Sticky Fingers - Mt. Pleasant, SC

[JayL]

I HATE chain restaurants...and especially chain restaurants that claim they serve bbq. You know the kind...those that think bbq is a back rib that's boiled, slathered in sauce, and fired on a char grill to serve. Sticky fingers is a chain.

Well a while back I was looking over the Southern Pride (commercial smokers) web site and saw that Sticky Fingers was a customer. I figured that if they used a real smoker and not a pot on the stove to cook "bbq", then it was worth giving them a try. I'm very glad I did.

Sticky fingers has six locations (Downtown Charleston, North Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Wilmington/NC, a spot in TN, and one in FLA). My fiance and I recently moved to Mt. Pleasant after frequenting the greater Charleston area for several years. We stopped in to the MtP location and ordered smoked chicken, pulled pork, ribs, and smoked wings (don't worry, most of that was on a combo plate).

We were pleasantly suprised! The pork was pretty much the same as I cook at home. The ribs (back ribs...I tend to like spare ribs better, but can appreciate a quality back rib) were done just right. They didn't fall of the bone...something that most people think makes a good rib. Ribs that fall off the bone are over done...and that's not a good thing. I could grab two bones and pull them apart with a decent amount of resistance. The meat held on to the bones and the rib split in the meat right between said bones. PERFECT. The wings were smoked and flash fried. The smoked chicken was nice, but could have been seasoned a bit more. None of the meat garnered any complaints. Everything was done well and had a very nice smokiness. The sauces on the table covered several taste pallets. I ordered my ribs dry so that I could try different sauces, but found that I ate the vast majority of them dry, sans sauce.

The sides we ate (green beans, slaw, baked beans) were average to slightly above. Again, no complaints.

All in all we had an excellent meal at a chain bbq restaurant!!! I was completely surprised. We certainly will be going back to Sticky Fingers.

Jay

[Suzy Q]

I like SF, but I think the key is that I don't think of them in the same terms as a "traditional" BBQ restaurant. I think of them as a decent chain that happens to have pulled pork on the menu. On the rare occasion that we're back in South Carolina and eat there, I don't even always get the pork - their chicken, etc. is pretty good.

[carolinadawg]

Interesting. Apparently a soulless chain without a stick of wood in sight that charges $6 for a bbq sandwich and side is just fine, but an individually-owned restaurant who sells artisanal bbq over wood coals for the same price is overcharging. Who knew?

[danna]

I'm not a fan either...which I supose is fortunately since I work 2 blocks from one.

farther enough away that I don't weigh 300 lbs, yet close enough to go occasionally, are good ribs at Hubba Hubba in Flat Rock NC and FABULOUS ribs at 12 Bones in Asheville and now Arden.

[youngbuk32]

I remember the first time I went to SF was during a field trip to Charleston back in middle school. I loved their pulled pork, though it may have been due to it being the first time having pulled pork.

After my last couple of experiences I should've just stopped after my 1st visit because it hasn't lived up to what I remembered. The ribs and chicken were bland and dry. They definately couldn't stand alone without sauce but it didn't help that the sauce is terrible itself. The Tennessee Whiskey sauce is the worst I've ever had.

[Suzy Q]

You can also get the Sticky Fingers sauce at most larger Southern grocery stores. I do wish they'd franchise the restaurants to the RDU/Triangle area!

[dfilpus]

Sticky FIngers has twenty-three locations, not six. http://www.stickyfingersonline.com/lo...

My experience at the restaurant in Augusta Georgia matched yours. Well worth a revisit.

[JayL]

Sorry about that. I was only going by the information provided in the restaurant itself. Maybe the six locations listed at the restaurant are the ones owned by the original three partners. I guess it's possible all the others are franchises.