Sweet Lucy's BBQ in Philadelphia, PA

I found this place listed on the Holly Eats site and I figured I should try out the place. I have to say WOW.

I ordered the 2 meat combo: ribs and brisket with beans and collard greens and it was outstanding. The meat was tender as can be and the sides were very good as well.

The setup is that you order from one part of the counter and get your meal in a Styrofoam container from the other end. They have a table in front of the counter with a heated pot of BBQ sauce that you can ladle into small “side” cups along with pickles and hot peppers. They also have a bottle of hot pepper vinegar that was a perfect addition to the collard greens I ordered.

They give you a choice between a corn muffin or a roll with your platter. I opted for the roll but I wish they had plain white bread as well. Also there is only one kind of BBQ sauce to choose on the “sides” table. But all and all I plan on going there again.

Thanks. will try this place in the next couple months. Just moved near here from Chicago area and the hardest thing is to find good local restaurants. If we lived in Philadelphia instead of north it would probably be easier. We really miss our local BBQ from Algonquin, IL called Texan BBQ. Real thing. My two brothers from Texas and another who went to school there say it tastes just like good Texas barbecue.

Just the name sounds like a GREAT Q place....It would make me want to try it for sure.

A colleague has picked up a brisket sandwich for me from Sweet Lucy's a couple times. It was wonderful; definetely better than the brisket I had at the Smoked Joint in Center City.

This is the best BBQ joint in N.E. Philly for us. We're both from this area and make trips back to the area occasionally. Previously we were frequent patrons of the Rib Rack on Bustelton Ave.

We made our second visit to Sweet Lucy's this past Saturday for lunch. It's a great place for BBQ, and it's convenient if you’re traveling on I-95 through Philly. They're on State Rd, just south of the Philly prison complex. If you heading south, you get off at Academy Rd and if heading north, get off at Cottman Ave. State Rd parallels I-95. One thing, their sign is mounted on the side of the building and it's tough to see it from the street. Just open the windows and follow your nose.

It's a place your order, pay, then pick it up a few minutes later, with a nice smoke free dining room that is pretty much self service. They do have someone cleaning up tables. All of the food is served in styrofoam containers, whether you're eating there or the order is to go. So there's no problem with ordering takeout and eating it there. (Which is what we did on our return visit to save some time)

The first time was in late January for dinner. The line to order was out the door. I had a combo plate of ribs and brisket and the wife had the pulled pork platter. We shared sides of baked beans, potato salad, green beans and mashed potatoes. Everything was excellent, with the only surprise being the ribs. The ribs were described as "Memphis Ribs" so I was expecting them to be dry, but they were served with sauce on them. They were also cut into individual servings. But they were great ribs.

On Saturday, we wanted a light lunch as we had reservations for dinner elsewhere and knew we had to save room for that. As I mentioned, we called ahead to place our order. They weren't quite as busy, but were doing a good takeout business which I'm guessing had something to do with March Madness. We shared a BBQ pulled chicken platter with the baked beans and green beans. Again, an excellent meal.

The Phila Inquirer food critic has recently gave them a good review, and they have also won other awards. Will definitely be back in May during our next trip to Philly.

As a former native, and occasional visitor, I give it high marks on all counts
I live in Delaware, work in Maryland, but my mother still lives about 10 minutes from Sweet Lucy's
I rarely miss an opportunity tocombine visit
best real BBQ since Lawnside BBQ left town

I've been to Sweet Lucy's a couple of times, but found the food to be a little inconsistent.  I like their sauce, but the ribs are quite small & the sides were pretty awful - especially the baked beans, but on the first occassion the mac n cheese was really off (tasted like the cheese had gone bad).  The next time it was fine though it tasted exactly like stouffers frozen mac n cheese.  The lunch menu is actually pretty expensive.  Monday night AUCE is a good deal, but honestly if you don't live in this area its a super long haul so I was probably even more disappointed that I had made the trip expecting it to be a little better.    Our office orders BBQ from another Philly BBQ Restaurant once or twice a month (Famous Dave's) and I am definitely going to stick with them.  I've also tried Tommy Gunns (YUCK) and a couple others downtown which were better than sweet lucy's.

Phildelmar


As a former native, and occasional visitor, I give it high marks on all counts
I live in Delaware, work in Maryland, but my mother still lives about 10 minutes from Sweet Lucy's
I rarely miss an opportunity tocombine visit
best real BBQ since Lawnside BBQ left town

And unlike Miss B of Lawnside, Sweet Lucy accepts $20 bills and does not display a mostly naked poster of Harry J. Katz. 
 
I miss Miss B.  A seni-naked Harry J. Katz, no so much.

As I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to Philadelphia (and perhaps a few other things if I'm to believe what I've been told), is this the aforementioned Harry J. Katz?
 
Brad

Alas, yes. Harry has seen better days.