Editor’s Note: Fork & Dagger is 828newsNOW’s anonymous restaurant review series, written by our independent Grub Scout—no freebies, no press perks, no agenda. Grub Scout pays full price, visits unannounced, and takes notes on food, service, atmosphere, and value. Each review reflects a recent, honest experience rated on our 1‑to‑5 fork scale. We aim to help you discover standout dining spots—from casual diners to white‑tablecloth affairs—one bite at a time.
I’ve been a regular at Luella’s North Asheville location since it opened in 2009. For the first decade, it was one of my favorite barbecue spots in town. This is a divisive topic, but I must stress that my barbecue opinions are solely based on beef brisket. Sure, I like other meats and sides, but sometimes I realize I’d have been happier had I just ordered a half pound of brisket and called it a day.
Because of this, I must say that, over the post-pandemic years, Luella’s Bar-B-Que had fallen off. I was so consistently disappointed in how dry the brisket was that I stopped visiting. To be quite honest, I noticed they were offering an Asheville Restaurant Week special, so I randomly decided to give them a shot again.
The special she chose was a pulled pork sandwich with a side of fries, hush puppies, Brunswick stew and the traditional dessert of banana pudding…