In Emmitsburg, MD, a few miles south of the PA border on Rt 15. About a mile north of Mount St Mary's.
Chubby's... what a great dive. I didn't get a picture of the outside, because I would have been shooting directly into the sun. But man, it's a real BBQ joint, without question. I'd alerted the Dr that we were coming, and he was there waiting for us! We had some nice chit chat, and he sat with us and we talked food, and road food, and BBQ, and life. laststand, he mentioned you by name, and favorably. Tom is a genuinely nice guy. I don't know why he was so different on line, but in person there is not a hint of forced camaraderie; it is real. I would have him as a friend and neighbor in a heartbeat.
I'm going to apologize for the pictures in advance. I still haven't got that food macro working yet. And the girls get embarassed when I take pictures of dinner, so I can't take one, look, check, take another, etc. "C'mon, Dad! I want to eat!"
He recommended a couple sides, the potatoes & sausage, and the collard greens; both were truly out of this world.
Here is the 3-way combo: pulled pork, baby backs, and brisket. At the top right of the plate are the potatoes; the collards are in the small bowl. The pulled pork is really, really tender, and it's only lightly pulled. You can pull it more yourself, or eat it in chunks. The brisket is super lean and also tender, and very smoky. The baby backs are done to where they tug back just a little bit; you know you're eating meat, not jello.
I'll say up front that I'm a sauce guy. Chubby's serves several sauces, all in squeezetops so you can modulate anything from a drip to a slather. I dripped some Carolina vinegar sauce on the brisket, but I preferred the "private reserve" and the "classic".
Here are the collard greens. Notice that there are potato chunks, meat, and other ingredients. The greens are downright tangy and delicious! I could have eaten a big bowl of greens as the meal! The potatoes are also excellent, and craveworthy.
The girls had a two-way of chicken and pulled pork, with mashed and corn bread:
and a half-chicken with sides of mashed and slaw:
I didn't get a chance to nibble at anyone else's plates. I was seriously concerned with what was in front of me. But the half chickens alone were huge.
We ordered desserts, but to go, and we didn't get to them until an hour later. I had coconut cream pie. It was SERIOUSLY sweet. If you're diabetic, order this while you are still under the influence of the pill or the shot, because your sugar will take a huge spike. I think this was sweeter than sugar itself. It was good, too. Not thin or runny with high meringue, but substantial, like moist cheesecake, and with a thick whipped cream topping.
Here is a word of advice. Bring a cooler, or make your visit part of a day trip so you can take home leftovers... otherwise, order small and plan on returning. Each one of our meals would have fed all three of us. It is a sin to throw out good barbeque.
Highly recommended. From the parking lot through the meal and back out the front door, Chubby's is worthy.
