
Bessinger's Barbecue
$Where South Carolina's mustard-sauce tradition was codified

“Whole-hog buffet and Lowcountry catfish stew in Moncks Corner”
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.
**A SC BBQ Association Top 100 whole-hog house that survived a fire and its founder's passing and still lays out the pans.** Both Carolina sauces, genuine whole hog, and a catfish stew that gives the Moncks Corner buffet a coastal identity.
6 dimensions, each scored 0-10
Regulars point to Whole-Hog Pulled Pork, Catfish Stew, Hash and Rice, and Banana Pudding.
Wed–Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 11am–2:30pm
Music Man's Bar-B-Que is closed Monday and Tuesday. Hours can change on holidays, so it's worth confirming before a trip.
Music Man's Bar-B-Que is mid-range ($$).
Music Man's Bar-B-Que serves Lowcountry / South Carolina Style barbecue — South Carolina BBQ centers on whole hog cooking, with the state uniquely home to four distinct sauce traditions: mustard-based (Midlands), vinegar-pepper (Pee Dee), light tomato, and heavy tomato. Charleston's Lowcountry spin adds Gullah-Geechee influences.
Music Man's Bar-B-Que has been serving Charleston barbecue since 2006.

Where South Carolina's mustard-sauce tradition was codified

Overnight whole hog and a check that never tops $15

A Buxton Hall alum's offset smoke by Hollywood's lone traffic light