I’m pretty much off porcine products, but with a gig like Friday Food Fight, sometimes you have to take one for the team. And this week that means pulled pork, which, I freely admit, is almost always tasty.
We decided to opt for platters over sandwiches, which can get annoyingly messy.
I’m still on a road trip visiting family; hence. another edition of Tampa Bay vs. The World. In this case, it’s Urban Brew and BBQ in St. Pete’s Edge District vs. The Blue Pig in Cookeville, Tennessee.
URBAN BREW AND BBQ
At 4 p.m. on a typically toasty Sunday in September, we walked a couple of blocks to Urban Brew and BBQ. We cruised right past the covered patio in front and into the air-conditioned interior. A no-brainer.
We ordered at the counter: A Half-Pound Pulled Pork Plate ($19) with a side of coleslaw (an absolute must) and cornbread, plus an extra side of Baked Beans ($5.25) and a fountain root beer ($3.50).
We sat at a small booth and the food came out in a few short minutes.
Appearance
The meal arrvied on an aluminum tray big enough to accommodate the large portions. For a quick-serve barbecue joint, the meal was handsomely laid out.
Texture and Taste
The pile of pulled pork (alliterate much?) offered an array of morsels, from hefty chunks to chewy burnt ends. The meat had a satisfying level of smokiness. Overall, though, this version was not as juicy as the best I’ve had.
Some decades ago, I was introduced to the combo of pulled pork and coleslaw. It stuck and it’s not going away. A lot rests on the quality of the slaw, and UB&BBQ’s earns an A grade — crunchy, a blend of sweet and tangy, not overly mayo’d. The beans were thick and sweet, the way I prefer. The cornbread was moist (not too crumbly) and sweet.
To add zest, I dipped bites of pork and slaw into a sweet barbecue sauce that had a hint of spicey heat.
The Blue Pig
The restaurant is part of a brick building in Cookeville’s (pop: 36,000) quaint downtown. At 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday, business was brisk, perhaps due to the Cookeville High homecoming parade taking place a few blocks away.
The Blue Pig is moderately upscale barbecue restaurant. It occupies a fairly large indoor space, plus an outdoor patio.
We ordered at a counter just inside the door. The process was clumsy, and out of kilter for an eatery that should offer table service.
We ordered the Pulled Pork Plate with BBQ Baked Beans and Broccoli Cole Slaw ($14.75). I got a Bud Light bottle ($3.50) and lamented that the place didn’t offer draft beer.
Our foursome sat at a four-top by the front window, and we made room for a fifth when my brother Kurt arrived a few minutes after us.
Appearance
The pork looked more chunked than pulled. The cole slaw was chopped finely and dressing pooled in the paper container. A dinner roll sat in the middle; I have no use for dinner rolls. Three small slices of pickle seemed random and picayune.
While the set-up set off some alarms, I was all in on looks-can-be-deceiving and hopeful that it would be a worthy meal.
Texture and Taste
The chunkiness of the pork wasn’t a problem, exactly, but it rendered some of the largest pieces rather dry and chewy. So I picked up a knife and fork and did some pulling of my own, whch made for some stringy parts. The meat was a bit under-smoked, but flavorful all the same.
Although I prefer crunchier slaw with larger strands of cabbage, The Blue Pig’s minced version did the trick (thankfullly, the broccoli flavor was muted). The beans were less sweet and thick than the competition’s. Being a sweet-and-thick guy, I found them kind of bland.
And the Winner of the Pulled Pork Platter Battle Is …
Urban Brew and BBQ.
This decision boiled down to matters of preference: chunks vs. more finely pulled pork; crunchy vs. chopped slaw; gooey vs. wet beans; cornbread vs. dinner roll (although why anyone’s preference would be a dinner roll is beyond me).
In the end, both meals deserved their place in the pantheon of pulled pork platters.
