Bono's Bar-B-Q in Gainesville, FL

I was doing some traveling and stopped right off I-75 in Gainesville for gas and lunch. It was decided that we would partake in some barbecue at a restaurant called Bono's Bar-B-Q. We went to their drive through and I ordered the Slawpy Pig Sandwich. The menu described it as a heaping pile of pulled pork topped with coleslaw. The combination reminded me of the Messy Pig at 4 Rivers back in the Orlando area, which I like.

This sandwich was served dry with sauce on the side. It allowed me to taste the pork a bit more than if the meat was drenched in sauce. The shredded pork was nice and tender with a smokey flavor. There were none of the unpleasant chewy bits of pig that sometimes find their way into pulled pork which is always good. The coleslaw was very generic, but did the job of providing moisture and vegetables to an otherwise meaty and dry sandwich. I picked macaroni and cheese as my side. It was very creamy. Overall, Bono's ended up being a much better choice than the standard interstate fast food selections...

Up in Smoke Pit Bar-B-Q in Tallahassee, FL

While on a weekend trip to Tallahassee, I had barbecue for the third time in three days. Not sure how I ended up eating at Sonny's, Wiregrass Boys, and then Up in Smoke Pit Bar-B-Q in that short amount of time, but it happened.

 I had their two meat combo. I picked the pulled pork and smoked turkey, with collards, pretzel macaroni & cheese, and garlic toast. The pork was tasty with very little fat. The turkey was thickly sliced with a nice smokey flavor. The meats were especially good with their mustard barbecue sauce. If I remember correctly, mustard barbecue sauce is Georgia style. I was intrigued by the pretzel macaroni & cheese when I ordered it, but it was normal mac & cheese topped with crumbled pretzels.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Up in Smoke!

 

O'Boys Real Smoked Bar-B-Q in Baldwin Park, FL

This is the Smoked Turkey Lunch Platter from O'Boys Real Smoked Bar-B-Q in Baldwin Park. After a morning of exploring Cady Way Trail and the pathways surrounding Lake Baldwin, this huge portion of thinly sliced turkey, fries, baked beans, cole slaw, and garlic bread was very tasty. With the addition of the spicy barbecue sauce, the already good food tasted even better. The food here was definitely a step above some of the other bigger local BBQ chains.

(Restaurant has closed since the time of writing this post.)

Big Jims Bar-B-Q Food Truck in Melbourne, FL

I tried a food truck in Melbourne called Big Jims Bar-B-Q. Big Jims seems to be set up in a semi-permanent location along 192 in an empty lot occupied with the main trailer, a couple of smokers, and some picnic tables. I decided to get the pulled pork sandwich combo, served with two sides.

I tried the collard greens and cornbread for my two sides. I liked the collards, but the cornbread was very dry and could have used some butter for some extra flavor.

The sandwich was good, with loads of pork drenched in a vinegary barbecue sauce. Only complaint was that the sauce soaked down to the lower bun and made the bread very soggy. Regardless, the sandwich tasted good and was a whole lot of food for $7...

Cowboys Bar B-Q & Steak Co. in Ft. Pierce, FL

I stopped for dinner at Cowboys Bar B-Q & Steak Co. in Ft. Pierce based on a recommendation while driving down south. I'm not all too familiar with the area, but I'm pretty sure I ate a meal at a R.J. Gators that used to be in this building a few years ago.

I ordered their pulled pork dinner. The menu claimed it was award winning. Sounds good to me. The pork was nice and tender with very little fat. It had a great smokey flavor and there were plenty of barbecue sauces on the table to sample with the pork. I had waffle fries and corn on the cob for my two sides. I liked the corn, although all of the salt and pepper on top was definitely a bit on the strong side. The waffle fries tasted like fries should. Garlic bread was the only part of the dinner I didn't like. It was boring white bread with very little garlic flavor. I suppose that's what the butter was for...

Bubbalou's Bodacious Bar-B-Que in Apopka, FL

I've been to the Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ in Altamonte Springs several times. It's generally pretty good, and has always been semi-fast food where you order at the counter and then have the food brought to your table with no other interactions with the employees.

When I decided to get some barbeque from Bubbalou's Apopka location, I was surprised to see that this restaurant is a full service. You are told which table to sit at. You have a waitress that gets everything for you. It's just like any other sit down restaurant. Bubbalou's is a chain, so I would have thought that all of their restaurants had to work the same way, but apparently this is not the case. Being served is better anyway. It takes away some of the tipping confusion that sometimes happens in places like the Altamonte store that are semi-fast food.

I ordered the Pulled Pork Dinner. Whenever I've tried Bubbalou's pork, I've always been happy, but today it was really fatty. There were a few good pieces of meat on top, but underneath was mostly gelatinous, chewy pork fat. A little bit would have been okay, but there was far too much and it seemed like they were trying to hide the fact that they were giving the inferior pig parts by placing all the good meat over the fat. For the sides, I choose mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, and collard greens. All three were good, although the collards were a little too salty. All this came with two pieces of garlic bread. The dinner was a whole lot to eat and I ended up leaving a lot of the pork over due both the fatty pork and a full stomach.

Dixie Bones BBQ in Woodbridge, VA

Midway through another day of driving on I-95 with far too much traffic, it was time for lunch. Dixie Bones Barbecue is located in Woodbridge, VA about a mile or so off of I-95. I ate here once several years ago and decided to give them another try. While walking into the restaurant, truckloads of ribs were being packed for the huge catering business that it looks like Dixie Bones does. Once seated, I looked over the menu and choose a pulled pork sandwich. While waiting for the food, I observed the antiques and paper mache animals all over the restaurant.

Soon enough, my sandwich was served. It came with coleslaw, and was really tasty. The pork was a little dry, but that was solved by sampling the various sauces on the table. I liked the vinegar based sauce the best, but this was also the first time I tried the white Alabama style barbecue sauce! It tasted a lot like ranch dressing and didn't seem to go with meat, but I guess some people like it.

Sonny's Bar-B-Q in Sanford

I ate at the Sonny's Bar-B-Q in Sanford, FL. I had a pulled pork sandwich on garlic bread with a side of beans. It was on par with other pulled pork sandwiches that I've eaten in the past leaving me with no complaints about the food.

Although the food was good, I can't say the same for the service. When we entered the restaurant, we stood there for several minutes while we were passed from employee to employee, each saying "Someone will be right with you." Eventually we were seated and our waitress acted like we were bothering her by eating at the restaurant. Our food came long after tables with other servers that ordered after us. The service at Sonny's was equivalent to the service that you generally get at a place like Denny's.