Last week I had the opportunity to attend a beer dinner at Poogan’s Smokehouse on East Bay Street. I’ll admit, I’ve been DYING to try this place! I’ve walked by it many times, but never popped in. To be honest, when it comes to barbecue joints, I typically stick to the few I know in Charleston. I can honestly say, this place not only met my expectations (I mean, I had pretty high expectations given how much I love Poogan’s Porch), it exceeded them!

First Course

The dinner started off with a Kolsch from Pitt Street Brewing accompanied by Smoked Chicken Wings and Mahi Tartare served on a pork rind. The first course was very casual, cocktail hour-esque, hors d’oeuvre style platter. The smoked chicken wings from Sam Jones BBQ, were truly one of our favorite dishes. The wings were sweet and cooked perfectly. They were so good, that thanks to Poogan’s Event Coordinator, Beth, we got to take some home.

Second Course

After the appetizer course, we were seated in a large booth near the bar with Beth and her husband. The second course featured Revelry’s IPA with a BBLT. The BBLT was a soft fluffy biscuit (if you have ever been to Poogan’s Porch you know just how good their biscuits are!) with Keegan-Filion Pork Belly, an heirloom tomato, Bibb lettuce, and good ole fashion Dukes Mayo.

This course was amazing! The fresh, juicy tomato really brought out all the flavors of the pork belly and biscuit!

Third Course

The third course was the most interesting course. This course featured a Thaddeus Farms Southern Fried Quail, with fried mac and cheese, tempura summer vegetables, oyster mushrooms, and lemon aioli. I’ll admit, I’ve never had fried quail before. It was fried to perfection and absolutely delicious. The mac and cheese balls were huge. As a true Southerner, I appreciate a good fried mac and cheese ball, and these did not disappoint! The course was paired with Revelry’s Gullah Cream Ale, which was smooth and delicious.

Fourth Course

I’ll admit, the big fluffy biscuit from the second course and the huge mac and cheese balls from the third course were filling me up. I knew I still had two more courses to go. I decided to pull an audible and go with the sampling method for the next two courses.

The fourth course featured a The Duck Rabbit Milk Stout. This beer is one of my favorite stouts. I am a huge dark beer fan, especially in the cooler months. This course also featured a Smoked Keegan-Filion Porkerhouse Chop, with creamed Brussel sprouts, Grilled Asparagus, Onion Rings, and a BBQ Peanut Milk Stout Glaze. This portion was HUGE and served family style.

The Porkerhouse chop was juicy and delicious. I also loved the crispy onion rings. The onion rings gave me an old-school steakhouse vibe. Although I didn’t get to try the asparagus and creamed Brussel sprouts (let’s be honest, I was going straight for the meat), I heard they were some of the best Brussel sprouts in town!

Fifth Course

The fifth and final course featured an Adluh Hushpuppy Funnel Cake with berry jam and kettle popped Sorghum. This was probably the most interesting course out of them all. I would never have thought to make a funnel cake out of hushpuppies. Again, by this point I was pregnant with a food baby, so I only sampled a small portion, but it was very light and fluffy. The popcorn on top, gave it a fun crunch.

Paired with this course was probably my favorite beer of the night, “Drive by Fruiting” from Revelry. I was informed that the name was a reference from a line from Mrs. Doubtfire, which made it even more intriguing. The beer was very sweet, with a little tartness. It wasn’t as tart as a full sour beer. I loved it so much I had two of them. It was the perfect sweet beer, to end a great night.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beer dinner at Poogan’s Smokehouse. The space was laid back, the food was to die for, and the beer was delicious. I’ll definitely stop into Poogan’s Smokehouse next time I’m on East Bay for a bite and a beer!