Background:
Buxton Hall BBQ was opened by Elliot Moss and Meherwan Irani in August of 2015 in a space that has been many things: it was once a paper company, a roller rink, and a boat show room (and no, not all three at the same time). Scallionpancake first heard about Buxton Hall in the 2016 Hot 10 edition of Bon Appetit. Charlotte’s Kindred made the cut in 2015, and now an Asheville restaurant? North Carolina’s culinary scene is on fire, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it. We headed to Buxton Hall on a whim on New Year’s Day this year, and it was more than worth the drive. And no--we didn't drive to visit Asheville for the day. We literally drove there just to eat at Buxton Hall and turn around to go back to Charlotte, and yep--still worth it.
Eat This:
Buxton Hall’s menu changes daily, and the day we went they were running a brunch menu with some New Year’s flair, such as the New Year’s Bowl with blue grits, fried egg, collards, black eyed peas, and bbq hash, or the Good Luck Hand Pie, with cornmeal pastry crust, black eyed peas, collards, and lots of luck. As tasty as those sounded, we were here to skate to one song, and one song only: pulled pork and lots of it. We both ordered the:
Whole Hog BBQ Plate
Eastern NC BBQ mop, slaw, pickles, hushpuppies, choice of two sides
Close up on the bog
For sides, we went with the chicken bog, which is a mix of rice, chicken, sausage, peas, and lots of spice, and the spicy collard greens--these are made by putting the collards underneath the whole hog that is roasting on a spit and letting them catch the drippings. The bog was just so-so, the spice was not as prominent as promised, and the flavors just didn’t wow us. The green beans, which we each ordered, were stand out. You could really taste the flavor from the drippings and they were just the right accompaniment to the pork so you could feel like you were doing something virtuous by eating a vegetable, but it, you know, tasted like pork. Win.
Dessert:
Brunch dessert! The cinnamon roll was by far and away our favorite part, and maybe that’s because we were silly and didn’t order the buttermilk fried chicken biscuit, but holy geez. We were emotional.
Buxton Hall employs full-time pastry chef Ashely Capps and she is whipping up straight goodness in that kitchen. Her goodies are seasonal, too--I took home a traditional fruit cake on this New Year’s visit. The cake was heavy on the brandy, and it was the most amazing ever. People don’t appreciate fruit cake due to its reputation of being dry and crumbly, and this iteration laughed in the face of that stereotype.
Warm Banana Brioche Cinnamon Roll
Pecans + walnuts, brown sugar, sticky schmear
Uh, yeah
Drink:
How about a cheerwine and bourbon slushie? This even intrigued Jason, and he rarely ever indulges in the devil’s brew. The “house slushie” switches up daily, and oh what fun! It’s better than 7-11, guys.
Emoji with heart eyes!
Atmosphere:
The open, loft-like space is sunny and bright. The kitchen and bar serve as focal points, and in the kitchen you can see the hog roasting on the spit. The hog on the day we went was named “Lucy,” and we were very grateful for her gift to us.
Other fun touches? A dessert case, where you could see all of the specialities of the day, and in the restroom? Original carvings on the mirror frame and such from the roller rink days. Rad!
Caught in the act!
Slow Roasted Hospitality:
We sat at the bar and received great service from the two bartenders on duty. The folks out front were awesome, too. We browsed for a while at the cool merchandise and food options. They had leaf lard which I didn’t splurge on this time, but it can be rather hard to find--it’s the good stuff!
Frankie’s Notes:
Driving two hours each way for a 45 minute lunch is just something Javon does, okay? And no, we didn’t even stay to walk around Asheville. There was a football game on, for god’s sake!; I have never eaten black-eyed peas and collards on New Year’s in my whole life...is this why everything is going to shambles?; We are going to put various items under pig drippings now: kale salads, avocado toast, pug biscuits; Adult slushies make up for taxes and mortgages; I am bringing fruitcake back, and fruitcake is bringing sexy back, and you’ll have to get your own because I’m not sharing with anyone.