Doc's Barbeque and Southern Buffet - Columbia SC

Doc’s is a relatively recent entry into the world of southern bbq buffet in Columbia (circa 2006), but since its opening, it seems to have endeared itself to the hearts of many of the locals. I think it has a fantastic location for those famous/infamous Gamecock football tailgates (it is on Shop Road, right near Gamecock stadium), and it has a pretty decent variety of southern food, including some interesting specialties that I haven’t seen so far in my jaunts through the South. It is also one of the cleaner, nicer looking southern bbq buffets I’ve been to, for those of you who are into that sort of thing. =)

So what’s so interesting about its food offerings? Let’s take a look at the food they offered on my visit there:

First, the hot vegetable offerings – some corn on the cob, collard greens, green beans, and baked beans.

Gravy, hash, and rice…

Some fried offerings: Fried chicken, fried catfish nuggets, and a dish I didn’t try (and therefore am unable to identify at this time…!)

Mac and cheese and corn casserole…

And of course, pulled pork: for those of you that are purists, this photo might offend you, because it is all presauced…a vinegar based bbq, Doc’s “sweet blend” bbq (a mustard based bbq, not that sweet, from what I remember…), and more of the sauce on the right side, which I thought was a nice touch.

Some cold vegetable offerings: cole slaw, potato salad, and pickles.
And dessert, a chocolate cobbler. Can you ever go wrong with a chocolate based dessert? =)

For those of you that are a bit more adventurous in your southern food offerings, Doc’s offers something particularly different: fatback. For the uninitiated of you (of which I previously belonged to, before Doc’s), fatback is basically a pork rind with the skin on. A cut of fatback includes both the pork skin and the fat right under it, and in the South, is fried until crispy and crunchy. I tried it, but to be honest, I found it was like eating a really crunchy piece of lard (at least, what I imagine a piece of lard to be, if it was thinly sliced and fried to a crisp). It was really oily and without much flavor. I was glad to try it, but only because I know not to eat it ever again =P. But hey, for those of you who love pork rinds or chincharrones, this just might be the thing for you. =)

One of the two plates of food I had at Doc’s. I tried both the vinegar and mustard based bbq, and of course, a whole lotta fried chicken! =)

After eating their food, I feel like Doc’s is like the poor stepchild to the two other main southern bbq buffets in Columbia (aka the two pigs, Palmetto Pig and Little Pigs) with regard to two of the most important measurements of southern bbq, the pulled pork and fried chicken. While neither the pulled pork or the fried chicken isn’t necessarily bad, it just isn’t quite as delicious as other places I’ve been to. But, for those that like a good variety in their southern bbq buffets, Doc’s is still a pretty good choice.

Shealy's BBQ - Columbia SC area (Batesburg-Leesville)

Shealy's BBQ is probably one of the favorite and more well-known southern bbq buffets in South Carolina, and for good reason - it has an incredible spread of Southern food that I haven't seen matched at any of the bbq restaurants I've been to so far (but they don't have one of my favorites, hush puppies, what's up with that??). It is deep within the SC countryside, almost a one hour drive away from Columbia, with at least twenty to thirty minutes of that drive off the I-20 exit. But the drive is good in a way, because by the time you get there, you will definitely have developed an appetite for the food, and it is all-you-can-eat! =)

The restaurant itself is very large, with at least three large areas to seat everyone (you get assigned area to sit in after you pay), but it still fills up very quickly. When we got there, we still waited in line for about ten-fifteen minutes or so before getting a seat, but the line moves pretty quickly.

With these Southern BBQ buffets, my general approach is to take photos of individual parts of the food spread to show what they offer, but there was so much food here and it was so busy that I didn't have a chance to take photos of the area like I usually do (and, I ended up missing some of the food - I got all the hot food that Shealy's was offering, but totally neglected their cold vegetable section...cole slaw, potato salad, salad greens, etc. So the fact that you don't see photos of that doesn't mean they don't offer it!). Instead, I got individual portions of everything that I could get my hands on...I was stuffed by the end of the meal, but can't say I didn't try to show y'all everything at Shealy's! =)

For my first dish, I grabbed some of my favorite Southern foods: fried chicken, hash (for a hash explanation, please look at my post for Little Pigs), creamed corn, some green beans, and some corn bread.

I couldn't fit everything I wanted to on the first plate, so I grabbed a bowl as well, and grabbed some mustard and vinegar pulled pork bbq as well as collard greens. Yep, a bowl of meat. =)

One of the specialities at Shealy's is their pulley bone chicken - a piece of fried chicken cut around the pulley bone. Where is that, may you ask? I previously had no idea before going to Shealy's, but I found out it refers to the wishbone area of the chicken. This piece of chicken was cooked pretty well; it was pretty juicy despite being white meat, and the texture of this chicken piece was a bit chewier than eating a chicken breast, if that makes any sense. Interesting, but I still prefer my dark meat. =)

I enjoyed the fried chicken at Shealy's a lot (but not more than my favorite place in Columbia, Palmetto Pig) - I thought it was good enough to grab some more in a second round, along with some other hot food they offered: some lima beans, pasta (not my favorite, I should have grabbed some cole slaw or potato salad), as well as more creamed corn and a dinner roll (you're better off with the cornbread IMHO, they are no different than any other dinner roll I've had purchased in a market).

