Southside Smokehouse, 726 S. Howard Ave
Landrum, SC
Southside Smokehouse was ranked the #2 restaurant in Landrum SC and since their menu looked enticing with not only BBQ (which we're almost always up for), but also with a wide array of other sandwiches and seafood, we thought we would give them a try.
We ordered a couple of sandwiches to split. The sandwich on the far side is The Figgy Pig: Smoked ham, fontina cheese, fig jam, topped with balsamic tossed greens on french bread. The combination of all these different flavors actually all combined to make a pretty tasty sandwich. The side was red beans and rice, oddly made with tomato sauce. They were worth trying once, but I wouldn't order them again.
The other sandwich is their BBQ, described as smoked tender pork with Lexington NC style dip on the side, served with slaw. The meat did have a smoke taste, but it was dry and tough. I tried to soak the meat with enough sauce to make it edible, but soon realized this was a lost cause. This ranks as the worst BBQ I have ever eaten (or in this case, tried to eat). The side was hush puppies, which were large and cooked hard. I'm glad I didn't order oysters, because I later saw a photo on the wall and they would have been breaded the same way.
They have a wide selection of homemade desserts (not made in house, but made at someone's house and served by the restaurant). I had read about the blueberry pie and since it was offered that day, we split a slice with ice cream on the side. It's been a long time since I had pie crust made with lard, but I'm pretty sure that's what this crust was made with, it was absolutely delicious.
Final thoughts: I should have known if a place doesn't just serve primarily BBQ, then there's not going to be much pride in their Q. At least there certainly wasn't at Southside Smokehouse. Would I go back to eat lunch, maybe; would I go back just for dessert....DEFINITELY.
