Pig-N-Chik. I had been wanting to do a Pig-N-Chik location for months. The 3 joint chain kept popping up on my radar, but for various reasons, I'd hit some more traditional, if you will, joints before finally getting to Pig-N-Chik's location on Windward Parkway. Now Windward Parkway ain't exactly the strip that you expect to find a good bbq joint on, but don't be fooled. The GA 400/Highway 9 corridors are home to some of Georgia's finest bbq joints. The Windward Parkway location is a bit tough to find, but if you happen to be shopping or working in this area, Pig-N-Chik is a good option for barbecue. Of course, there are the other fast food joints like Moe's, Mellow Mushroom, etc., in this area, but if barbecue is one your mind, there's no need to fight traffic getting over to the Alpharetta proper area to fill the urge. When Debbie and I got out of the car, we could immediately smell smoked pork in progress. That is always a good sign (don't matter who you are). Since this was our first trip to a Chik joint, we had to study the menu just a minute to see what the options are. Though we'd come for bbq, the fact is, you could choose other options like wings, ribs, and salmon. Too the cue.....
Our food came out quick even though we were the first patrons of the day :-). The pulled pork was just that.....not chipped to smitherines, not smothered in sauce to hide something the pitmaster was ashamed of, but good old pulled pork. The barbecue was clean as you'll ever find. A little burned ends along with some nice, almost fat free strips of barbecue. You have a choice of three sauces at Pig-N-Chik: Gold Label is mustard based; Red Label is hot, vinegary NC style, and the Blue Label is a mild, sweet sauce. Their Brunswick stew is certainly adequate and has a good mix of pork for the meat base with butterbeans and corn as two of the distinguishable vegetables other than the tomato base. Their french fries are crinkle cut and most likely from a frozen bag, but Debbie made hers disappear without a complaint. Of course, the Chik gets it right as they have a big roll of paper towels right there on the table for you.
We are going to give the Pig-N-Chick a 4 out of 5 ranking for the first visit, but I am planning to hit the original Roswell location before going any further. The bottom line, if you are on the East side of 400 around the Alpharetta area, you've got a few choices. If you don't want to drive over toward Highway 9, give the Chik a chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment