At Pig Floyd’s, one thing that is often missing from great barbecue comes through in spades – and that’s flavor. It’s not just about how tender the ribs are, but the complexity of the sauce and those fine details that turn regular BBQ into something closer to gourmet. Look out, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, I’ve got a new favorite. Okay, so I’m rambling. It’s a little hard to put into words how delicious this place was. Pig Floyds isn’t just tasty, the prices are manageable, the staff is swift and polite (with refreshing motley of hipster beards and gauges) and the selection is quite fine.
The ambience is typical downtown coolness. Fun textures and different levels of brown and white give this place the fresh barbecue joint style. Their little pig symbol can be seen everywhere, from their hand-chalked menu boards to the wooden board on which they served delicious ribs. Like most awesome restaurants, there was a line out the door. It moved pretty quickly, however. We waited maybe 15 minutes before they took our order. It was counter service style where they give you that little number-on-a-stick deal. We snagged a table and it was mere moments before we had our beers. The beer selection was good, but they ran out of the interesting ones on draught and we had to settle for Cracker House – which is a favorite anyway. Beers were served in the usual hipster mason jar.
The only honest complaint I have about this restaurant is that the table was made of some kind of rubber that always feels sticky. Honestly, it could have been covered in corn syrup and I still would have enjoyed an amazing meal.
I ordered “The Big Floyd – Can you handle it?” It came with a pile of fries for a mere $9.99. “Oakwood Smoked Brisket, Pulled Pork, Sausage, Sweet BBQ sauce, citrus peanut slaw and fries on a toasted coconut pineapple roll.” Sound delicious? Dear lawd, it was. The toasted roll was light and sweet, the mix of meats was perfectly balanced and there was something amazing in the slaw – but I can’t pin down what. It might be fennel. There was an earthiness to it. Each bite was tender, meaty – one could say wholesome. It’s rare that I can take a bite of a BBQ sandwich an have it create such a wonderful blend of flavors. I don’t usually go for the French fries on the sandwich deal, but here it just added a mealy crispness to the sandwich that was a delight to the mouth. Everything was just seasoned delightfully. I tried their two types of BBQ sauce with the fries, and I couldn’t stop eating it. It was just so delightfully complex. Each nibble told a story.
Aside from the meal, we ordered a pork belly taco to try. This was pretty freaking good, too. The wrap was a bit soggy from all the delicious things inside of it, but if you eat it quickly it’s not really a problem. The pork belly was cooked perfectly and the interior had more fascinating coleslaw.
Our dessert was a shared Black & Tan pudding. Chunks of blondies with a super light fluffy chocolate pudding and Mexican chocolate sauce. Each bite was rich and soulful.
Overall, Pig Floyds was a wonderful experience. It seemed like simple fair until you put any of it in your mouth, then the way everything meshed together, it could only mean love.