Red Pig BBQ

Took a trip down to Asheville, North Carolina Tuesday and needed to kill some time so as to arrive and surprise Mom at her staff's party for her retirement. The staff was awesome and really wanted someone from the family there for mom. S couldn't make it and Bec has a job that precludes just rolling on down the interstate. So Dan-o it was.

Ended up driving through Jonesborough, TN and wandering around before grabbing some BBQ. Jonesborough ended up being a gorgeous little town in the former State of Franklin. The dogwoods were in bloom everywhere along main street and the International Storytelling Center was getting a fresh coat of paint inside.

Seems the folks of East Tennessee are okay with calling their Q Carolina BBQ. No rivalry there. Just good pork. Urbanspoon got me thinking BBQ. And REd Pig sounded like the right place.

Chez suggested a couple others as well via Twitter, but we settled on Red Pig with a potential stop at Cootie Brown's on the way back.

While that didn't happen, I was certainly pleased with the stop I did make. Check it...pork. Simple, tender, fell apart when they shredded it pork. No discernible super-seasoning on the pork. True to form, the pork gets sauced by you and you alone.

I went pick-one combo with slaw and baked beans as my side.

Strange twist was the italian bread garlic toast instead of plain old white-bread. I'd love to know if there's a story about that somewhere.

The slaw was thick cut, dressed lightly, and a hint sweet. The beans were tangy and of course included shredded pork.

Two sauces for your pleasure. Sweet vinegar goodness and kicked-up spicy style.

Fresh pies made daily. Fresh pies!

Red Pig makes its own iced tea as well. Wish I had paid attention to that when I first ordered. Diet Coke is good, but no substitute for real southern sweet tea. Grabbed a refill to-go of the sweet tea and absolutely marveled at its smoky, real brewed deep flavor.

Fantastic stop folks.

Congrats to Johnson City. Not just a line in an Old Crow Medicine Show song anymore. Thanks for the great food.

And you readers out there...get yourself down there if you're in the Tri-Cities for a race at Bristol or a camping trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.