Eat Arkansas

I was going back home after a terribly sad funeral and decided I would stop in at Whole Hog for lunch. I wasn't particularly hungry but I like Whole Hog and I figured some bbq would hit the spot. I placed my order. The girl behind the counter complimented me on my tie. After I sat down w/my pulled pork sandwich, one of my little lawyer friends appeared and asked if he could join me. He ate his ribs and I ate my sandwich. We had a nice visit. I left Whole Hog feeling a lot better than I did walking in. Isn't that what a restaurant experience is supposed to be about? If the blues strike me again tonight I may go back. Those ribs looked awfully good.

pork at lindseys. also they have some great catfish as has been reported but their best item may be the fried pies. since i lost my grandmother lindseys has been my best place for memories of her.
also i agree with the chicken at whole hog but when you mention it to mike blasingame he shrugs his shoulders and says "its just chicken" . i love the ribs at whole hog too. they are always tender and meaty. although lindseys has never dissapointed me on anything.

Where are you people from?Max and the rest of you have lost your minds. These are worthy places but the best barbecue is the pork ribs at Sims. End of thread. Max, if you don't know this, how can we trust your judgement on politics?

Belly Boy: In his defense- it was me, not Max. Although I do love me some Sims BBQ....

I've touted Sims so many times on here I was afraid people might think I was Mr. Sims blowing my own horn.

But tell me ... that sweet, thin, amber, vinegary-mustardy sauce they make... I've heard it called South Carolina style. Is that so, or is it a style all its own?

By the way, they have a great juke box at the 33rd & Riffel store.

After reading the little surveys here, and in the D-G, I did a little research on my own... at least on the ribs & fixin's.

Best ribs, IMHO, are at Mr. Mason's. Nice, dry rub flavor, excellent sauces on the side.

Way on up there is a little out-of-the-way joint over in what used to be West Helena, Dee's Barbecue on Southland Road. Smoked, huge portions, lightly brushed with sauce.

Walker's Bar-B-Que out in Scott serves up some derned decent ribs, but Mr. Mason's still holds a sharp edge. Again dry rub smoked, with sauce on the side.

I was a little disappointed with Sims', since I'm a solid fan of their brisket and pulled pork, but hadn't gotten around over the year to trying their ribs. They were good, but Mr. Mason's and Walker's were mo betta...

Smokey Joe's, out on Chicot Road, offers some derned good pulled pork BBQ sammiches, btw...

""But tell me ... that sweet, thin, amber, vinegary-mustardy sauce they make... I've heard it called South Carolina style. Is that so, or is it a style all its own?""

Sims' mustard-based sauce is way different from the South Carolina style sauces... I've tried several helpings of the Bessinger/"Piggy Park" sauces, both the bottled stuff (marketed as "Carolina Gold") and the stuff served up directly from the restaurant over in Columbia, SC. It was okay, but to my western palate was like pulled pork soaked in French's Mustard. It's strictly a yellow mustard sauce, with a little syrup added to it.

Sims' uses mustard, but also has a good, vinegary taste, and I would suspect a little liquid smoke and blackstrap molasses in the mix to really mellow things out a bit. Not at all like the South Carolina sauces.

Mr. Mason's makes a good mustard-based sauce that they call "Froggy Bottom" that gives the Carolina Gold a real run for their money... More mustard in the sauce than Sims uses, but still the sweet/tangy/smoky flavor...

Whole Hog and Sims for me...

I think the Dixie Pig in Levy (the original is in Blytheviile) is awfully underrated. Yes, it's chopped pork, but it's not ground up into a mealy sawdust like it's done at one particularly famous Hot Springs place. Maybe it's underrated because there's no beer available.

I could drink straight the Pig's sauce: a thin, spicey, vinegar-y North Carolina style.

Its ribs are meaty and tender with perfect burnt ends.

Some pork from the Dixie Pig would be one of the things on my "Last Supper.'

ARK. BLOG: Agreed. I love the Pig Salad, a mound of iceberg and then a mound of pulled pork with plenty of crisp ends. I drown it with the hot sauce then add a little blue cheese dressing, too. Gruesome, I guess, but good to me.

For those of you who haven't had Lindsey's in North Little Rock, you're missing out. It's the best...hands down.

Maybe when or if we ever have a Blog party, the price of admission is a pound or three of your favorite barbecue.

If y'all venture out of the LR area, Mean Pig in Cabot has the bestest ribs I have ever eaten. No sauce required, though they serve it with a side of sauce. They are now also open in Conway, but I didn't find the ribs there quite as good.
If you want take out ribs, there is a red trailer between Mabelline and the liquor store on the south access road at Galloway exit called T and E's. Sides of cole slaw and baked beans are pert near perfect. Then, there are the homemade cakes and sweet tater pies........ need I say more?

Another vote for The Mean Pig when it comes to pulled pork or brisket sandwiches and hands-down the best beans anywhere. I have a Mean Pig post coming up tomorrow.

After reading some of the reviews I thought I would give a couple of these places a try over the weekend. I was not impressed with the BBQ at Sports and Beyond. The beef was tough and had the consistency of shoeleather. There were nice folks running the place but their brisket is no where near as good as Whole Hog. I also revisited Mr. Masons thinking I might have missed something the first few times I ate there. It wasn't any better. The pulled pork sandwich was full of fatty, blackened skin that should have been pulled off long before it ever got the chance to hit the plate. The sandwich was covered in sauce. Why? With all the different sauces on the table why go ahead and put sauce on the sandwich. I want to try some of the other spots suggested but for now Whole Hog and Sims are the winners in my book.

ARK. BLOG: Speaking strictly for me, I'm pretty much a Whole Hog convert though, on certain days, the spare ribs at Sims are in a league by themselves. And the whole she-bag -- rack of ribs, bowl of great slaw and beans -- preferably with root beer, is one of the finest spreads anywhere. I'm still searching for platonic brisket. Here, I'm afraid, Texas has the edge. Sims comes closest.

this list should begin and end with Craigs in DeValls Bluff. Ribs-best. Pulled pork - best. Sandwich - best. No comparison. I have had them all.

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