Porky's Pride Real Pit BBQ

Porky's Pride Real Pit BBQ jumped into the ring of Albuquerque BBQ joints a few years ago. When they first opened I went with my mom to their location on Juan Tabo and Candelaria. I was surprised that they opened in the spot that used to be occupied for years by a smoky bar. The place was not well put together in the Juan Tabo location. It was like eating in a garage with an odd stage or platform. I heard they opened another location shortly after the Juan Tabo location opened. At the time, I thought this was too ambitious for a new BBQ joint to open two locations. It was too ambitious and they now have one location. On my first visit to Porky's, I asked the server about the wood that they used and she got a little apprehensive of my asking. I have no interest in opening a BBQ joint. I just wanted to know what kind of wood was flavoring the meat. I was not too impressed by my initial visit to Porky's my food was cold and the service was bad.

Fast forward a few years and a new location. They opened a location or moved to 4th street from their second location that they opened elsewhere on 4th street. It's much nicer and more organized than the Juan Tabo location. The place is fairly modest and they have two beer taps that I saw. They carried Heineken and some kind of domestic beer that I cannot recall. Their wood pile is in the right stacked on pallets. I thought that it was interesting that they bought wood from a company, Gourmet Wood, out of Ft. Worth Texas. They do have an entertaining phone number though, 888-GET-WOOD. I would imagine that getting wood shipped from Texas in that quantity would cost a fair amount of money. The pile is pictured on the right. I've heard from many BBQ experts that you can tell a lot about a BBQ joint by their pile of wood. Bob Gibson a BBQ legend said you can tell a lot about a place by the ash pile. I've mentioned this before in other post about wood/ash piles. So the wood pile here is hickory and mesquite wood. Mesquite tends to burn hotter than other woods and tends to be very strong smoke flavor. I thought that Porky's was pretty cool that they had a serve yourself drink station.

I tend to order the combination platter at BBQ joints so I have the opportunity to sample their offerings. I ordered the ribs, brisket, and sausage combination with fries and beans. I don't really like beans but good beans are a litmus for a good BBQ joint. They had good beans that were made with a few different types of beans. The fries were great. They were crispy and not too salty. The portions were pretty generous for a $13 combination plate. I was bothered by what was described as brisket. I did get brisket portion of the cow, but this was what I would have called chopped beef, not brisket. I do like Porky's because they are one of the few places in our market that make rib tips. The ribs were a good flavor, but they were overdone and fell off bone. The sausage was what I think was just kielbasa that was smoked for a short time. The Texas toast was OK in flavor, but bad in texture. I thought it was a bit too soggy for my taste. My order is pictured on the left.

The server this time around was much more pleasant. She was friendly and I had a chance to meet the cook too. The menu at Porky's is pretty extensive; they carry New Mexican food, burgers, steaks, and BBQ. This may be a strength to cater to the taste of many individuals, but I think this is an Achilles, restaurants seem to sacrifice quality and freshness if the menu is too large. Yes Porky's is a lot better than my first visit. I may have caught them on a bad day. The food is OK and the service and staff are friendly. I would give Porky's a rating of two stars out of five.

http://porkyspride.com/