Jim 'N Nick's serves classic Southern treats

Jim 'N Nick's bills itself as a Southern kitchen, blessing diners with such down-home provisions as pulled pork barbecue, hickory-smoked beef brisket, spare ribs and those teeny-weeny, oh-so-cute and oh-so-addictive cheese muffins.

One could take it a step further. This place is a gold mine. Jim 'N Nick's opened its North Charleston location nearly two years ago near Tanger Outlet, and traffic is as steady as ever for the Alabama-based barbecue chain. Same goes for its King Street quarters.

The restaurant has managed to pull off a rare double feat, inspiring loyal devotees and critical praise, becoming a darling of the Wine and Food set and other national outlets (just check the August issue of Bon Appetit, if you will, for the restaurant's coleslaw recipe).

Sure, like any corporation worth its salt, Jim 'N Nick's benefits from slick PR and marketing machinations. But this is still rock-solid stuff.

The restaurant cleaves to the ole grilling mantra of "low 'n' slow" ( if you put that on a T-shirt, you'd have a surefire sellout), cooking its pork shoulders for 20 hours. The result: fine, tender, smoky bites, served as a sandwich ($7.99) or as a meal with a pair of sides ($11.99). Speaking of which, Jim 'N Nick's makes do with baked beans, slow-cooked collards, mac and cheese and the aforementioned coleslaw to accompany its catfish plates, rib and meat combos or hickory-smoked ham.

And still, for all the bluster, the smoked pork hot links might be the best thing going. Course, the classic pimiento cheese, made with roasted red peppers, has something to do with it. It's another treat.