JB’s serves up Carolina-style Bar-B-Q
Growing up in Nashville, North Carolina, Joe Battle spent many weekends socializing with family, including his two brothers and two sisters, and their friends in his backyard. His uncles, aunts, cousins, and neighbors would get word of the gatherings, but mostly they would just sniff the air.
Waking up in the middle of the night, Joe’s dad would fire up the charcoal grill and begin the 13-hour process of grilling a pig.
“We never used a gas grill. If I wanted to use gas I’d cook in the oven. The charcoal smoke has a much better flavor than gas,” Battle said.
Later that day, everyone would feast on what he calls chopped pork, also known as pulled pork, along with grilled chicken and ribs accompanied by baked beans, collard greens, cole slaw and sweet potato pie. Comfort food from the South. My mouth’s watering just writing about it.
When Battle moved to West Cape May as a young man and went to work for the Lower Cape May Regional School District, he soon began to throw the same parties, mostly social gatherings at the county park to enjoy the company of many of the school bus drivers who worked either with or for him in the transportation department.
“We wound up having these summer picnics every year, and then people kept asking me, ‘Joe, would you cook me a pig, would you cook me a pig?’ They’d say, ‘If you’re going to do it anyway, you might as well do it for money.’ That sounded good to me, so I ventured out and went for it, and it worked out pretty good.”
JB’s Bar-B-Q, using the techniques he learned as a boy and using Carolina-style barbecue sauce, opened 14 years ago on Elmira Street in Cape May. The food, unique to the area, was immediately well received.
“North Carolina barbecue is vinegar-based, and everyone around here thought barbecue sauce had to be tomato-based,” Battle said. “People up here never tasted this kind of pork. In the summertime we’d do real well with it, and we were catering a lot of parties, too.”
He leased the building on Elmira and was happy enough with the way business was going that he expressed an interest in buying the property, but was told it wasn’t for sale. Later, he was told the building had been sold and that he would have to leave.
“They sold it out from under me,” he said.
So he moved to the now-closed Vance’s Bar, and to Rio Grande three years ago, before the problem-plagued Route 47 project began. He suffered through lean times as commuters stayed away from the torn up asphalt for almost two years. Things are different now, with the road construction completed and the area is in the throws of a commercial building boom with Lowe’s opening next month and a Super-Giant grocery store coming next. With all the upgrades in the area, Battle said he is considering moving to a more mainstream location, or perhaps to one of the new strip stores.
The building he now leases is small and cramped, with enough room for a takeout-only business, but he said he will stay where he is if he can’t find anything affordable among the skyrocketing prices in the Rio Grande business district.
“I would have loved to stay there on Elmira, on a main street like that. Being one block off the main street (at his present location) can make a big difference, but we do pretty well,” he said. “We had built up a loyal customers base, and most of (the new business) we get is from word of mouth. We have a good product, I know that; I’m confidant in that, but it’s not the greatest location.”
His son and neighbor, Joe Jr., who graduated Lower Cape May Regional three years ago, does most of the grilling these days, with his wife, Juanita, taking care of the sides and pies.
Joe said the success of the Philadelphia Eagles this year and football in general is good for business, as customers order combinations of chopped pork, ribs and chicken for weekend parties.
He said the biggest compliments they receive come based on the chopped pork and slabs of ribs.
“When you grill the entire pig, you use all the meat that comes from it for the chopped pork, so you get the rib meat, the ham falling right off the bones, everything. That’s what helps it get so good,” Battle said.
And when someone comes in and asks for the chopped pork sandwich and want cole slaw placed right on top of the pork, he knows he’s talking to a Carolina native.
“I know right there they’re either coming from North Carolina, or they just know about North Carolina barbecue, because the best way to serve it up is with the cole slaw on there. Then the next time I see them they have that look on their face, and I know they enjoyed it because they’ll order it that way again.”
Battle also added this tip to barbecue fans: don’t worry about ordering too much because barbecue, especially the pulled pork and ribs, freezes very well. Just use a double-boiler to reheat meat, or a microwave on partial power to keep the meat from drying out.
And don’t forget that Eagles Super Bowl party planning should be done soon because, as Battle said, “People seem to love to put out a spread of barbecue when football is on,” even if Carolina is not in this year’s big game.
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed at
seitz@catamaranmedia.com or you can
comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
JB’S BAR-B-Q
201 Hirst Avenue
Half block off Route 47
Rio Grande 08242
886-PORK (7675)
ON THE MENU
Hours: Open Friday from 11 a.m.
until 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 11
a.m. until 9 p.m.
Customer favorites: Chopped (Pulled) Pork, $8 a pound; Ribs $15.50/$9; Chicken $9/$6; Wings, $6 a dozen; Platters include two sides (oven-baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, collard greens and a fresh baked roll), choice of Chopped (Pulled) Pork, $8; Chicken, $7.50, Ribs, $9.50; BBQ Wings, $6.50; and Pigs Feet, $6. Combination platters available. Desserts include Homemade Sweet Potato Pie.
Catering: Combination platters made to order. For parties of 50 or more, grilling will be done on site for any occasion, any time of year.
Cash only.
Takeout only.
Directions: Heading toward Wildwood on Route 47, turn left on Second Avenue just after Village Shoppes, behind US Gas. On right, look for JB’s Bar-B-Q signs.
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed at seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250. | Cape Cuisine Story Archive | Return to Columns Home