GA Pig

2712 US 17 S., Brunswick, GA - (912) 264-6664

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Posted By Michael Stern on 9/6/2006 3:45:00 PM

One of the surest signs of great Roadfood in the south is the sight of a happy pig on a restaurant sign. On the sign of the GA Pig, you see a merry porker playing a fiddle and doing a jig. You, too, will dance for joy when you find this grand restaurant.

Actually “find” is the wrong verb, because you simply cannot miss it. Get off I-95 in Brunswick, Georgia at Exit 29. You are there. Virtually at the end of the exit ramp, just where you’d expect to find the most mediocre food in a plastic setting, here is terrific, smoky barbecued pork served in a truly rustic atmosphere by a a genuine country smoke house. Dine at picnic tables inside or in the pine grove outdoors; or take some to eat along the highway: however you experience the GA Pig, we guarantee you will find a sweet place for it in your bank of culinary memories.

Proprietor Ed Powers, now one of the Grand Old Men of Southern Barbecue, cooks his pork slowly in a brick pit over a fire of oak and hickory logs and he bastes it with a luxuriously sweet sauce. Delicious as the ribs are, our preference is for the pulled pork, where there are no bones to gnaw. Served as a heap of chunky shreds on a plate or in a sandwich, the pork is a variegated mixture of tender interior pieces mixed with crusty outsides. With a little bit more of that good tangy sauce and a side order of sweet beans, here is pure pig perfection … with the added benefit of ultra-convenient access for travelers along I-95.

Scorecard

Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip

pork!	Pork Sandwich
Take-Out Slab	Brunswick Stew
sweet tea

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"Sweet and meaty, Brunswick stew is an essential item on barbecues throughout Georgia and, as far as I know, its name has nothing to do with the town of Brunswick in which the GA Pig is located."
Michael Stern

"While it is cheap and sloppy, pork served at the GA Pig is exquisite, with complex, subtle flavor that blossoms in the haze of wood smoke. I really like the toasted-crisp bun in which it's served."
Michael Stern

"Smoky pork sandwich, baked beans, macaroni salad, and sweet tea for $6!"
Jom

"A single napkin is rather pointless when eating barbecue, especially if you go for ribs. Each table at the GA Pig is equipped with a roll of paper towels."
Michael Stern

"The sauce used to dress GA Pig pork is quite mild, but if you want to heat it up, there is a plethora of various hot sauces to add."
Michael Stern

"Another rule."
Michael Stern

"The woman behind the counter explained that the no-camera rule was put into place because someone took a picture of the pit man while he was cutting pork with his cleaver. The flash stunned him and he accidentally cut his hand, requiring 36 stitches and causing the restaurant to close for the day. "
Michael Stern

"If you plan to dine at a picnic table outside, you must sauce your food before leaving the building."
Michael Stern

"So, does this mean a kangaroo or ostrich would be welcome on the porch??"
Michael Stern

"We've always said the name of this place 'G-A Pig,' but a regular customer advised us that it is in fact pronounced 'Gay Pig.'"
Michael Stern

"The pitmaster is bringing a wheelbarrow load of wood in to the smoke pit."
Michael Stern

"This driveway leads to a delicious world that seems far from the interstate."
Michael Stern

"Beyond this sign is a log cabin, and inside the cabin is four-star barbecue."
Michael Stern