GA Pig - Brunswick, GA

Posted By Michael Stern on September 6, 2006 3:45 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.

Overall Rating

pork!

Take-Out Slab

sweet tea

Pork Sandwich

Brunswick Stew

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Posted By Allen Choate on April 15, 2011 5:59 PM

The GA Pig must have been good once upon a time, but that time has long passed! Stopped there for lunch two weeks ago. The pulled pork was cold, tasteless, and gristly. The Brunswick stew was lukewarm and tasted suspiciously as if a can of Campbell's minestrone had been thrown in.

The counter person was her usual surly self. You can get away with an attitude if you are serving qood quality BBQ. That certainly is not the case here. GA Pig should be deleted from the Roadfood list of recommendations.

Overall Rating

pork!

sweet tea

Pork Sandwich

Brunswick Stew

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Posted By Richard Mayo on January 26, 2011 4:47 PM

My son and I recently visited the GA Pig on the way to South Carolina. We did notice that the flag marking the location of the restaurant is on the wrong side of I-95. It should be on the east or right side of the Interstate. But it was not hard to find.

The original owner passed away some six years ago which caused us some concern. The food was good, not great, maybe a three out of a five. We were more interested in the antique heavy metal door closers on the patron's restrooms.

We would go back but not anytime soon.

Overall Rating

pork!

sweet tea

Pork Sandwich

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Posted By Patti Menow on December 29, 2010 6:22 PM

Being from Pa , I thought these southern barbeque places were a myth. The shack was cool and the food was terrific..The sauce was very tasty and ever since I have tried to duplicate..haven't yet...can't wait to stop by again on our way to Florida....

Overall Rating

pork!

Take-Out Slab

Pork Sandwich

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Posted By cliff s on September 5, 2010 4:53 PM

The place looked really interesting, but the food was bad. I love BBQ. I always try the ribs when I go to someplace I haven't been before. They were tough and dried out dispite being drenched in a their sauce. I tried several of them and could not take more than a sample from each one. After four or five tries I gave up and left with 90% of my dinner uneaten. Very dissapointed.

Overall Rating

sweet tea

Take-Out Slab

Brunswick Stew

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Posted By Ira B. Price on March 21, 2010 4:19 PM

I had not eaten at the Georgia Pig in over 20 years. The first time I was there the GP was the only place to be found on the exit. Now, the whole street is filled with gas stations and hotels. I was really looking forward to some good BBQ. Drove up and the place looked the same.

The food was regrettable. The ribs were cold and tough. I looked in the pit and there was no smoke. I checked outside to see some evidence that there was actual smoking going on, and didn't see any. I could not believe I had driven this far for such disappointing BBQ. And I feel I am qualified to judge BBQ. I have driven between Miami to Phoenix five times in the last four years. I have eaten in Luling, Lockhart, and all over Texas. I have eaten BBQ at the Brick Pit in Mobile, Rendezvous and Corky's in Memphis... all over the place. I could not believe that the BBQ at the GA Pig was just so mediocre.

The staff was otherwise pleasant, I guess, but the BBQ was just disappointing. I know everyplace has bad days, but most great BBQ places are consistent.

Overall Rating

Take-Out Slab

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Posted By Lin Cook on February 20, 2010 11:09 PM

We have now visited the GA Pig three times this year. For sheer down-home ambiance, it cannot be beat! The cabin which houses the restaurant looks like it could be well over 100 years old. While the owner is very friendly, the rest of the staff grudgingly serves you, sort of a Confederate Durgin-Park if you will.

The food is great. The ribs are excellent, not too spicy, and not drowned in sauce like the Sonny's chain down there. The pork sandwiches are meaty and sweet, served in a toasted slice of bread, and the banana pudding is the best I have ever had.

Located right off of Interstate 95, this is a bargain-priced stop on your trip south that cannot be missed!

Overall Rating

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Posted By Nanci Schenkein on December 16, 2008 4:55 PM

We stopped by The Georgia Pig for a first visit on one of our "foodtours" from New Jersey to Florida this past summer, because of the amazing review in Roadfood. OMG what an amazing treat. I swear that you could start smelling the place as you exited Route 95. Needless to say the place isn't much to look at but WHO CARES?

We chose to eat inside during the intense heat of August (the bugs were tough, too) and that was fine with me because the inside is lined with Elvis posters and I happened to have my fave Graceland shirt on. We tried all the meats they had to offer and I honestly couldn't pick a fave; they were all smoky, sweet, and succulent. All the sides were delish! Even the tea was perfectly sweetened.

Thanks all for sending us. All our friends love to hear about our "foodtours" and the Georgia Pig is always a special reverent moment!

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Posted By Christopher Jones on December 15, 2008 9:38 AM

I don't get it! No matter what site I visit (here, Trip Advisor, whatever), people LOVE the GA Pig. I'd read enough ratings of the place two years ago to stop by on the way to Florida to treat my family to dinner. It was, to say the least, disappointing.

I have eaten barbecue all over this country. At home, I make pork shoulder and beef brisket which is (at the risk of sounding like an insufferable blowhard) among the best you'll eat. I rank Kreutz Market in Lockhart, TX as the best I've had, but I've enjoyed BBQ almost as good in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina (an underrated BBQ state if you ask me), Alabama, Oklahoma, and Florida. My point is, the GA Pig is pedestrian barbecue. It doesn't have a good, smoky flavor, the sauce is uninspired and the side dishes (admittedly, side dishes don't matter if the barbecue shines) are unremarkable.

Maybe, if you live up north and don't know what the heck barbecue is except for watching people eat it on Food Network, the GA Pig will appeal to you. I don't know. Like I said, I just don't get it.

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Posted By Julie Balke on August 10, 2005 11:43 PM

We are from the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area and stop at "The Pig" every time we happen to head north. In fact, our departure time is usually decided with a barbeque stop in mind. The food, the "No Photography" signs, the smoky smells...they are all a part of the draw. It's our favorite stop and we usually buy about 8 bottles of sauce to keep and to hand out to very special friends. The beef, pork, beans and especially the Brunswick stew are outstanding.

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Posted By Tammy on December 6, 2004 10:56 PM

When traveling south on I-95, I never thought I'd find the place that I had wanted to try years before on a college field trip. But, I did!! Exit 29 sports a truck stop, a waffle place and a McDonalds . . . the real find is the GA Pig which is just beyond and across the street from the McDonalds. It looks like it comes from the Dukes of Hazzard - rustic and country! The kids and I had already had lunch, so we decided just to "try" one sandwich between the four of us. It came on a plate with a large chunk of dill pickle on top. Between the savory barbeque sauce and the mouth watering meat, we were hooked!! The sweet tea that accompanied the sandwich was perfect to wash it all down. Before we left, we purchased two bottles of the tastey barbeque sauce. The atmosphere of the home-y little restaurant included a friendly staff, Elvis memorabilia, and the fire hearth where the meat is cooked to perfection. For the record, it was so good that on the return trip north, we stopped for supper and enjoyed a whole meal - complete with two meat options (with sauce) and side dishes (like cole slaw, baked beans, etc.)!

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