This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Southern Craft Barbecue, a wood fired smokehouse serving BBQ, burgers, and tacos in a historic downtown warehouse in Johnson City, TN.

Free parking lot directly in front of the restaurant.

Dora here. Parking is free directly across from the restaurant, always a bonus in my opinion. I really liked the industrial rustic vibes and the spacious interior. That said, outside of the longer tables in the back for bigger parties, I didn’t see too many actual tables. Could just be because half walls cordoned off the restaurant into sections. We were seated at a high top next to the bar but would’ve preferred a regular table. 

Love the industrial rustic vibe!

For our appetizer, we opted for the Corn Bread Skillet. This corn bread was great if you like it with less sugar and more texture. You could never get enough of the maple butter and the caramelized onions were unnoticeable.

Corn Bread Skillet Appetizer

Dora here. Don’t call me a hater, but this wasn’t a great start for me. No bits of corn, no sugar, and not nearly enough butter. And the caramelized onions? Hmmm. Really?

For my meal, I ordered the BBQ Combo. My two meats were pork belly and burnt ends, and the two sides, fried okra and tater tots. The BBQ was great, the pork belly was fatty and meaty, just like it should be, and the burnt ends were large chunks of flavor with their original BBQ sauce. Both meats were very smoky and tender, and something that I would definitely order again.

BBQ Combo: Pork belly, burnt ends, fried okra and tater tots

Dora here. They pack quite a bit of brisket between two hefty pieces of Texas toast. The brisket was cooked well, and not fatty or dry like some. It came with a tiny mound of slaw to top and a nice sized portion of seasoned tater tots. More than enough to fill your belly and I actually brought some home.

Brisket Sandwich. Cooked well, not fatty or dry like some.

Still Dora. If you’re in search of a restaurant to hold a conversation, this probably isn’t the spot. But if you want good BBQ and a hearty meal, go for it.

How do you like your cornbread?

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.