We recently went to Ocracoke Oyster Company on Ocracoke Island, NC for some bbq.

OK, so you think I’ve lost touch with my bbq reality. Well let me tell you about it.

First, the restaurant is a nice sized place with both inside dinning and a screened in deck with tables. Both areas have a full service wait staff. It’s a “beachy” place which most places on the island are. Very casual. They do greet you at the door and seat you either in or out which ever you prefer. Very friendly staff.

So after checking out the menu I ordered the pork bbq plate with baked beans and coleslaw. Much to my surprise it was really good. I believe they use some fig wood in their smoker and it really works for them. The pork had a really nice flavor. The downside is that it was a little on the dry side, not too bad though. I tried all three of their sauces, NC Vinegar, a mustard base with vinegar, and their traditional red sauce. All three were good but I settled in on the NC vinegar sauce. This also gave the pork the extra moisture that it needed. The slaw was good. It was sweet and had a mayo base. The beans were really good too. They also had a sweet base to them. I really enjoyed my meal here.

Tammy ordered the brisket plate which also came with baked beans and slaw. I did help her out with some of the brisket too. It was sliced and prepared in a sweet bbq sauce. Not too sweet and very good. They could cut back a little on the sauce and let the brisket flavor come out more. People could add more sauce at the table if they like it that way. I’d say that we were both surprised and pleased with our bbq find.

But not only was the bbq really good, we both ordered an apple cobbler with ice cream and whipped cream. Oh how sweet it was. Thanks to our waiter for suggesting that one to us. So we need to walk around the island a few times now. It was worth it.

I have two suggestions for the Ocracoke Oyster Company.

1. Change your cornbread. That wasn’t very good. Hushpuppies would work better.
2. Add a 2 meat combo plate to your bbq menu. I would love to have tried the ribs too but couldn’t swing that without a combo choice. Well worth looking into and price accordingly.

So there is a moral to this story I guess. We went to an island. I was looking for great seafood which I usually eat more than my share of. Tammy eats anything but seafood there. Well who would have thought that we could go to a seafood restaurant and find really good bbq? I was expecting just ok and it turned out that I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. Sometimes being wrong is a good thing. So don’t judge the bbq by the big oyster on the sign. If you go to Ocracoke you need to check this place out.

Just a side note here: the seafood is really good too in case you’re wondering.

I didn’t see a website for them but they are on Facebook if you want to check them out.