Junkyard Barbeque, College Park - Closed

I had lunch at this barbeque restaurant/bar where Roly Poly used to be on Wednesday. I had a half Brisket dinner for $10. The brisket was ok. It was a little cold so I can't vouch for how recently it had been smoked. The smoke flavor was a little uneven. The pieces that appeared to be more in the center of the brisket (wider) didn't have much smoke flavor at all. Most pieces did have some fat. Which can be a requirement for some, but, can be a sign of poor pre-trimming or lack of low and slow cooking technique. The portion was large. It was about 7 or so finger width slices. More than enough as a full portion for lunch or dinner. They were served bare. They give you three choices of Carolina inspired sauces (Sweet, Sweet and Slightly Spicy and Mustard). The dinner comes with a choice of three sides. I chose cole slaw. It was a vinegar based dressing with a touch of mayo. It was the way I prefer it and helped break up the savoriness of the meat. I also chose Ho' cakes. It's just fun to say. Ho's gotta eat too. They are two palm sized corn pancakes with jalapenos mixed in. Very good. The final side was mac and cheese. I didn't like it. It seemed old. The pasta was overcooked (either originally or upon subsequent reheats) and overworked (when they keep stirring it so often that the pasta disintegrates). The cheese blend (gouda and sharp cheddar) made it taste rancid. I'm sure they were trying for something that would cut through the beef, but, it didn't work for me. The plating was a bit spartan. The brisket was served on a white dish with the Ho' cakes and the sides were in styrofoam cups around them. The place is similarly unpretentious. It looks like a bar. The floors are cruddy and scratched up. The booths are ratty. There is alot of junk strewn around the environs. Nascar memorabilia decorates the walls. It has a bar on one side that seats about 12. The left side is booths (about three of them). There are some seats in the back hallway that appear to be an afterthought. There were three other people there while I was there. The service (1) was attentive and cordial. The place is owned by the same people who own Grafitti Junction. They envision creating a pathway in the back to "combine" the two restaurants. I describe it as like The Wall Street Cantina and One Eyed Jacks. I see Junkyard reverting to a bar and the barbeque menu filtering to GJ. Let's hope they can avoid being subsumed in the integration. But, entrepreneurs have a habit of exorcising the complexity out of their lives as soon as people start using the "test restaurant" as a scape goat for whatever is going wrong with the "original" spot. In any case, there is now an adequate Carolina Barbeque spot in College Park. The menu is a bit limited, but, it is an experiment or work in progress. Management seemed open to feedback. Which is not always the case if you read the comments on this blog. Plus they have Moonshine infused cherries. Where else are you going to find that? Parking is a problem. *Update - Now part of a Grafitti Junction. 11/18/2013