Travels of the Taste Buds- Due South in Christiansburg, VA

3/23/13

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Decor, Menu, Food, Sauces, Environmental Practices

Cons: 

     Welcome to a new(ish) kind of post. It's about the places I visit when I happen to travel. It's not often, so there won't be a ton of these posts. I hope you find them as helpful as my other posts... which I hope you find helpful...

     This past weekend I was in Blacksburg taking care of some business. While there I stayed with my former roomies C & SW. They are always so gracious to host me and my dog. I truly appreciate that. Having my dog in the same house as their 2 dogs means that there is A LOT of energy that needed to be released. So, on Saturday morning SW and I took all three menaces to the dog park. While there, SW and I  discussed lunch. We wanted some place cheap, but good. Usually, these don't go hand in hand. Thankfully, there are always exceptions. Due South BBQ (Due South BBQ) in Christiansburg is one of those exceptions. And seeing as SW had never been there, it was a no brainer.

     Due South is located on Roanoke St. right off of the 460 bypass. It has been in it's current location since 2007 when they moved to Christiansburg from South Carolina. The owners are committed to freshly smoked bbq and homemade sides. The outside of Due South is basic, but welcoming. I personally think the smell has a lot to do with that.  They smoke everything on-site, which you can smell as soon as you get out of your car. When you come in the front door you are greeted by the people at the register. The staff is extremely friendly. The counter is directly to your left when you come in with tables and booths in front and to the right of you. The walls are covered in newspaper articles, awards and paintings. Take a second to glance at all the banners and ribbons from the competitions Due South has competed in. It helps build the mood.

The view from our table towards the door.

     SW and I took a second to browse the menu. The menu has what you expect to find from a BBQ place; ribs, chicken, pulled pork. All of it smoked on-site and all of it tasty. SW went with a basic pulled pork sandwich, which comes with hush puppies. I got the "The Trough" which is a jumbo sandwich and 2 sides, also served with hush puppies. I went with mac n' cheese and fried green tomatoes as my sides. We took our number, got our drinks and found a table. So begins the waiting game.

     While we waited, we took a look at all the sauces on the table. Due South has 5 different sauces, enough to appeal to all taste buds. The sauces are as follows: Sweet Brown ( tomato based with brown sugar and molasses), Hot Red (tomato based, sweet and spicy), Sweet Red (tomato based, sweet and tangy), Lexington (vinegar based, tangy and spicy) and Yellow (mustard based, sweet and tangy). I am a big fan of the Hot Red and the Yellow. I use one on one half the sandwich and one on the other half. Allows for contrasting flavors. I suggest you try them all and see which one works for you.

     The staff brought out our meals and made sure we understood the sauces. Once I dressed my sandwich with the proper sauces I dove in. You get the smokey flavor right away. The meat is done perfectly. It's not dry or over done. The smoke ring on the outside provides for an incredible crunchy bark. Needless to say, it's a great sandwich. The mac n' cheese is solid and homey. It is creamy and cheesy, but I wouldn't hate a little breadcrumb topping. The fried green tomatoes are tasty. They aren't dripping with grease, which is good. Green tomatoes didn't have a very tomato-heavy flavor. It was more like eating a mild pickle, in my opinion.They are served, like everything in the South is, with ranch dressing. All of it was very very tasty.

     The really cool thing about Due South is that they are trying to go green with their trash. A lot of their trash is biodegradable. They separate it all out and it goes in a different container. They send it all out to a place in Riner, VA that turns it into a soil amendment. That is a pretty great way to get rid of usable trash. Better then letting it clog up our dumps. The other thing that Due South does is provide free dog bones. They take all the bones from the pork they smoke and put them in plastic bags for customers to take for free. They are located in a basket on the floor by the front door. And as we got them for all three dogs, I will attest they are completely safe.

     Due South is a nice little gem of BBQ goodness located in Christiansburg. The staff is friendly, the food homemade and the company thinking about the environment. It's a great place to grab a sandwich or a pint for takeout. Next time you are looking for a hit of BBQ in your life, try Due South BBQ. You won't be disappointed.