Spork Dining at its Finest

How can you go wrong with a 3-Cheese Brisket Sandwich? You can’t. At least not one from The Smokin Pig. This place takes mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheese, melts them on top of a bed of sautéed peppers and onions, then completes this succulent sammich with delicious house-smoked brisket.

Photo by Lauren Beane, 3 Cheese Brisket Sandwich

If you come in with a hearty appetite looking to devour a whole pig, you might want to leave the sow alone and just get an order of the Pig Ballz. (And yes, that is ballz with a Z, not to be mistaken for the huevos of the pig.) These ballz are made up of smoked pork, jalapeños and cheddar cheese rolled together, fried, and served with a side of fries and chipotle ranch. Now those are some balls you can sink your teeth into!

Photo by Lauren Beane

There are so many amazing pulled pork items on the menu- plus ribs and smoked chicken- it’s actually difficult to decide on a meal. You can order sandwiches, meat plates, nachos, tacos — even a stuffed sweet potato. The Smokin Pig added on to its once limited menu as it grew from a food truck, serving up its smokey meats out in the parking lot. Now the business has stepped up its swag and moved into a cozy and very clean establishment on W. 18th Ave.

Photo by Lauren Beane

Photo by Lauren Beane

The service at the Smokin Pig was friendly and accommodating. It offers several draft beers, cider and wine, and each table has its own paper towel roll to offer to sticky patrons (a nice element of messy barbecue charm). If you decide not to hang out at the restaurant,  you have the option to take your styrofoam container to go. As a Eugenian it hurt my environmental sensibility to have each item served this way, but grubbing BBQ meals out of a flimsy takeout container is pretty standard. But by far, the most surprising aspect of Smokin Pig is being handed a plastic spork by the counter guy, saying, “You’re not going to want to forget this.”

Photo by Lauren Beane, Pulled Pork Plate with Coleslaw and Mac

Needless to say, I didn’t. Although it wasn’t the most useful of utensils, it was apparently essential, and who doesn’t appreciate the infrequently found spork? Now that you know what to expect, which meat will you sink your teeth into first?