sandwich w/ a side of... wait for it... jambalaya. The sandwich was generously portioned. The brisket had a beautiful smoke ring and
was tender to the bite. The sausage
surprised me - sweet Italian. I think it
is a grave mistake to serve Italian sausage in a BBQ joint. Plus, the sausage was not sliced, just
stuffed on top of the brisket.
I liberated the sausage link and dosed my sammich with spicy
sauce. Loved it. I also tasted the regular sauce. It was sweet and straightforward bbq
sauce. (The meal - two meat sandwich
with side and bottomless drink - totalled $8.15. A great value in my book, but prices have
changed since my visit.)
I tried the jambalaya just to see what a bbq joint would do
with it. It tasted like the kind of
jambalaya you’d expect from white people running a barbeque joint. It was a dumb idea. Char House also specializes in pan-fried
chicken. This kind of cross-platforming
makes me uncomfortable. The best ‘Q I’ve
ever had came from joints where ‘Q is all they do do do.
Paul, the dandy young man who opened Char House, stopped by
and I chatted him up a bit. We agreed
that smoke is what distinguishes good Q.
Char House has what a successful restaurant needs - an onsite owner who
is passionate about his product. I
visited Char House soon after it opened.
I need to get back up there and see how they are maturing. Best wishes.
Alas, truth in reviewing
allows compels me to give Char House only TWO piggies.
