Order Up is a recurring feature about a staff member’s visit to a local eatery.
After going on a long run Sunday morning, I stopped into Bar-Q in Ocean View for my lunch.
Tucked inside Bold Mariner Brewing Company, a brewery across the street from the Chesapeake Bay, Bar-Q is a classic chop-block style barbecue spot. Their menu has the highlights you would expect: brisket, pulled pork, burnt ends, ribs, sausage and sides. I always appreciate a restaurant that keeps it simple, and based on my experience there, Bar-Q isn’t trying to do too much. They’re good at what they do.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted, so I went with a platter, which included brisket, pulled pork and three sides. Customer service was great, and I only waited for a couple minutes to grab my tray and eat lunch on the Bold Mariner’s porch upstairs. If you go on a sunny day, I highly recommend taking a seat up there. Breezes from the Chesapeake Bay cut the heat and humidity, and there’s plenty of Adirondack chairs for those enjoying a beer from the brewery.
The half-pound platter was enough to comfortably feed two people. I’ll be honest: I’m a sides gal. More often than not, my meal is just several sides when I go to spots with barbecue or Southern food, so I was very excited to try three. For lunch, I went with sweet potato cornbread, macaroni and cheese and Christmas beans to go with servings of brisket and pulled pork.
The brisket is, unsurprisingly, the star of the show. It wasn’t dry at all, well-seasoned and so tender that it was falling apart. Frankly, it outshined its counterpart on the platter, but the pulled pork was still solid. The platter comes with two sauces, but both cuts of meat were good with or without it.
The cornbread was sweet but not overwhelmingly so. It was a nice addition to the savory without feeling like a dessert. It also wasn’t dry, a problem I have noticed with restaurant cornbread in the past. The macaroni and cheese had a smoky flavor and plenty of cheese. The Christmas beans, which were Southern-style baked beans, also brought balance to a meal dominated by protein and carbs.
I don’t really associate barbecue as beach-town food, but at Bar-Q, it really works. When I got there just after 1 p.m., they weren’t a ton of people, but by the time I left, several families of beachgoers had made their way in for some post-ocean grub.
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If you go
Where: 1901 E. Ocean View Ave., Norfolk
Hours: 3-8 p.m. Wednesday; 12-8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 12-7 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday
Prices: Drinks: $3; sandwiches: $10-$14; platters: $24-$170
Details: 757-904-5132; https://www.bar-q.com/
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
