Good Ribs in Eastern TN?

Fred, thanks for the write. I will be up that way this coming weekend for the NHRA races in Bristol and wish us luck cause we have not had any this year. Rogersville is on my way and I think I will try everything.

I am glad you had the opportunity visit and express your thoughts.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Please tell them I recommended their place. Richard and Marty Beets, the co-owners, are husband and wife. Cleo Woodward, Marty's 88-year-old mother, runs the cash register. Cleo was once an interior decorator, so she helped fix up the place. And she had a job on her hands. It was originally built to be a topless bar, by a former Macy's department store Santa Claus!

Fred Sauceman

Fred, what a history

You never know how that will flavor the ribs.

I will definately tell them of your write and thoughts.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

My in-laws live in Rogersville. I am stoked to hear about this Pig & Chick place and will try it next time we visit. Is it easy to spot on Hwy 11W? We are always looking for "great BBQ" when we're in that part of the country and haven't found any in E. Tenn. We just end up going to Sonny's just to satisfy our fixation, but never thrilled with their food.

the pig and chick is only about 45 minutes from me. when i headed out to go there on thursday, i went the typical route for me...forget about the straight way most people drive to a location. i like to travel back roads and explore on my way hoping to get lucky and find something new. so, i drove south and then west on a bunch of roads i've never been on and found that I couldn't get there from here. had to turn around, head up to kingsport, and south on 11w. No problem finding them then, but I had used up all my time and had to get back to JC to pick up my son from school.

so, i placed an order to go. rack of ribs with sweet potato casserole and green beans on the side. pulled pork sandwich with red skin potato salad. both meals came with hushpuppies.

the ribs - nice pull. good texture. good flavor. i like mine a little spicier and i like to smell/taste a little smoke when i'm eating ribs...not to much smoke but they need a little. but overall i would rate these a strong 7.5 on a scale of 10. clearly the best ribs i've had in the last 10 months (apart from my own ;-)

pulled pork - i took a little off the bun to taste while it was fresh. nice. meat was moist, had a little bark mixed in for color, and a very nice smoky aroma and taste. this is good que to eat naked or with a little of your favorite sauce. bun or no bun. i'd say a 7.5-8 (however, since the que wasnt in a container with a lid, it was a little dry by the time I got back to it an hour later. needed a little sauce to revive it. not their fault and i expected it which is why i tried it when it was fresh).

sides - redskin potato salad was good - nice flavor aided by some fresh tasting green onion (onions are a food group to me..can and will eat them with just about anything).

sweet potato casserole - ok.

green beans - I need to try this one again. they were a little to mushy for me but it may have been the trip and the fact that they were the last thing I got to on the plate.

hushpuppies - good. unique flavor, good onion content. the flavoring didn't overpower the cornmeal or the onions.


Overall - I'm going back in the next two weeks to sit down and have a meal. the place was clean and quite while i was there and I want to relax and spend a little time with the menu. top to bottom, i would say this was the best overall que experience I've had in the last year. i've had better ribs (mine again), slightly better que elesewhere, but not both meats and good sides in the same location.



thanks again for the tip fred!

Thanks for the write-up. That fills in another part of Tennessee we need to check out !1
AL