Like Marybeth (I was there about 2pm), I thought to take advantage of a rainy day by stopping into Pig City BBQ for a little lunch today. After all the brouhaha of a previous thread I wasn't sure quite what to expect but hey, I'm an adventurous kinda guy. I'm pleased...very pleased to say that the BBQ brought a bit of sunshine into what was otherwise a pretty dreary day.
For those of you who have not been to "The Pig" it is located in a medium sized shopping plaza along Shelbyville Rd. Despite it's Shelbyville Rd location, walking up to P.C. you are greeted by an large and inviting patio situated alongside a small pond...We've dined on the patio a couple of times and found it to be far enough from the road to afford a pleasant dining experience. The restaurant itself, does a nice job of disguising the fact that it's located in a suburban strip plaza. The interior is comfortable and pleasing to the eye and thankfully not adorned with all the kitschy "BBQ shack" memorabilia other places feel like they have to hang on the wall in order to sell BBQ (Famous Dave's comes to mind as guilty in that regard).
This afternoon I ordered a large pulled pork sandwich and substituted baked beans for the fries I completed the table setting with an ice cold Rolling Rock which despite what others will tell you is the perfect accoutrement to BBQ...any BBQ. Putting on my anal retentive competition BBQ judges hat for a moment, the pork was spot on perfect. Let me say that again. It was spot on perfect. The baked beans were also quite good, definitely a full two notches above the gummy "straight out of the can" beans I've "enjoyed" at <eh-hemmm> other popular east side BBQ joints. AFTER I had destroyed the better part of my sandwich I asked my server if Tom, the general manager, was around so that I could say "hi". He was and stopped over to my table to join in a little BBQ conversation. Tom is a very pleasant man and is putting his heart, soul and unfortunately a large part of his wallet into making P.C. the "go to" BBQ destination in the city. Based on the ribs, brisket and wings Tom forced me to try he's there. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so as he has received some very favorable reviews on "Chowhound" recently. Seriously folks, I'm not being paid to say this...Everything I tried today was in that "very good to excellent" range. If you tied me down and held a gun to my head about the only thing even remotely negative would be the Brisket which was cut with the grain as opposed to across the grain. Often this can make for some tough brisket but this stuff was so moist and tender (without falling apart) that it didn't really matter.
As an added bonus P.C. has been having bands on the weekends. I can't recall the name of Saturdays band but I'm told they are very accomplished musicians who do a lot of "soft" classic rock a-la The Doobies, The Eagles, etc. The lovely Rebecca and I are giving serious consideration to going down to see the band and enjoy a bit more BBQ...Anyone care to join us ? Say again...anyone care to join us.