B&B BAR-B-Q

B&B Bar-B-Q, 3020 Walhalla Highway, Six Mile, SC

UPDATE: B&B BAR-B-QUE is CLOSED

B&B Bar-B-Q is located 6 miles past the Pickens Flea Market going toward Walhalla. We've passed by the place many times and talked about the parking lot always being full. Figuring it must be good, we finally stopped and ate there last Wednesday. With all the cars in the dirt parking area, it looked like it would be really crowded inside, but it turned out, just like the TARDIS, to be bigger on the inside. 

They not only have BBQ, but also hamburgers, hot dogs and other diner type sandwiches. We both got BBQ plates, although I will have to say the neighboring table's cheeseburgers looked mighty good. You get two sides with your plates and we chose baked beans, potato salad, slaw, and Brunswick stew (only available on Wednesday and sometimes on Thursday, if they didn't sell it all on Wednesday). You choose your sauce and they sauce the BBQ in the kitchen. I'm not too fond of this method, since I want to taste the meat, not the sauce, but decided to go with the flow and we both chose the tangy mustard. Turned out the sandwich was pretty good served that way and the meat would definitely need sauce, since without any sauce, it didn't seem to have much smoke taste. The sides were all excellent, with in my opinion, the Brunswick stew being the standout. 

I inquired about whether the chocolate cake on the counter was homemade and it turned out one of the two waitresses had made it. I think everyone working there was somehow related. The cake was a great finish to the meal. 

Would I go to B&B Bar-B-Q again? Yes definitely, but I think I would just order the Brunswick stew and maybe some sides, since the BBQ itself was the least interesting item I ate there. Even if you don't want to eat, you can always play some Ms. Pac-Man on the well worn machine they have.

The FARMER'S TABLE

The Farmer's Table, 401 E. Kennedy St,
Spartanburg, SC 

The Farmer's Table is located in an office park, which in years past was an actual farmer's market. This is one of the strangest places I have ever found a restaurant, but boy, was it worth finding.  Over the past few weeks, we had already made our rounds of our favorite Spartanburg restaurants (Holmes Hot Dogs, Bubba's BBQ & Bash, and Wade's Restaurant), so we decided to seek out some place we hadn't eaten before in Sparkle City and ran across The Farmer's Table while doing some Google research. 

Above are views from our table looking outside and from our table toward the front of the restaurant. Before I get to the food, let me say a word about our waiter, Jason. Either we got lucky or all the waitstaff here is really good, something that will have to be decided on future visits. Regardless, Jason was top notch, knowing how to be personable, unobtrusive, and attentive all at the same time.  Now on to our meal.

My wife chose the Smooth Cajun – Boars Head Salsalito turkey, Split Creek Farms goat cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, sriracha mayo & fried onion strings on Great Harvest Bread Company popeye loaf with a side of house made broccoli salad (a side equal in taste to the sandwich). Both items were so good and so tasty that I almost wish this is what I had ordered, until I tried my own meal.

I ordered Shrimp & Grits – house made chicken Andouille sausage, peppers, red onions, tomatoes, Farmer’s Table Signature spice blend & shrimp served over Charleston style cheese grits with a side of house made red skin potato salad. I rarely order shrimp and grits finding it to be sort of a blah dish, but seeing the ingredients in this version, I thought I would give it a try, and it turned out to be anything but blah. A perfect blending of flavors with the potato salad a perfect accompaniment, adding a cooling element to the spiciness of the Andouille.

The Farmer's Table has an extensive menu of lunch and breakfast items. I can only assume everything will be great, since our first two random selections were so good. We'll definitely be going back and adding The Farmer's Table to our rotation of Spartanburg restaurants. 

Updated visit on 4/23/2015. My wife once again ordered the Smooth Cajun with a side of broccoli salad, I tried the HBLT - Boars Head maple ham, 3 strips of apple wood smoked bacon, romaine lettuce, 2 fried green tomatoes and house made shallot aioli on grilled wheat bread. Another good sandwich, although not as good as my wife's Smooth Cajun or as good as the shrimp and grits I had last time; however, I'm already planning what to get on my next visit in a couple of weeks, that's how much I like The Farmer's Table.