First of all, I'm shocked that nobody has reviewed this place. I'm further shocked that this business isn't even on Yelp yet! Crazy. I came here on 6/3 to grab a quick lunch on my last day working downtown.
Food: Like all BBQ joints that I visit for the first time, I had to get the pulled pork and a side of mac and cheese. The pulled pork was everything that I wanted it to be. Extremely tender, moist, and very well-seasoned. In fact, this is one of the best pulled porks I have ever had. I got it in sandwich form, which they piled high on a Martin's roll with my choice of toppings. I chose mayo, lettuce, tomato, and BBQ. Can't say I would have ever paired mayo, lettuce and tomato with a pulled pork sandwich until they offered. It was delicious!
The Pork: What struck me was the balance. It is impeccable. Between sweet, tangy, smoky, and salty -- this pork hits all the right notes for me. It even had nice little pieces of bark interspersed throughout the meat. This was spot-on. I am usually the first to complain if coleslaw is not atop my pulled pork sandwich -- this sandwich didn't need it and stood perfectly on the merits of the pork. (5/5)
The BBQ: It was super thin. Almost like water, even. I had some serious doubts when they squirted it on my pork, but it was legit. Great flavor. This is some of the best bbq I have had -- though bear in mind that this was just the pulled pork. (4/5)
The Issue: The issue I had was the same as I've had elsewhere. They used a Martin's roll. Um, delicious -- and the standard for rolls. Unfortunately, they didn't toast it. This was a contributing factor to some sogginess. The main culprit was the amount of liquid. The aforementioned BBQ that I am so fond of was too liquidy and just got soaked into the bun. In addition, the juices from the pork (which, again, were delicious), also got soaked into the bun. That made for a very soggy bun. I am not sure how they can combat that without sacrificing other aspects of the sandwich. That just may be a necessary evil when getting this sandwich -- so beware.
Mac and Cheese: Why don't people who make mac and cheese understand that salt is a necessary ingredient? In fact, it is THE most necessary ingredient. Without it, the cheese flavors get lost. Like all famous chefs suggest: Season every stage of your meal. That means, salt the water the pasta cooks in, salt the cheese base, then taste it and salt some more, if needed! The problem is, most people don't understand that when the cheese sauce is made, typically milk or some other dairy liquid is used in a mass amount. This creates the sauce. Milk and other dairy liquids do not have salt and are the primary ingredient in the cheese sauce. So you are essentially diluting the natural saltiness from the cheese with a mass quantity of milk. Thus, more salt must be added to compensate. All that said, the mac and cheese wasn't bad -- in fact it had great texture...it was just bland. (3/5)
Overall Food: 4 / 5
Service: Some of the people (and there were many) behind the counter were friendly (smiled and said hi), some were not as much. The person who took my order...not so much. I suppose this is to be expected, and they met expectation .
Service: 3 / 5
Atmosphere: N/A (Broad Street Market)
Price: 5.50 for a massive sandwich and 2.50 for the mac and cheese. The mac was not worth more than $1. The sandwich was well worth the 5.50. Despite how underwhelming the mac was compared to the price, I still think this is above average given that the sandwich was the star of the show.
Price: 4 / 5
Final Thoughts: For me, this was a solid 4 star experience. If I am ever downtown for lunch again, this is a must-stop. Next, I'd like to try some ribs -- oh, and those whole roasters (chickens) look amazing! I firmly recommend you come here! read more