Bubba's Big Pig Bar-Ba-Que
 Bubba's Big Pig Bar-Ba-Que |
1002 W Hopi Dr
Holbrook, AZ 86025
(928) 524-1581
If you are in the mood to stretch your legs or get your kicks on Route 66, don’t miss Bubba’s Big Pig Bar-Ba-Que! This quaint barbecue shack, right on the old Mother Road in the heart of Holbrook, Arizona, is just the ticket for filling yer belly while you watch history roll on by.
Jim (he likes it just fine when you call him Bubba) and Lisa Lents run their restaurant with pride. Just listening to them talk makes you feel good for having eaten there. Originally from Tennessee, the Lents had always wanted to run a barbecue spot, and finally moved west to open Bubba’s. They will only cook over hickory wood, which Jim brings in from Missouri piggybacked on a Wal-Mart semi-truck. Now that’s dedication to your art! In fact, the food is so good, truckers on US Route 40 frequently stop in (some as often as once a week) to grab an entire slab of ribs.
The pork ribs ($8.99) are tender, and just fall off the bone between your fingers. Full of flavor, they have a nice smoky flavor that goes great with the slightly spicy, homemade BBQ sauce. It must be something to see a trucker trying to maneuver his rig down the road while gettng through a slab! But the hickory-smoked pulled pork is Jim’s biggest seller. Whether you get the sandwich ($5.99) or the plate ($8.99), expect a huge pile of moist, tender pulled pork. Go for broke and get the crunchy, homemade slaw right on your sandwich, and you’ll swear you were a lot further south than Arizona.
Bubba’s also offers steak, hot links, hickory-smoked pulled chicken, and pizza. There is even a pulled pork pizza ($6.99) that Jim says is delicious, but is that really legal in the world of barbecue?
Make a night of it. Cruise across the street and stay in a teepee at the Wigwam Motel—still run by the same family that built it back in the 1940s. There is even a cool little museum behind the office that includes some of the most beautiful polished petrified wood slabs imaginable. Besides, after dinner at Bubba’s, you’ll need to walk around a little while you savor that last taste of Jim’s tangy sauce. It’s the perfect Route 66 experience!
JGE © 2006