I decided to treat myself this week and go to a BBQ restaurant that I had read about and seen on T.V. Harold’s BBQ in South Atlanta is what you think of when you hear about southern BBQ. Harold’s is a BBQ restaurant that every BBQ lover needs to experience once if not more in your lifetime. They have been in business since the 1940’s and with such good food, great service and a very unique atmosphere, it’s no wonder they have been around so long.

I ordered a sliced pork sandwich with Brunswick stew and slaw. The pork was smoked in the back with their electric smokers and then brought out and heated up above a charcoal pit grill. You get your choice of sliced or chopped and it is served atop toasted sliced white bread and smothered in a tangy ketchup-vinegar based BBQ sauce.

The Brunswick stew was by far the best I have ever tasted! The stew had such a nice base to it and the flavor and texture was outstanding! The pork sandwich was served hot and was very good. The slaw was very fresh and was on the sweet side. To top it off my stew was served with a piece of cracklin cornbread and a big ole glass of sweet tea! Now it just don’t get much more southern than that.

The décor was old school with the red and white checkered table clothes and old autographed pictures of athletes and politicians lined the walls. The waitresses were very attentive and service was just great and friendly. If I ever decide to open a BBQ restaurant Harold’s is the blueprint that I would follow. A great atmosphere, great BBQ served hot and fresh along with wonderful service.

Do yourself a favor and if you ever head downtown to a Braves game, stop by Harold’s and treat yourself to some outstanding BBQ !!

I give Harold’s a 4.9 on the squeal meter! It just don’t get much better!

Check out my pics of Harold’s BBQ in the pic section of this website.

For our next BBQ outing, we took a beautiful drive to Danielsville, Georgia to check out Zeb’s BBQ. Zeb’s is a small country place that I had read great reviews about, and I couldn’t wait to finally make the journey over to give them a try. Zeb’s is the kind of place you think about when you talk about a small town BBQ restaurant. It is out in the middle of nowhere and when we pulled up to Zeb’s the parking lot was packed on this busy Saturday night. As you enter the door you can’t help but feel at home at this wonderful charming hometown restaurant. There was a great big “how y’all doin?” that set the tone for our dinner at Zeb’s.

The menu was a simple one with BBQ sandwiches or pork plates from which to choose . Zeb’s is known for their Brunswick stew, and we soon found out why. My wife had their Brunswick stew, and I had the pork plate The pork plate was served with slaw, stew, chopped pork and chips. Our twins had BBQ sandwiches with chips. Each table at Zeb’s had a loaf of fresh sunbeam white bread sitting on it. As your waiting for your order, the waitress brings a little jug of Zeb’s BBQ sauce which is uniquely served warm to each table. I decided to try the sauce to see what kind of base Zeb’s used, and I found out real quick that it is warm vinegar base with lots of pepper in it. Definitely Carolina style! If you like sweet BBQ sauce, you won’t like Zeb’s sauce at all!

Our very sweet and accommodating waitress brought out our food which looked delicious, and we couldn’t wait to dig in. Their BBQ sandwiches were nice sized and my wife had a generous portion of Brunswick stew, which was the best she had ever tasted. As soon as you took one bite you could taste the enhanced corn flavor and delicious base that had your taste buds begging for more. My pork plate was served with probably the leanest looking chopped pork that I have ever seen. A lot like smoked ham. The pork was good and had a nice flavor to it, but I couldn’t taste any smoke flavor coming from it at all. Their homemade coleslaw was on the sweet side and had a hint of pickles in it and was quite good. I also had a side of stew which was delicious. Zeb’s didn’t have any ribs or smoked chicken on the menu, so it was a very basic BBQ restaurant with a great hometown appeal. I would of like to have tried their ribs and had the choice of another sauce to try, but all in all Zeb’s was a great family outing with great tasting BBQ.

I give Zebs a 4 on the squeal meter.

Pics are in the pic section.