The Carolina BBQ Trail Leads Right Through Bluffdale, Utah

Trae Eller of Charlotte-Rose’s Carolina BBQ. Photos by Steven Vargo.

A road trip through the Deep South is a journey led by your nose. Where you arrive doesn’t matter so long as the food is good and the company uplifting. Such is the case at Charlotte Rose’s Carolina BBQ, located in Bluffdale, Utah.

The three-meat combination platter for $13.95 comes with cornbread and your choice of 2 sides. Because I have impulse-control issues, I ordered all the sides but one.

The meat choices are pulled pork, pulled chicken, BBQ brisket, and pork spare ribs. The sides—where you need to apply a health disclaimer—include mac & cheese, red-skinned mashed potatoes with brisket gravy, baked beans, sweet potato casserole, green beans, cornbread, red rice and slaw. And don’t forget the wonderful assortment of sauces: South Carolina Tangy Mustard, North Carolina Spicy Vinegar, Memphis Sweet, and Honey BBQ.

The mac & cheese had melted gobs of cheddar and was incredibly creamy and delicious. The sweet potato casserole was buttery, smooth and absolutely tasty. The mashed potatoes, with a gravy made from brisket juices, really makes this side pop. The cornbread with house-made honey butter was fluffy and, like a cake left out on the counter, dared you to eat just one piece.

Meat & Sauce pairings were the most enjoyable part of the visit. My recommendations: take your chicken and split the pile in half, squirt the Honey BBQ sauce on one half, South Carolina Tangy on the other. The pulled pork: straight-up South Carolina Tangy Mustard. Brisket: Sweet Memphis with a few dashes of North Carolina Spicy Vinegar.

While finishing up this ravenous feast, I overheard an order for grilled-cheese sandwiches. What? “Oh yeah,” said owner Trae Eller. “Pick your meat, pick your sauce. We will cover it with either American or cheddar cheese, place it on Texas toast and grill it up.” “I’m already full,” I lamented, and I may have walked back to my table and cried.

Trae’s philosophy: “You can plan your day, but you can’t always control the outcome. You can however, control what you eat. I like to see people happy. They leave here smiling, even if that wasn’t the case when they got here. Eating BBQ is a choice, not something you do because it’s quick and easy. This is my love.”

As a genuine Carolina BBQ restaurant, Trae shows people what the South can do for them. Printed right on the menu: “We make no apologies: Our food is Southern. This means that no Dietician, Nutritionist, or novice Health Aficionado, for that matter, would recommend anything we serve.”