Blind Pig Tavern: BBQ Done Right

By: Benjamin Richmond

During the coldest, wettest week of November, I chose to take refuge for some food and warmth at the Blind Pig Tavern, a barbecue restaurant in downtown Athens.

The interior has all wooden furniture, fitting for a barbecue place, and brick walls with beer logos painted on them. It has some decorations and awards hanging up near the bar, giving it a decent sense of locality.

The plethora of low-watt bulbs hanging from the ceiling give a gentle amber glow while the music gives the place a very chill vibe. “When I’m Small,” by Phantogram was playing when I first sat down in my booth, one of my favorites.

The menu is pretty large, having options for just about everything. They had sandwiches, burgers, wings, chicken, vegetarian, salads, barbecue, even a bit of seafood and much more. I wish they had more sides and more vegetables for sides than just black beans.

I ordered the Piggy Melt and chicken tenders with their made-in-house barbecue for dipping sauce and fries. My waitress warned me the barbecue sauce they serve is different than some are used too, but that’s exactly what I came there for. I had a water to drink, which tasted fine, but the cup was huge; very wide around and I could barely grip it (small hands).

The food came out quickly with good presentation. I tried the chicken tenders first, they’re lightly breaded and, while I wouldn’t say succulent, they weren’t dry, the worst thing to happen to chicken, and the hot steam would fill your mouth as you ate. It was thick and tender, almost rotisserie, but it had little flavor. The barbecue sauce eliminated this weakness.

Their barbecue sauce surprised me with an initial sourness that I wasn’t overjoyed with, but that sourness quickly turned to a sweeter tanginess. It grows on you. There’s a smokiness to it that pairs with the chicken fantastically, and there’s a mild heat after your bite that lingers. It’s not overbearing and quelled from the tang of another dipped bite.

As for the Piggy Melt, I had intended to order it without the pickles, as I despise their very smell, but I’d forgotten to tell the waitress. Instead of sending it back to the kitchen, I riled up my sense of adventure and chose to eat the dish as it’s intended to be eaten.

It was great! The toast was perfectly buttered and toasted, and I mean perfect. The meat was a tad stringy, but an excellent chew packed with the zest of their barbecue sauce.

The cheddar cheese was mellow, really grounds things, and the onions were sweet. Everything played off of each other like a band of flavors, each with a given solo at times but never without the presence of the others; melodic. I’d only wish for a little less pickle and a little more onion.

The pickles were rarely dominant and added a well-needed sour wateriness to it that counterbalanced the otherwise one-sided umami flavor of the rest of the sandwich. If your sandwich has pickles and I still like it, wow.

The fries were pretty standard. Not squishy, thank goodness, but could be thicker and crispier. They have the same tasty but basic salt as places like Zaxby’s.

I came the next day for lunch with a look at their Tuesday menu, with seafood options and Cajun variants of some of their regular menu items. I ordered the Cajun Elvis burger and while I was tempted to order the Matty, which comes with chili, onions and queso, I got a regular hot dog instead.

The hot dog was awesome. When I prefer to eat a hot dog without ketchup you’ve done a damn good job. It was thick, savory, chewy, juicy and with that lovable, bite-able and familiar rubbery border. The bun was good, very bread-like, like real bread, and had a hint of butter to it.

Be sure to keep that nifty roll of paper towels on your table handy for the Cajun Elvis! It's one delicious stack. The barbecue sauce was the same sweet-sour righteousness as before, I had to come back to it, and the highlight of the whole meal was the andouille that came with it. Excellent smoky, sausage. You can really sink your teeth into it. The patty is nothing special, but well cooked, and the bun, onions, lettuce and tomato met the same par.

The sweet potato tots are worth the extra two dollars at first but lose their luster when they’re no longer hot.

Overall, the service and atmosphere get 4 out of 5 stars, and the food gets 4 & ½. Price especially, there’s no reason not to go here and enjoy yourself, if only for the barbecue sauce alone!