Music Man's Bar-B-Que

Whole-hog buffet and Lowcountry catfish stew in Moncks Corner

Music Man's Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.

Music Man's was founded around 2006 by musician-turned-pitmaster Gene 'Music Man' Cribb and his wife Esther, and it cooks the way small-town South Carolina always has: whole hogs slow-cooked and laid out on an all-you-can-eat country buffet. Hash and rice, fried chicken, and what the sign calls the best catfish stew in the Lowcountry share the line. Both of the state's signature sauces — mustard and vinegar-pepper — sit on the table so you settle the debate yourself.

Destination BBQ files it under 'worth the trip,' and the SC Barbecue Association has put it among its Top 100. The draw is genuine whole-hog cooking, not a steam-table imitation, plus a catfish stew that gives the buffet a coastal identity most pits skip. This is a survivor's kitchen too: it came back from a 2020 fire and its founder's passing, and it still lays out the pans. A Moncks Corner institution that earns the drive north of Charleston.

• Style: Lowcountry / South Carolina Style
• Price: $$
• Neighborhood: Moncks Corner
• Serving since 2006

What to order

• Whole-Hog Pulled Pork
• Catfish Stew
• Hash and Rice
• Banana Pudding

How it scores — 8.2/10 overall

• Smoke: 8.4/10
• Bark: 7.9/10
• Tenderness: 8.4/10
• Consistency: 8.1/10
• Value: 8.9/10
• Atmosphere: 8.0/10

Visiting

• Address: 112 E Railroad Ave, Moncks Corner, SC 29461
• Phone: (843) 899-7675
• Website: https://www.musicmansbbq.com/

Hours: Wed–Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 11am–2:30pm

More BBQ in Charleston