McCabe’s Bar-B-Q, Manning, South Carolina

McCabe’s is only open from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and I built my schedule around their limited hours. After my initial lunch at Scott’s, I headed cross-country to Manning, guided by my trusty GPS to McCabe’s. Having started my first lunch a little after 10:00, I made it before noon.

It turned out to be an eventful ride. My route was west through the Pee Dee watershed, low Francis Marion country, and at one point I came to one of those long, low bridges across a swampy area. Workers had closed the east-bound side of the four-lane bridge for repairs, so my westward route took me onto the east-bound side. My GPS panicked. “Return to the route. Return to the route! Return. To. The. Route! RETURN TO THE DAMN ROUTE!”

Once I was over the bridge, the GPS calmed enough to direct me to McCabe’s.

As you can see, it’s a small place. I drove up, parked, and got in line to order.

You will note that the line passes by a small buffet. I try to avoid buffets when I’m on my barbecue tours. Buffets require a level of self-control that usually eludes me, and I knew that McCabe’s was a particularly tempting buffet. While my self-control is weak, my powers of rationalization are legendary. Why not just some small helpings?

McCabe’s is not the place for small helpings. David McCabe himself fills your plate, and he flat fills it.

I was able to limit myself to some turnip greens, butter beans, hash, and, of course, pork. And only a few hushpuppies. Passing up the green beans and yams was tough, but I managed. I would marvel at my self-restraint if there’d been room for anything else on the plate.

Let me start with the vegetables. The turnip greens were sensational, packed with flavor and seasoned beautifully.  And the butter beans, let me tell you about the butter beans. It is easy to ruin butter beans, as anyone who’s eaten in a school cafeteria knows all too well. When cooked properly, with true skill and long experience, they can be great, almost as great as the turnip greens. When I’d finished, I went back up to the buffet and told David McCabe how much I liked them, and he went back to bring the vegetable cook out to receive my praise in person — that they were the best that I could remember eating. That was nice of him. It would have been nice of me to remember her name but my memory, well. I’m at the point where I feel proud when I can remember why I went upstairs. Next the hash and rice. The hash was delicious, the best of my trip thus far. It had an extraordinary depth of flavor, and a relatively thick texture. It reminded me of the hash at Big T’s in that regard, as well as in the tasting-delicious regard. I asked and David McCabe allowed that he makes the hash himself. He cooks it for five or six hours, with lots of stirring. That, my friends, is time well spent.

Last but not least was the pork. McCabe’s cooks truly excellent barbecue. I worried for a second because, as you’ll note from the photo, the pork is pulled and separated into, for lack of a better word, strings. Usually, that’s a bad sign, as attenuated and separated pieces tend to dry out more quickly than finely chopped and thus more closely packed barbecue. Of course, usually restaurants are open for more than two hours a day. At McCabe’s, the meat doesn’t sit around long enough to dry out. The pork has barely had time to say its goodbyes to the pig, and it arrives as succulent, rich, and smoky as you could hope. I’m not going to argue with Robert Moss about Scott’s being the best barbecue in the South, but McCabe’s sure gives it a run for the money.

Wait! I forgot the hushpuppies! I told you about my memory. They were very good, and I was ready for some hushpuppies. Kudos to McCabe’s for serving them plain, and not tarting them up with honey like they do up here.

My notes on McCabe’s include “Busy friendly generous.” Each of those is true in spades. Once you get through the buffet — some of you may need help carrying your over-laden plate — they bring you a big pitcher of whatever beverage you ordered. And everyone smiles, busy as they are, and makes even a questionable old guy welcome. Oh — McCabe’s is cash only, but you won’t need to bring much.

Oh, and as per the comment by Penny McLauchlin, at McCabe’s you can going back for more. I would have, but I’d just eaten and had one or two more meals ahead of me, so I was on my good behavior. Otherwise I might well have stayed there until they kicked me out.

I’m elevating my recommendation of McCabe’s on my encyclopedic Best Places to Eat near I-95 from Washington to Key West. If you ever get near Manning, go to McCabe’s.

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