Pig-N-Chick

(404) 869-0038

www.pignchik.net

It’s always fun to discover something by accident! This little BBQ joint just outside of Atlanta is easy to miss, since it is located right on the edge of an area full of the likes of Morton’s Steakhouse, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Ritz-Carlton. Passing by all those places is easy though, when you know what you’re in for!

Pig-N-Chick is not the down-home, adorable, steel-shack, like most BBQ places that I like to discover, but the food is real enough. Pig-N-Chick features BBQ pork that is fork tender and nicely perfumed with smoke. And they leave a generous portion of crusty “bark” on the edge to give a good toothy texture. Whether you get the sandwich for $4.67 or the plate for $6.73, the portions are more than generous. The bread is white, like it should be, and Texas thick. They also offer a great selection of other meats, such as smoked chicken, turkey, and ribs, but I was concentrating on their claim to fame.

All the sides look and taste good! And at $1.67 each, you could sit and try them all. The baked beans are slightly sweet and tangy at the same time, and the Brunswick stew is creamy and full of the “good” stuff! In fact, it had so much stuff in it, I ate it with a fork. Don’t miss the slaw, either. Homemade, with crunch and zest. A few things I have never seen before at a BBQ place were the steamed broccoli and the mac-and-cheese sides. While I didn’t get to try them (I really do have limits), it’s cool to see something unusual on the menu.

But the best discovery was the sauce. Pig-N-Chick features a homemade sauce that comes in giant bottles on the table. Because the meat comes un-sauced, you are free to douse a little or a lot as you go. While I usually prefer my meat free of sauce, so I can taste what the pit master has done, their Hot Carolina sauce was simply too much to resist. You have to shake the bottle every pour, because the spices and pepper sink to the bottom, but that’s okay! The sauce is tangy and leaves a gentle burn on your lips. Well... more than gentle by the time I was finished, but that was just me being excessive. On purpose! It was that good. You can buy the sauce at the counter and watch as they pour it into a fresh bottle, slap on the label, and check off the type. I got Kathy to sign both of mine. There is also a homemade mustard-based sauce that is quite good, but once I settled in on the pepper sauce, there was no going back.

And did I mention the beer? It is so rare to find beer in a southern BBQ joint, that this one time I passed up the sweet tea and dove in. Okay, it was 98 degrees outside, too, but that’s not the point. Since you rarely see beer in these places, it was a no-brainer. Pig-N-Chick features about 20 beers, both on tap and in bottles. The beer is ice cold and ranges from the seldom seen, but perfectly appropriate Pabst Blue Ribbon, to more boutique beers like Tarrapin Ale made right there in Athens, Georgia.

A great find, Pig-N-Chick is worth a visit. Heck, with the slogan “Barbecue so good, you’ll oink!” how could you not? The service is excellent, the food delicious, and the atmosphere perfect. It was fun to stare at the collection of Georgia college football pennants and pictures of trophy bass, all the while contemplating my good fortune... and that great burn! Oink!

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