BBQ 116 – Dave Poe’s BBQ
Marietta, Georgia, USA
At lunch time, the line
of customers stretches the whole length of the entrance way, which is a good 30
feet long. It is always a good sign, if the locals seem to like a place.
Fortunately, I was
there right at when they opened the place. before that tidal wave hit.
The restaurant is
located in one of those typical strip malls at a busy street that you can find
in every American city. Right next to it is a Waffle House, which may serve as
a beacon to Dave Poe’s BBQ, because you have to look kind of hard to find it
driving by.
It is not even a
small place, with maybe twenty tables and booths for four customers each, but
there are no flashy signs, no advertisements, and the like to alert you that
you are about to pass BBQ heaven. There is only the name of the place in big
letters at the front, and it also says “Wood Pit Barbecue” near the top of the
building.
And the sign does
not lie. To jump ahead to the main reason to go there, the pulled pork I had definitely
came out of the wood pit. It had a marvelous smoky flavor, it was tender and
even came with some very crunchy bark. Hands down, one of the best pork I’ve
ever had. Needless to say, that it was also very tender and juicy. At first, I
thought it to be a shame to pour sauce over it – until I took a taste of it. Heaven.
Well rounded, thick and red, clearly vinegar based but also tangy and a little
sweet. Perfection in a refillable plastic bottle. The potato salad was superb,
too. Only the cole slaw was a bit too watery for my taste – some more salt and
pepper and maybe even some more vinegar would make it more to my liking. The pulled
pork plate came with two slices of pickle and a Texas toast, which I drenched
in the heavenly sauce after everything else was gone and basically used as
dessert to that really splendid meal. For all that, plus a cup of unsweet tea,
I paid about fourteen bucks, which falls in line with the price level in the
greater Atlanta area, I guess. It was worth every penny, though.
As for the
atmosphere there – very clean, very bright and very straight forward. I wouldn’t
call the interior “modern”, and it certainly is not the coziest place you can
imagine, but I liked the college sports decorations, including the long line of
trophies at one wall, the old license plates on another wall, and the wooden floor
and walls overall. A special shout out goes to the Bama sign (RollTide!) next
to the UGA sign at the counter! It surprised me a little bit to find those two
arch rivals next to each other, because clearly this neck of the woods is UGA
country. I failed to ask Mr. Poe, who personally took my order, for the significance
of the two signs. Well, I was hungry at the time and had to catch a flight
later that day. But whenever I return, this will most certainly on my bucket
list of things to do.
