I ordered cole slaw (of course), but I didn't like the style. Seems like it may have been all pork loin, and I think you almost have to add shoulder to the mix to get the right amount of moisture in there. I got a couple good pieces of bark, but not one single piece with a nice juicy bit of fat on it. The pulled pork was a bit dry for my taste. The meat could have been more tender, and I detected little to no smoke flavor in anything.
I don't want to give the impression that it wasn't good, but by my standards, BBQ in North Carolina should be a lot better. Now, let's keep in mind: a.) we're in North Carolina, largely considered one of the greatest BBQ states in the US b.) we're a bit off the beaten path, at a non-chain variety eatery and c.) this place was voted Charlotte's best barbecue by the state's own BBQ Association (why don't we have one of those, by the way?). Unfortunately, I was a little bummed when it came to the taste factor. Strangely enough, they were both very thin, much more like a mop sauce than an actual, textbook BBQ sauce - but I'd be lying if I said they weren't both very good and accompanied their cooking style really well. There was the standard red, then the more mustard/vinegar style gold sauce. They has their own, house-made sauces available on the table. None of the meat was heavily sauced, which is exactly the way I like it. The food came out a LOT faster than we had expected, but you'll never hear me complain about that. Basically, they had five meats to choose from, and we picked everything but beer can chicken. We ordered the "Little bit of everything," which was around $20 and came with pulled pork, ribs, brisket and smoked turkey. Our server was on it and got our drink order right after we were seated and had it to the table in just enough time for us to have decided what we wanted.
The know how to cater to their kind of crowd, staffing a good handful of young, good looking girls wearing little but booty-cutters, black tank tops and tattoos.
So, let's get down to business - the food! The service was fast AND friendly - two things that aren't typically mutually exclusive. The decorum matched right up with their namesake - from light fixtures made from old wheel stock to an entire bike suspended from the ceiling, and you'll find everything from a Ducati to custom choppers in the front parking lot.
It's billed as a biker hangout, but not a biker bar, per se. Mac's has a nice ambiance, similar to Tank's or Fricker's, for those of you familiar with those two Dayton joints. Luckily, it was just under two miles from the Westin. I'd read a lot on Urban Spoon about Mac's Speed Shop BBQ and wanted to check it out. Since we'd driven there, we could hop in the car and head out of the hotel territory, where there were plenty of other dining options. FvF and I finally got to get away and have a nice dinner alone, which meant we got to pick the spot.