After two plates and a bowl of meat, I was definitely ready for dessert. And Shealy's does not disappoint! Two types of fruit cobbler (peach and apple), two types of pudding (banana and an unknown flavor), as well as apple pie! I love my desserts, and this was quite enjoyable for me.

If the first dessert plate wasn't enough, I also saw a soft-serve ice cream machine on the way back, and being a dessert glutton, I wasn't going to leave Shealy's without eating some soft serve as well! =) They definitely have something for everyone! (Thanks to Alyssa for letting me borrow her IPhone for photos, got so excited about this place I forgot my camera!)

A primer to southern bbq buffet - Little Pigs - Columbia, SC

Little Pigs, in the northeastern part of Columbia, South Carolina, epitomizes southern cuisine to me in a nutshell. It is a southern BBQ buffet, something that does not exist with any regularity (as far as I know) anywhere else in the United States. Why, I have no idea - it is an absolutely delicious way for a self-avowed food glutton like myself to spend a meal...it is cheap (an average all-you-can-eat buffet costs no more than $8 bucks, including tax), there are tons of options (variety is always key for me), and the food is great - endless amounts of pulled pork, sides, and desserts. And I can't forget mentioning that every one of these places has sweet tea. Yum.

I know y'all who were born in the South are probably reading this and wondering "Why does he seem to be going so wild over this, it's just bbq?". Although it may be something common place here in the south, for me, all the bbq I've had so far I've encountered (in the west and elsewhere) has never been offered in a buffet style form, and definitely never served with pulled pork, which is a specialty in the Carolinas, or so I've learned. I've only had texas-style bbq so far in my life (tomato-based sauces, beef and pork ribs, etc.) Sad, I know. But I've been making up for it as much as I possibly can, believe me. =)

So I digress....back to Little Pigs. I wanted to talk about this place for my first post for the South, because not only does it represent a type of food which I absolutely love now, but also because Little Pigs does it well, and was among the best southern bbq buffets I've had here in Columbia.


Here is a wide-angle photo of the restaurant. It is in a random isolated area near the intersections of the I-77 and I-20 in northeastern Columbia. To me, it is typical in a lot of ways of the southern bbq buffets I've been to so far: (1) it is in a completely isolated location, which you would never pass by and could only get to by word-of mouth, and (2) the buildings are all really non-descript. You could pass by one and not even know of the yummy bbq delights inside the building unless you were looking for it.

A close-up of the Little Pigs sign: I agree, completely habit-forming, I count myself among those that have an addiction to Little Pigs (and all southern bbq, for that matter). An random thought...why does the "pig" come up in name of restaurants and other places more often in the South? Like Piggly Wiggly, the supermarket chain?

So, these next photos are of the southern food they offered at Little Pigs. The food they offered here is pretty representative of what I've encountered so far at southern bbq buffets, and so let's use this one as a primer. First, you've got your vegetable sides: potato salad, cole slaw, collard greens, and green beans.

Next, beans and rice.

Next up: hash, corn, and some mac' and cheese. Hash is something that is completely local to South Carolina...I asked someone what it was made of, and they said it was chopped up bits of pork (which parts, I'm not sure...supposedly meat from the pork shoulder/rump, although I've heard people jokingly say there are other random parts in there, which I probably would be better off not knowing) in a tomato-based sauce. I would probably describe it as a meaty gravy, and it is delicious over some rice.

The main event: pulled pork. Here are two different types of pulled pork: on the left is vinegar-based (which most North Carolinians swear by), and on the right, mustard-based pulled pork (which is the South Carolina style pulled pork). People here take their bbq pork seriously, almost religiously. Vinegar-based bbq is more sour and spicy, while mustard-based bbq tends to taste on the whole a bit sweeter, and more smoky. I'm about to offend a whole state's worth of people, but so far, I've liked the mustard-based pulled pork more =). Sorry North Carolina!
Here are some chicken offerings: fried chicken and baked chicken.
Some fried delights: In the upper right corner are either fried chicken livers or fried gizzards (not 100% sure, thanks to Flarké and Hambone for the info), but below that are some potato chips, and on the right, fried okra on top, and hush puppies on the bottom.
The piece de resistance at Little Pigs: several gigantic pieces of bbq pork, from which you use the tongs to just pull pieces off. The pork is so soft and tender that this is really easy to do. I've been told this is the way they serve their pulled pork in Georgia - no pre-sauced pork (which some people in the South say is the best way). It is an awesome way to serve pulled pork which I've only seen offered in Columbia at Little Pigs...I actually loved this style the most, because you can appreciate the flavor of the meat, and add sauce to your liking.

And you can't forget dessert at a place like this: some banana and chocolate pudding. Delicious! Now everyone loosen your belt a couple of notches. =)