Off-season, Cape Cod is a quiet place. The wintertime darkness arrives early too. Luckily we warmed up by the fire at Red River Barbecue.

The cold finally arrived in the new year, but with the sun shining, we took a short hike at Kent Point, a smallish nature reserve in Orleans. Our toddler still had plenty of energy, so we brought him over to Brooks Park, where we found a beautiful playground, but chillier temperatures.

We had originally planned on eating at a wood-fired pizzeria in Harwich Port, but the restaurant had closed for the season. We turned toward Chatham and out of the corner of my eye I saw the “open” flag blowing in the wind outside a mid-century ranch-style home. The toddler was still awake, so we decided to check it out.

Jeremiah Reardon bought Red River Barbecue from Christian Schultz in March of 2023. Schultz had originally operated the French-style fine dining restaurant, L’Alouette by Christian in the space. He had taken over in 2014 after running Christian’s in Chatham and Academy Ocean Grille in Orleans.

But the pandemic changed everything. Schultz pivoted from fine dining to barbecue in order to offer take out service.

Reardon told the Cape Cod Chronicle he recalls eating at Christian’s in Chatham when Shultz operated it. Reardon also has fine dining experience, having worked for Wolfgang Puck, and around other Cape restaurants like Grill 43 in Yarmouth. When he opened Red River in April of 2023, he reworked Schultz’s barbecue sauces and rubs.

When we arrived in January, the place was nearly empty. There was a couple enjoying a drink at the bar, but otherwise we were the only patrons. The hostess sat us in front of a fireplace. It kept us toasty, creating an inviting and cozy dining room. We hooked up a screen for the toddler, a new addition to our repertoire, and ordered some food.

We started off with the corn fritters served with maple dipping sauce. I thought these had a consistency that was a bit too chalky. I would have preferred something that was more like a hush puppy, which these were not. I suspect part of the problem was in making them gluten free, they didn’t have flour to soften the corn meal.

The pulled pork shoulder in Carolina-style barbecue sauce was tender and tasty. The fat was well rendered, a surprising mistake in some pulled pork, The sauce was mustardy and tangy.

The colesale was a great side, with a peppery, vinegary flavor. It really balanced well with the heaviness of the meal.

My wife had the crispy chicken sandwich made with a boneless thigh, kimchi and bang bang sauce. The crispy chicken was well cooked and not greasy, as can happen.

The beans had a smokey flavor. They weren’t all that saucy, and had a good balance of sweetness. The beans themselves had good texture and were intact.

The cheddar mac and cheese had a great flavor, with a strong cheddar flavor. I really liked eating this, especially on a cold day, but the preparation was a bit sloppy. The macaroni was not heated all the way through, and the bread crumb topping needed more heat to get crispier and crackly.

The atmosphere on this particularly cold January day was absolutely perfect. It’s hard to beat what essentially was a private dining experience beside a hot fireplace. The barbecue meat portion of the meal was spot on, but the side dishes could have be a bit stronger.

Cape Cod is hardly a destination for barbecue, which means Red River Stands out as a unique dining option among the standard Americanized seafood restaurant. But inevitably the limited peer group also means comparing it to Block and Tackle in Wellfleet. Block and Tackle is a more casual destination, more bar-like. It feels like a casual family restaurant, and the flavors are bold, but more basic. Meanwhile, the fine dining pedigree is evident in Red River’s dining room vibes and the complex flavors, even if sometimes they aren’t quite perfect.

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