Marietta's new BBQ joint set to shake up food scene

By Gap Creek Gourmet's Nichole Livengood, Contributing Columnist,

MARIETTA, S.C. – At first glance, Daniel's Briar Patch may look like just another Southern barbeque joint, but to the food lovers who live in or pass through northern Greenville County, this might just be the place that’s going to change the foodscape of Marietta.

Partners Daniel Dobbs and Jared Edge opened the doors about eight weeks ago, but their BBQ recipe has been slow-cooking for years. The two had sort of a “black market barbecue” thing going on for a while, taking catering orders and then driving around and selling smoked meat out of the back of their car.

That was the start of DoBBieQ, but that wasn’t the beginning of their culinary experience.

Dobbs landed a job with Greenville’s Table 301 group right out of culinary school. As their corporate chef, he cooked for celebrities like Cheech Marin, Gabrielle Reece, and Kevin Costner. He moved on to the kitchen at Great Bay Oyster House in Greer and finally landed at Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards. Edge has most recently worked at Greenville favorites Independent Public Alehouse and Universal Joint.

And it’s this culinary background that makes me think this restaurant might be the one to give our small town the culinary boost it needs. The northern end of Greenville County is craving real food, and these boys are gearing up to serve it by the plateful.

They are slowly tipping the bucket with items like Shrimp and Grits, Catfish Tacos, and a “The Edge” Cuban Sandwich, while keeping it real to the local palate with house fried pork rinds, fried chicken,  and daily meat-and-three specials.

Even the every day items are a little bit of extraordinary. The mac-n-cheese got my attention, and Dobbs spends a lot of time on his scratch made vinegar, mustard and bourbon molasses BBQ sauces. I pulled a little pork out of my Cuban to sample all three. On Saturday they throw ribs on the smoker, and on Sundays they lay out a buffet spread for the church crowd. You can also stop in daily for breakfast.

Although not high-end organic fare, Dobbs sources a good bit of his food from Beechwood Farm, just around the corner, and he's getting meat from Vaughn Meat Packing and Gusto in Greer. This is down home grub with a dash of craft brew-pub fare.

Dobbs has his sights set on being that anchor restaurant that Marietta desperately needs, and my fingers crossed that this will be the first of many more “real food” options to come for northern Greenville County.

Daniel’s Briar Patch and DoBBieQ Catering are located at 2800 Geer Hwy. in Marietta. For catering gigs, tailgating and 4th of July picnic fare, call (864) 610-2572.  A back room is available for private parties, and there are horseshoe pits in case you want to take your party outside.