GA Pig, Brunswick, GA

GA Pig, Brunswick, GA

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Community Q BBQ, Decatur, GA

We stopped for lunch in Decatur today, which is just outside of Atlanta, to try a place that's been getting a lot of love on Yelp, Community Q BBQ.  The restaurant is housed in a better looking strip mall than most, and parking is plentiful.  We entered and ordered at the counter.  The staff was friendly, service was prompt and tables were bussed constantly.  The menu is straight forward, with more than your average amounts of sides, and some specials of the day to choose from, too. Anytime we're trying a new barbecue place we both typically opt for the rib and pulled pork combo, and we were true to form today.  For sides Mim went with baked beans and a smoked sweet potato-kale combo, and Doug had black eyed peas with the same veggie. The ribs here are nearly perfect; tender and juicy with a noticeable (but not overly assertive) smoke level, great pork flavor and a wonderful tangy flavorful rub.  They offer two sauces on the table, a mustard-vinegar and a tomato-vinegar, and they worked well with both the ribs and pulled pork, which also was delicious...meaty and tender, pulled into large pieces, with enough fat and bark to keep it interesting.  The sides rate two thumbs up, too.  The black eyed peas were simple and tasty, the sweet potato-kale combo was good, although it could have used a little more cooking time and additional spices...we both added salt, pepper and hot sauce, but we prefer a little under-seasoned to its opposite.  We didn't detect the smoke on the potatoes.  The baked beans were very interesting...full flavored and meaty with the addition of good sized pieces of brisket. Our one complaint is that the black pepper was overly assertive, but this only bothered us toward the end of the dish, when it became a little overpowering.  We understand their mac and cheese is a winner, but we passed that up today, so we'll have to go back and give that a try. Doug was loath to leave after our feast, so went back up for an order of blueberry bread pudding, which was served with a dollop of whipped cream.  The flavor of this dessert was good, although it could have used a bit more moistness, either in the pudding itself or in the form of an additional sauce. Mim returned to childhood with a rice krispie treat, updated from the classic with a nice layer of chocolate ganache and caramel in the center. Yum.  Community is among some of the best barbecue we've had, and will definitely go onto our top 20 list.  Georgia is blessed with a wealth of  great barbecue, and this place is a stand out.