We drove down to Foley to judge a BBQ competition this weekend and that gave us an opportunity to make the #8 stop on our 2025 Alabama BBQ tour. Baldwin County is one of the two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico. It is a definite vacation destination for many Alabama citizens.
The restaurant is located directly on Highway 59 near the beach. The exterior is neat and tidy and there were tables outside if dining outside is your thing or if you have your pet along with you.
You order at the counter and also prepare your drink from a fountain soft drink machine or two containers of sweet/unsweet tea.
There's something for everyone's tastes on the menu.
Sandwiches, plates, tacos, sliders, with a nice variety of appetizers and numerous sides.
The dining area was clean and spacious.
All of the smoked meats are served without sauce. However, you'll have several to choose from and you can mix and match or get some of each (like I did!).
The OG was a nice balance of spice and heat. It was Sweet Harold's favorite. I don't care for sweet sauces, so the Nana's Sweet Q wasn't my favorite, but if that's your jam, you'll love the subtle sweetness. My personal favorite was the Surfin' Whiskey. Everything about this blend of light sweetness, a little twang of spice, and the faint flavor of bourbon made this one wow me. The Hog's 911 was delicious on the smoked wings and fries. But more on that later.
The young lady who took our order was patient with our decision making and got everything we ordered just right. Within minutes, our food was delivered to the table piping hot.
We started with the fried pickles with ranch dressing for dipping.
As you can see, a large order! Not greasy at all. The batter was light and crunchy and they were deliciously seasoned with an extra sprinkling of flavorful dry rub.
Don't judge our ordering this time. We wanted to try as much as possible because everything sounded so delicious. Yes, we had two carry out containers with us when we left which we enjoyed later. So bear with us with what seems like an enormous amount of food! 😳
I ordered the pulled pork plate with macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and Texas toast.
Neat presentation, yes? I hope the first thing your eyes saw was the bark on the pulled pork!
This is how I love my pulled pork: a nice mixture of both inside and outside (bark) meat. The pork was not dried out, but moist and had a distinct smoky flavor. Everything about this pork, I loved! Especially with the bourbon bbq sauce.
The potato salad was made with large chunks (quarters maybe) of red skinned new potatoes. The dressing was just the right amount to hold the potato salad together without being soupy. I don't normally care for restaurant potato salad, but they converted me!
The macaroni and cheese wasn't super melty cheesy, but had a nice texture and flavor.
The Texas Toast was perfectly toasted with no garlic salt...y'all know my feelings on that.
Now here's where it gets fun.....SH thought we were going to share the Big T's Sampler. I had already ordered while he was reviewing the menu board. So what did he do? He ordered the Big T's Sampler! Which explains why we had so much food, but also it was a blessing in disguise because we had enough to enjoy later back in the hotel room.
Here's what's on this amazing sampler platter: 1/4 lb. pulled pork, 1/4 lb. Conecuh sausage, 1/2 lb. smoked wings, 1/4 crispy smoked chicken, 1/2 lb. ribs, three sides, and three pieces of Texas toast. Whew!
Y'all. There's nothing on here that I wouldn't recommend without reservation. Let's take it one at a time.
My love affair with Conecuh sausage continues. Smoked to perfection, the exterior had a delightful "snap" when bitten into and, as always, the flavor rocks!
Now remember, as I've taught y'all, a rib where the meat falls off the bone is an overcooked rib! These ribs were competition perfection. One bite in the middle came off the bone cleanly leaving the remaining rib meat intact on the bone. These were tender and juicy and everything a smoked rib should be. Kudos.
Just as my serving was a great blend of nicely smoked interior and crunchy exterior, his serving of pulled pork rocked as well.
Now to the surprise favorite for me! These smoked wings were large with a nice dry rub and, yes, they were delicious! A little of the 911 sauce drizzled on them was a great substitution for a Buffalo sauce.
I don't know where to start about this crispy smoked chicken! It was lightly coated with a white BBQ sauce and somehow they have achieved what I thought was impossible. It really is crispy....like FRIED chicken crispy, but it was smoked. We all know white meat is easy to overcook and dry out, but none of that here. Wowza, this crispy smoked chicken was GREAT.
The description of this coleslaw is correct. It's not traditional. Finely chopped with a mixture of cabbage and carrots, the dressing contained (I believe) mustard along with the mayo. Different, but good.
This nice little cup of baked beans had a good consistency with a minimal amount of pulled pork. No onions or peppers were visible. Good flavor.
The fries were freshly cooked and there's that fun seasoning showing up again. These were great dipped in the 911 sauce as well.
Those extra pieces of Texas toast and fries came in handy for sandwiches when we were ready for a late night snack in the room.
Standouts: ALL the meats were awesome, especially the ribs! I loved being able to get as much or little of the sauce(s) I wanted to try. Sweet Harold was very happy with the baked beans.
Point takeaways: plastic utensils, ordering at counter, fix your own drinks.
If you're visiting Gulf Shores or Orange Beach and have a craving for BBQ, check them out. You'll be happy.
Our Score: 92
Wow, lots and lots of food :)
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