More Southern BBQ: Bessigner's

A month ago when Amanda was here, she said that she wanted to try some real Southern barbecue.  I had already tried Melvin's, so we thought it might be fun to try somewhere new (and she said it would be a good excuse for another Charleston Chowdown post, isn't she the best?!).  We went to Bessinger's BBQ, only a few minutes away from where we live.  

 

The set up was very similar to Melvin's and both have a variety of pulled pork, brisket, burgers, chicken, etc.  I went with a pulled pork meal with coleslaw and mac and cheese.  Each meal comes with cornbread or jalapeno cornbread and an onion ring.  

What I liked most about Bessinger's was their selection of barbecue sauces.  While Melvin's had four sauces, they were all still mustard based, just with different seasonings.  At Bessinger's, there was the traditional Carolinas' Golden Secret sauce as well as a spicy variety of that same sauce.  Additionally, there was a Hickory Red Sauce which I really enjoyed and was more of the ketchup-based sauce that I'm used to.  What I liked most is that the pulled pork came without sauce so you could add as little or as much of whatever sauce you preferred.  

Now for the food: the pork was very tasty and tender, and with the ability to add and try different sauces, I definitely preferred it to Melvin's.  The sweet tea was also delicious.  However, I think the best sides go to Melvin's.  My cornbread was overcooked (as you can see below- Amanda's jalapeno cornbread doesn't look as bad), the onion ring was very doughy, and my mac and cheese didn't taste too cheesy.  Overall, the experience was good and I'm happy we tried another "barbecue joint."

Now if only I could sneak some pulled pork and Bessinger's sauce into Melvin's, I'd be a very happy camper!  
Other favorites around the city: Zia, Five Loaves, DeSano Pizza, Melvin's Barbecue, Charleston Donuts, Cory's Grilled Cheese, Leon's Fine Poultry and Oyster Shop, Charleston Culinary Tours: Upper King