…especially Sonny’s…and George’s in Brewton. New Orleans does a LOT of things right when it comes to food, but barbecue is NOT one of them. For those of you who plan to visit and eat out in the city while you’re here, let me just go ahead and give you a few advance warnings. ALL sandwiches in this city are treated like po’boy’s and come “dressed.” Dressed = lettuce, tomato, onions, and mayo. Works well for, say, turkey, ham, or grilled chicken sandwiches. Not bad on burgers either. But on a pulled pork sandwich? Not so much. I should have known better when I ordered.
We went to the Bywater BBQ yesterday for lunch. In their defense, it is a really nice little restaurant with a fun atmosphere and generally good food. But they really have no right to have the letters “B-B-Q” in their name. It’s like false advertising. So I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, which I was REALLY excited about, because I love barbecue, and it’s been a while since I’ve had any. If you’re like me, you expect a big bun, stacked high with shredded pork that is swimming in BBQ sauce. And if you’re ordering it at the Bywater BBQ, you will be disappointed. What you will get is a bun with some pork on it (good pork, mind you, but not shredded, and not soaked with sauce). The pork will have a strange ketchup-type stuff, masquarading as BBQ sauce, spread lightly on top of it. And the top half of the bun will be, you guessed it…dressed — mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion. That might be a pork sandwich, but that is by no means a barbecue pulled pork sandwich. *sigh* It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I was wanting, and it definitely wasn’t what I ordered.
I’m told there are a couple of other places that get a little closer to what I expect from a barbecue place, but I’m also told (by another Alabama native) that none of them get it quite right. I guess barbecue just isn’t really a New Orleans thing.
So does that mean you BBQ this weekend?
May not be a bad idea…Have ya’ll ever been to George’s in Brewton? It’s on 31, on the left side of the road, just before Dairy Queen. It’s in a shady-looking little house that’s kind of hidden by the trees, but let me tell you, it’s some good barbecue!
Sounds good to me too!!
next time you go to bywater “bbq”, you should try the chocolate cake w/ chocolate cream cheese icing. YUM-O!!!
Shannon, I will definitely be taking your advice on that one, and giving it a shot!
Are there any of the Voodoo BBQ places open. They used to have pretty good BBQ. I don’t know if they survived Katrina or not.
There’s one on St. Charles. It’s one of the ones that’s supposed to be close, but still not just quite right. We haven’t tried it yet, though.
I enjoy good BBQ, and I feel your pain. Voo Doo is good, and the Joint is good.