Cranford Brother's Barbecue

I want 1/2 chicken and they were out. Had wings, wedge salad and sweet tea. The tea was fresh and good. About all I can say good about the food. Western wings were extremely dry and tough. The wedge salad was warm baby romaine not a wedge. I ordered vinaigrette and got citrus vinaigrette which did not pair well with blue cheese. I think there was 4 people in restaurant whim I left at 7:00. Just seems to me we could do a lot better than this for something as simple as wings and salad at $33 not including tip. Not rocket science.

Cranford Brother's BBQ absolutely knocked it out of the park! The barbecue is packed with flavor, the brisket is incredibly tender with that perfect smoky bark, and the burgers are honestly some of the best I've had anywhere. Everything tastes fresh and thoughtfully made. The atmosphere is casual, busy, and full of energy exactly the kind of place you feel comfortable bringing kids. Plenty of bustle, great service, and amazing food. If you're in the Hickory area, this spot is a must-try!

Wings- The wings themselves? Great Flavor. The buffalo sauce ran right off onto the tray and had to be dabbed up if you wanted to taste it. Large wings, good price, very tender. Potato Salad- Middle of the Road, good overall flavor, no complaints. Mac and Cheese- In a word? Meh… The sauce was watery and definitely leaned into the "Queso" flavor that it is named for. The crumb topping was an unnecessary addition that had a flavor that was hard to describe and did not add to the overall experience. Turkey- Good flavor in the meat, but the skin could have been used to weave a rope and climb a mountain. Paired well with the original sweet bbq sauce. Pulled Pork- Decent enough. Tasted like a smoked shoulder, and not much else. The vinegar sauce paired with the sweet sauce was a good combo for the pork. Ribs- Meh. Slightly tough, and not a lot of flavor. Unimpressive. Brisket- Complete and utter trash. Tough, un/under-seasoned, leaning towards dry, just all around worthless. I wish I could say I could feed it to my dog, but I wouldn't insult my dog that way. Bread- Would be great if they slapped some butter on it and griddled it for a bit, instead of taking it out of the bag and throwing it on my tray. Overall good flavor even if it was straight up bread, regardless of what brand it is. Service- Waitress came to check on me promptly when I was seated, she was very nice and grabbed my drink order. Returned with that, and took my order. When my food arrived, other than bringing some napkins, I never talked to her again until she brought my check. I drank all of my tea and never had a refill once, even after trying to get her attention. Multiple employees wandered by and never checked on it once either. Parking- Adequate for the area. Atmosphere- Typical of a "trendy" Barbeque joint. It doesn't make up for the mediocre quality of the food, even if it does try and distract you from it.

I really don't know how to start this review. I found out about this place because its in my home town of Hickory, NC which made me really wanna try this place out because I now live in Charlotte. Most people who live in Charlotte will Travel to smaller towns to experience the better BBQ outside of the city. There are a few notable places surrounding charlotte that I've been to two or more times and have really understood what the pit master is trying to achieve with the handling their smoked meats from fridge to smoker to table and are involved in every step of all the food being served. I myself being a chef in the industry for 20 plus years and BBQ hobbyist/ enthusiast I've come to understand a lot about the current scene of BBQ in America. Walking into Cranford's BBQ I was deceived off the sight of the fact that there was no line out the door. The place is nice, well lit, amazing décor, Texas flag hanging on the wall. I felt like I was gonna be in for a treat. Unlike other BBQ places I've been to in the state that are doing Third wave Texas style BBQ this is a sit down restaurant and are greeted with a host and server is there to take your order. in hindsight should have raised a red flag for me because usually I'm in a line and being asked by the person slicing the meats how much meat do I want, my tray is being made right in front of me with payment at the end of the line. Choosing BBQ off of a menu at the table should not be a concept in this scene. I ordered the six smoked wings as an appetizer which came to the table fresh and hot they were good. I also ordered the 3 meat platter. Brisket, pulled pork, Smoked Turkey, with 2 sides plus 2 extra sides. typical of what I order at other BBQ places, but right off the bat when the food came I saw the brisket was looking like beef jerkey and tasted as salty. the pork was not made the morning of as it tasted stale and vinegary. the turkey sliced way too thin was moist but cold and smokeless in flavor. all of the sides where not prepared well as I got the jalapeno grits which I thought was the corn casserole I ordered because it was so thick. the sweet potato casserole tasted like boiled sweet potatoes with some crumble crust they threw on top right before it went out; absolutely flavorless. the corn casserole was more like a soufflé as it was light and airy and eggy with little corn and no salt or other seasoning. and the worst of the sides was the potato salad that was undercooked and flavorless. the tray was finished off with a slice of bread out of the bag thrown on top of my tray with some pickled okra tucked to the side which were not pickled well and also flavorless. if you live in North Carolina and or new to the state please visit Hickory NC. it's a beautiful town its a really nice place to get away from charlotte or other big cities. the food scene in hickory is amazing but the BBQ scene here is definitely putting on a front. to say this is a good representation of Texas style BBQ being served in Hickory NC is an insult to BBQ enthusiast of North Carolina and Texas. The BBQ at Cranford Brothers is made by cooks without pride and love and could care less about the BBQ experience that you are there to enjoy. I would give this place a hard no if I wanted good BBQ because you will waste your money.

Typically don’t do reviews but this one was worth it. Came here with the family, the atmosphere was great, drinks were awesome! Cocktails are on another level definitely recommend pitmaster. Food was on point we tried so many different things on the menu because the prices were decent and we weren’t disappointed. Came on a Friday there was live music, family had a really good time. 10/10 would recommend.