On my way home from Northern Virginia on Friday, I stopped in Harrisonburg, Virginia for dinner. Harrisonburg is one of my favorite places to stop on the journey between Blacksburg and the DC Metro area because it is located more-or-less halfway and it offers many more choices than most other potential stops. Anyway, I was feeling indecisive about where to eat when I happened upon The Smokin’ Pig, just up the hill from the mall. BBQ sounded good, and the best BBQ is always found in the most unlikely places.
I hit jackpot. It was just about the best BBQ that I’ve had in the state of Virginia. (That isn’t saying much, really — the best was in Martinsville, just over the border from North Carolina — but this was quite good.) I had the pulled pork sandwich (of course) with the Memphis style sauce. (I am okay with North Carolina style, which is vinegar-based, but I generally prefer the sweet, tomato-based Memphis-style when I can get it. They call this Southwest style, which is odd, because neither Memphis nor Kansas City is in the Southwest.) The sauce was pre-mixed with the meat, which isn’t my preference, but they hadn’t gone overboard, so it was okay. And in addition to the sides I ordered — I had the baked beans and the potato salad, both good — my plate also came with a cornbread muffin and a fried pickle.
This appears to be what passes for their website. I’m rather appalled that the location pictured shows a banner advertising hamburgers; who ever heard of a decent BBQ place that serves hamburgers? But I visited the “other” location, at 120 University Blvd, Harrisonburg, and I don’t even recall hamburgers being on the menu. Highly recommended.