Smok'n Pig

      The Smok'n Pig here in Valdosta, Georgia claims that it's the Top 10 in the country, so we had to give it a try and see if they live up to their boast. We had dinner there tonight, and thought we'd tell you about it while it's still fresh in our minds.  In spite of the name, Smok'n Pig does more than barbecue, and is a full service restaurant with a salad bar and lots of items to choose from.  We stuck with barbecue, 'cause that's what we do, but they also have steak and seafood on the menu.

    I went with the pulled pork sandwich and salad bar, and Doug had the baby back ribs with collard greens and corn on the cob.  They offer 6 different sauces at Smok'n Pig, and have them on the table for you to try any or all. That's always the first thing we do when we sit down...sample the sauces. We both agreed that the original was the best of the lot, and we were split on the other choices; I liked the sweet and Doug liked the sweet and spicy. The mustard sauce just tastes like mustard, and the other ones are just not great. One thing about the sauces we did not like, and that was the use of high fructose corn syrup in all but one. When you don't eat that stuff, you learn what it tastes like, and we could detect the flavor of it, which we don't enjoy.   There were a host of other ingredients in the sauces such as soybean oil that just do not belong in a real Dixie barbecue sauce.

     The salad bar is good, and very much appreciated. After a couple of weeks on the road and many barbecue stops along the way I start to crave some greens. The pulled pork was very good, some of the best I've had, in fact. They smoke over pecan wood here, and it lends a lovely, subtle smoke flavor to the meat. The ribs were interesting, with a nice hint of paprika in the rub. They were tender and the meat fell off the bone, no knife required.  Doug says they're best with the original sauce. The collard greens were excellent...just slightly sweet with bits if ham in them. The ribs came with both toast and corn bread; thumbs up on those. Dessert comes with your order, and they make a good peach cobbler with pecans that you can help yourself to at a little dessert station complete with soft serve vanilla ice cream. When we return we'll try the St. Louis ribs and the chicken, but so far we think the food here is very good and we highly recommend you come for a visit.