Pork It Over

Pig Daddy's goes big

by Elisa Ludwig

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Published: Aug 28, 2007

From the looks of it, Pig Daddy's is anything but porky. The diminutive two-year-old storefront in Drexel Hill practically opens into its countertop. Behind that is the kitchen — outfitted with the efficiency of a NASA spacecraft, it produces far more food than should rightfully fit in a room this small. A mirror that might add the illusion of greater space is papered with news clippings about the restaurant and photos from barbecue competitions around the country.

But what Pig Daddy's lacks in size, it makes up for with the sheer girth of its output. The menu itself is a lengthy catalog of regional barbecued meats, as well as Tex-Mex specialties like tacos, burritos, quesadillas and fajitas. But even if you go strictly barbecue, your entrée will come with a Styrofoam container of tortilla chips and a dipping-size cup of salsa. Personally, I'd rather have corn bread or a biscuit as my freebie — all the better to sop up the sauce with.

Speaking of sauce, it's actually rather sparingly applied to the ribs, brisket and chicken, allowing the meat's hard-earned "low and slow" smoke flavor to dominate. The sauce is just a sweet flourish, like a brown-sugar cherry on top. The spice-rubbed St. Louis-style pork ribs and sauce-dabbed chicken thighs are both richly flavored, formidable specimens of well-fired meat. The Texas-style brisket is surprisingly delicate with tender flakes and small pockets of fat. Especially notable is the Carolina-style pulled pork, which dazzles (but doesn't overwhelm) with its savory vinegar tang. The same meat is tucked into Pig Daddy's version of a Cuban sandwich, where it's layered with baked ham, Swiss cheese and pickles on a long, soft roll — to great effect.

The sides, too, are numerous, emerging from the kitchen like pom-pommed feet from a clown car. Mac and cheese consists of long, zitilike noodles that are perfectly smooth with melted cheddar, and a bit gooey for that. Cajun spiced sweet potato fries are made fresh (no starch, I was assured), their brown skin crisped and their orange underbellies speckled with cayenne pepper. Collards (one of three rotating green vegetables) are chopped fine, cooked to limp softness. A sweet potato pudding is homogenously fluffy and aromatic with allspice, though it verges on bland.

There are salads here, too, as well as something called a BBQ Sundae, a carb-less parfait of pork layered with coleslaw. Why anyone watching their figure would come to Pig Daddy's is beyond me — unless they're planning to get a job working behind the counter.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

Pig Daddy's

693 Burmont Road, Drexel Hill

610-622-6441, www.pigdaddysbarbecue.com

Mon.-Tue., Thu., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.., Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun., 1-9 p.m., Closed Wednesday. (Summer hours are Thu.-Sat. only)

Appetizers, $2.50-$8.50, Platters, $9-$19, Sandwiches, $6.95-$7.95

Takeout and delivery available.

 

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