GA Pig, Brunswick, GA

GA Pig, Brunswick, GA

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Southern Soul Barbecue on St. Simons Island

We often visit this area of coastal Georgia, and made our way here this week to partake of the great barbecue and beautiful sights this part of the country offers. Southern Soul was definitely a destination for us, and we're happy to see them thriving on lovely and historic St. Simons Island.

The vibe here is more hipster than divey, but still very casual. Their menu is large and varied, with ribs, Boston butt, whole chicken, turkey, sausage and wings all making their way into the smokers stationed in front of the restaurant. The woman behind the counter was helpful and patient...she could tell we were newbies, and volunteered info on what their bestseller is (pulled pork), as well as what Guy Fieri had when he visited (ribs). We both went straight for the Southern Soul Sampler, which gives you the choice of two meats, Brunswick stew and one side. The pulled pork and ribs are always our first choices at any barbecue place, and we both went for them with sides of collard greens, baked beans and coleslaw.

We get why the pulled pork is so popular, as it's juicy and tender, with a faint smokiness. There are 4 sauces to choose from on the table, and we both liked the NC style vinegar sauce on the pulled pork. Mim is going to just go right out and say this is the best pulled pork she's ever had. The ribs were somewhat less of a hit. Although far from bad, they lacked juiciness, and did not inspire the same passion that the pulled pork did, with more of a charcoal taste than a smoky flavor. The collard greens were spicy and possibly a little too sweet, and the baked beans were very good. We didn't care for the slaw with its preponderance of  chile powder, which overpowered all other flavors. Greatness is adding seasonings to elevate the ingredients and the cooks here sometimes get in the way.  All the sides we tried suffered from a little too much interference with the slaw and greens being the worst offenders of the three we tried.  Three of the four sauces impressed us as both fun delicious, with only the SC Mustard sauce failing to interest us. Both the Hot & Spicy and the Sweet Georgia Soul sauces were complex and tasty, and we detected mustard in them both, especially the Hot & Spicy, which could easily stand in for the SC Mustard sauce, and was delicious on both the pulled pork and the ribs. The vinegar sauce here would make any North Carolinian proud.

Southern Soul is a great barbecue spot, and we'll return to try the smoked sausage, Brunswick Stew and brisket. Check out their website, www.southernsoulbbq.com, which has a great community page, with links to fun and interesting things in the area.

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