Harborque Serves up North Carolina Barbeque in South Baltimore

Kelley Stewart, half-owner of HarborQue, waits for customers Photo by Jacqueline Watts

On Lawrence Street, in that little seam between trendy Federal Hill and trendy Locust Point, there is a barbecue shack. It’s called HarborQue, and it serves a pulled pork sandwich that might just give you a drawl. Good thing that’s trendy these days.

It’s good, old-fashioned North Carolina (pronounced Nawth Cow-lyna) eastern region barbecue. The pork shoulder is smoked for 14 to 17 hours, till it’s to the falling-apart point with a smoky dark crust. It is also mopped occasionally with a tart, hot, thin vinegar sauce that is characteristic of eastern Carolina.

The result is a soft, smoky, spicy mound of porky delight, which is then piled on a soft sesame seed roll, topped with a little slaw by request and served to a happy public for $6.45.

Most people will opt for the platter, however, because sides make the meal.

For instance: there is a vat of baked beans simmering under the pork shoulders as they turn in the smoker. The beans come out sweet and smoky and a little bit tart and delicious. Seriously, you need to try the baked beans. These pair very well with the collard greens, which are dark green, salty and cooked soft with fatback for flavor. In case you haven’t guessed by now, pork fat rules at HarborQue.

We also tried the Carolina nachos ($6.45)—they’re an appetizer serving for about 6-8 people or a full meal for two. Start with white corn tortilla chips, pile on the pork barbecue, ladle on some beans for good measure, and top with sweet, smoky barbecue sauce, grated cheddar and pickled jalapeños. Oh, yum. If you take the nachos home with you, stop at the next-door Royal Farms for more chips—you will need them for the vast quantity of toppings.

Then there is the smoked half chicken ($9.45 with two sides). The chicken rotates in a similar smoker till it is falll-off-the-bone tender. The flesh is pink from the smoke, and the flavor is sublime. Mary Helen ordered the chicken with mac and cheese and cinnamon-brown-sugar apples. The apples are something else you need to try. They’re peeled, cored, quartered and simmered till they are brown, fragrant and delectable.

Also available are ribs, smoky and doused in sauce; pit beef, ham and turkey; wings and a Caesar salad. Yhere is absolutely nothing, except a naked Caesar and some of the sides, for vegetarians—yet. Management is thinking of adding barbecued shrimp and smoked salmon for vega-fishatarians.

Kelley Stewart is half-owner, with Bryan Riddle, of HarborQue. Stewart, who also owns Stewart Catering which supplies meals for nonprofits all over the peninsula, runs the kitchen. The barbecue recipes come from Riddle, an Anne Arundel County cop who ran a roadside stand weekends. When the crowds of hungry ‘cue fans threatened to spill out onto Ritchie Highway, he and Stewart opened HarborQue.

The restaurant is a large trailer with a deck. One of the hallmarks of a Southern barbecue joint is the grooved menu board with plastic push-in letters and the Co-Cola sign; HarborQue has that. Mint toothpicks are de rigueur. HarborQue has ‘em. And don’t forget the wet-naps—you will need several, and HarborQue supplies them right on the counter—all the comforts of down-home.

Next time, Stewart suggested we try the barbecue sundae—layers of beans, pork, creamy slaw in a sundae cup, topped with a big pickle spear. “It’s nasty,” she said. “People really love it.”

We walked away with a couple of slices of key lime pound cake, tart and with a lime-green sugar glaze. Breakfast of champions!