Sunday, September 21, 2008

2008 West Chester Restaurant Festival

It was that time of the year again here in west Chester, PA today, the annual West Chester Restaurant Festival. As always the streets were packed with people sampling all of the fantastic restaurants of West Chester and the surrounding area.
My first stop was to check out the new Pig Out BBQ Pit. I ordered three of their baby backs ribs that came with some sort of mild barbecue sauce. The meat fell right off the bone when I tried them. "Falling off the bone" is not necessarily a trait that I really look for in ribs. I prefer a little bite. I also did not notice a smoke ring around the edge of the meat. Pig Out can correct me if I am wrong but I do not think they were smoked. Either way I thought the ribs were pretty good and I welcome the addition of Pig Out to Gay Street. I look forward to experiencing more of their menu in the future.

My next stop was Mabel's Barbecue where I also dialed up 3 ribs. I like how Mabel's has the grills behind their booth. It gets me in the bbq mood. The babyback ribs from Mabel's were fairly similar to Pig Out but I thought the bbq sauce they served was a tad better.

My final verdict was that Mabel's had a slightly better sauce but the ribs were fairly equal. At no point did I get the feeling I was eating bbq in a smokehouse in North Carolina but both establishments warrant further sampling.



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Posted by Barbecue Bachelor at 6:47 PM
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10 comments:

  1. Mr BBQBATCHELOR,

    The Pig Out BBQ Pit is excited to come to West Chester. This will be our second restaurant. Thank you for the kind words above. Our Baby Back Ribs are indeed smoked and not grilled like our competitor Ms Mabel and almost every one else. Then baked in a mild/honey sauce. We do not smoke them to death like famous dave's, i found people are put off by a lot of smoke. We try to cook our ribs to fall off the bone, but not be over done. Many times there is a little bite to getting our ribs off the bone. It all depends on timing. Please stop by our Glen Mills location to try the rest of the menu. Our signature dish is the 'carolina pulled pork'. My wife is from the south and can't get good carolina pork anywhere around here. So we made have it, we even have slaw.
    Thank you for your kind words. We look forward to seeing you try our pork. Oh by the way, I also make 5 different bbq sauces for our regular hickory smoked pulled pork.
    Oh yeah, at the Glen Mills location, we have FREE BEER. NO KIDDING
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  2. I was there too. Still need to post my pics.
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  3. Pig Out,
    I look forward to trying your pulled pork...it'll be great having a 'Pit' in downtown West Chester.
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  4. Here by word of Dr. Zibbs.

    Great post. It reminded me of when a certain Famous bbq chain restaurant opened a store here in Knoxville. The media hyped them up and even word of mouth said it was GREAT.

    We were underwhelmed, much like you. The brisket had no smoke ring and was the same greyish color all the way through. The pork was dry and the ribs were what I'd expect at Applebees.

    At least I know where I can always get authentic bbq....at home!
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  5. I was also very impressed w/ the pulled pork from Pig n Out. As an amateuer BBQ (not griller) cook in West Chester, I am always looking for good Q. I have a feeling they brined the meat for a long time as it was very moist. I would like to see a little more bark, but it was just a sampler sandwich. Really good stuff. I am putting a brisket and shoulder on tomorrow morning for the Penn State game on Saturday. Wish me luck. ( BBQ bachelor - I was at the MMJ show at Festival Pier too - it was bananas).
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  6. Brisket?...Shoulder? That's good eating at your place! Any tips for the grilling community? Pass along some pictures of your Q if you get the chance.
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  7. Dear Mr. BBQB,
    My friends from Pig Out have know clue of how my ribs are smoked I smoke my ribs with hickory wood chips in a commerical smoker.My ribs in know way taste like Pig Out nor does my pulled pork. I smoke all my BBQ not liquid smoke. Everything in my restaurant is homemade daily.,You have to come in and try out the food.
    My pulled pork sauce is one of a kind made by me ,my secret recipe. The BBQ sauce is also made not from bottles like some bbq restaurants. I don't serve my ribs in a steam table or holding cooker like Pig out. I Can't believe you compared my ribs to Pig Outs. Mabel's also has soul food in the restaurant this southern food is past down from my southern relatives.,
    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Mr. BBQB,
    My friends from Pig Out have know clue of how my ribs are smoked I smoke my ribs with hickory wood chips in a commercial smoker.My ribs in know way taste like Pig Out nor does my pulled pork. I smoke all my BBQ not liquid smoke. Everything in my restaurant is homemade daily.,You have to come in and try out the food.
    My pulled pork sauce is one of a kind made by me ,my secret recipe. The BBQ sauce is also made not from bottles like some bbq restaurants. I don't serve my ribs in a steam table or holding cooker like Pig out. I Can't believe you compared my ribs to Pig Outs. Mabel's also has soul food in the restaurant this southern food is past down from my southern relatives.,
    ReplyDelete
  9. Mabel's,
    I definitely look forward to trying more of your food in the near future. I have heard nothing but great things about your establishment. And I am happy to hear that you properly smoke your food. Actually, if you'll let me I'd like to come by and see your setup.
    During the various West Chester festivals I have always also appreciated the fact that you guys bring along some grills rather than keep the ribs in a holding cooker.
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  10. I know this is an older post but I was googling BBQ and came upon this again. I'd like to add that the pulled pork sandwich is excellent at Mabel's. One of the best I've ever had. And great slaw as well.
    ReplyDelete

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