Daytona Pig Stand

John A and I went to lunch here a week ago.  I'm on my own with this post..He liked his pork sandwich.  I had the St. Louis ribs for the 5th time...The last time I was here, several months ago, they were horrible.  This time, they were only passable.  The sides were good..They have been good each and every time I have been here.
 
If I go back, I will stick to the pork sandwich or pulled brisket (they do not slice their brisket).  I can't recommend you try their ribs, but I can say they have really good mac n cheese, decent slaw, good baked beans and JohnA liked their pork sandwich.  Is it better that our local Dustin's chain...No.  Is it better than our Sonny's..No.  Is it better than the place in Micanopy..HELL NO!
 
I will try to get the pictures on..... 
  
 

What Sonny's?

Pulled brisket?  That's a new one on me.  Was it good? 

I suspect Baah Ben is referring to the Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q chain.  For a chain, they're not bad.   

http://www.sonnysbbq.com/

Sonny's BBQ is a small chain.  I always stop at Sonny's in Orlando.
 
Edit: You were quicker than me MellowRoast.  Thanks for the link.

It sounds like Sonny's didn't go over too well in Baah Ben's area:

MAITLAND, FL – October 7, 2008, Volusia Bar-B-Q, Inc., Ormond Bar-B-Q, Inc., and Port Orange Bar-B-Q, Inc. licensed franchisees of Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q (Sonny’s), announces the closing of three Sonny’s locations in the greater Volusia area. The restaurants in Daytona Beach (1500 International Speedway), Port Orange (1515 Dunlawton Avenue), and Ormond Beach (782 S. Yonge Street) will close by October 15th.
 
joerogo: Sonny's Real Pit BBQ chain has about 140 restaurants.

Mello - When I went to Daytona Pig Stand on the second of my 5 trips, I had their brisket.  At that time, it was sliced and it was ok...Not great.  However, the last few times, the menu specifically said they had pulled brisket.  I, like you, never heard of pulled brisket.

This time, with John, we both asked the girl at the counter about that.  She said their's is pulled.  I am just guessing, but perhaps they do not do enough volume to cook off one of those nice big briskets?  Perhaps, you don't rewarm it as a whole?  Maybe it takes too long?  Maybe doing so would dry it out?  So, they just chop it up?  This way, they can have it for a longer period of time and heat it quickly?  I just don't know.  

Yes, I was talking about Sonny's, which is a small (?) chain that stretches up to at least Charlotte..Been to that one several times right off I-77.  We just had three Sonny's close in this part of Volusia County.  I'd been to all three of those locations many times.   Except for the first couple of times when the Pig Stand was good, Sonny's ribs were better..I like Sonny's consistancy.   Never had anything bad at a Sonny's...Never.

I hope to have the pictures of the Pig Stand up this morning... It is a good looking place..That I'll give them.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restaurants are closing due to the economy everywhere, so that's not surprising.  I, too, have found Sonny's quite reliable, particularly for a chain operation.  Sadly, the nearest location for me is a 90 mile drive.

Excellent pics ben.
 
Is that Trailer for show or is it a travling smoker?  Either way, it's beautiful.

joerogo


Excellent pics ben.
 
Is that Trailer for show or is it a travling smoker?  Either way, it's beautiful.

Zowee! If that is a functional smoker you could feed a small city with what you could smoke in there! 

Great photos.  Tasty-looking food and nice building.  But what a RIG!

I've eaten at a Sonny's in King's Bay GA. For a chain it's pretty good considering how I feel about chains. Nice rig.

Nice report.....ribs looked delicious!!!

Good job grasshopper

Thanks to my mentor (JohnA) I hope I finally have this picture stuff down pat.

Lee - The ribs actually were not that great.  If you look closely, for St. Louis ribs, they were small (not necessarily a bad thing) but the texture was far too "soft?"  There was no resistance to the bite at all.  They did not have that solid meaty, yet tender texture that I think St. Louis ribs should have...My opinion anyway.  

Like I said, I'm through with this place as far as ribs go.  If I go back, it will be for the pork sandwich and their sides which continue to be very, very good.  Miconopy, FL  has spoiled me as far as ribs are concerned.  These simply don't match up to the ones I just had in Gainesville/Miconopy.

Tony & Joe - Funny you should mention this trailer.  John and I spend several minutes going over this thing in the parking lot because it seemed strange that this one little place would have invested in this expensive 18 wheeler.  ("18 wheels and a Dozen Roses" Kathy Matea)

We think what they did was order their name and logo placed on this "advertising" rig in strategic areas like the rear panel and portions of the side panels.  Places where they can change it as needed for each restaurant.  But, the rest of the graphics refer to the general name "Pork Chopper"

So, we are guessing this is a promotional thing available, probably for a price, to any qualifying BBQ place that wants it for a special event (Daytona 500) for instance. 

The restaurant did have a small mobile smoker in the parking lot for parites..The kind that hitches up to a car or truck.  We're pretty sure this is not theirs.  The license plate was Georgia, incidently.

It is a pretty neat rig though isn't it.  I think it works, too.  If you look towards the rear, there is a foot stand (see that red paint) that operators can stand on.  That last section looked to us that it flipped up and I believe there is a cooking pit there of some type.   Not sure..Maybe Dr. BBQ or RibDog has seen this rig at one of their festivals?

Baah Ben-what restaurant are you refering to in micanopy? i looked through your latest posts but didnt find it. i find the florida bbq to be generally lacking and get over to g'ville often enough i might stop there. thanks.

if you get to jacksonville i highly recommend mojo's bbq

"Is it better than our Sonny's..No."  is not much of a recommendation I'm afraid.  I've eaten at several Sonny's, and none were anything to write home about at all.  I got a chicken at one that was simply inedible.

I was also disappointed in BubbaLou's, as I had gone to one in Orlando a few months ago on the recommendation of several folks.  It was ok, but the ribs lacked flavor.  The BBQ *could* have been pretty good, but it had an off taste to it, oversmoked like they used liquid smoke on it or something.

I've about given up on finding decent BBQ in FL.

I went to the Daytona Pig Stand today--it was fine, but nothing special. My dinner was sliced brisket with fried okra, brunswick stew, and cornbread.

The brisket was tender, but perhaps a bit too much so; there wasn't much "pull" to the meat and in places it was even a bit watery. Was it boiled before hitting the smoker, or perhaps warmed over in water? I wasn't fond of the sauces--too sweet, not tangy or peppery enough.

The stew was tasty (though I haven't had much experience with Brunswick stew), but the okra were standard-issue freezer-to-fryer veggies that you find at most places that buy in bulk. The cornbread also looked standard-issue--not homemade with textured imperfections, but rather with artificial-looking "wrinkles" and "creases" on top that seemed to come from an assembly-line mold.

Hmmmmmmmmm. Sounds as if it's about time to start anew. How many folks within driving distance of East Tennessee about 30 minutes off I=75 and have motorcycles? Seriously asking the question here. I was known for my place in Erwin, Tn. a few years ago. I have a location in mind, again and not all that far from Knoxville either.

give crackers bbq in st. augustine a try. HOG members get 10% off their total bill and the pitmaster is a an old comp cook.

That smoker truck seems like a bit of overkill to me! LOL!

I have been to Sonny's maybe 15 times and maybe 7 were good times.. The ribs were great and almost perfect at times then otheres you cant get it off the dern bone.....