BBQ REVIEW: Palmetto Pig Barbecue Restaurant

Situated in downtown Columbia not far from USC’s Williams-Brice Stadium, the Palmetto Pig Barbeque Restaurant is the BBQ hub for Gamecocks. The atmosphere of this Southern restaurant encourages good conversation long after the food has been eaten. With wood panel walls and long tables that you share with strangers, Palmetto Pig creates a strong community feel. It’s also a tradition for many ardent Gamecock fans to stop at the Pig on the way to a football game at the stadium.

Barbeque

Palmetto Pig’s BBQ is pulled pork (is there another kind?). Unlike most BBQ that is prepared with either a mustard, heavy/light tomato, or vinegar base, the BBQ at Palmetto Pig is cooked neutral of the traditional bases. It is up to the customer to add his desired sauce on onto the BBQ before eating it. The BBQ at Palmetto Pig is average. While the BBQ is moist and is chopped into fairly small cuts, I rate it average because it is not cooked with a base sauce throughout the process and thus has less flavor.

Personally, I believe good BBQ needs to be cooked in one of the three kinds of base sauces from the beginning of the process. I’m a vinegar man, and while I can add vinegar sauce to the BBQ at Palmetto Pig, the BBQ would have much greater flavor if cooked with the sauce throughout the whole process.

BBQ Score: 2 out of 5 points.

The Spread

In addition to great BBQ, a large spread of side items at a Southern buffet is essential. Palmetto Pig’s buffet spread includes:

Pulled Pork BBQ
Fried Chicken
Mac’ n’ Cheese
Rice
Hash
Stewed Tomatoes
Hush puppies
Baked beans
Green Beans
Pork skins
White bread
Potato Salad
Coleslaw
Banana Pudding

Overall, the spread is decent. The spread at Palmetto Pig only includes fourteen items. Compare the Pig’s fourteen items to the twenty-five item spread at Little Pigs BBQ across town. Further, Palmetto Pig’s fourteen items doesn’t seem large given that several items are not at all hard to prepare (rice, baked beans, and white bread).

Palmetto Pig does have great mac’ n’ cheese, like the kind from a casserole dish. And the Banana Pudding is homemade. However, beyond the mac’ n’ cheese and banana pudding, the specific items on the spread aren’t all that special. The green beans for example, are not bad, but are not great either. Good green beans are the chopped tube kind that have been in a pot all day, stewing with pieces of bacon and a large hambone. The green beans at Palmetto Pig, on the other hand, are the flat square kind that taste like they came from a Green Giant can, heated up in the microwave. Notably absent is fried okra. Fried okra is a staple for a good Southern restaurant.

The Spread Score: 1 out of 3 points

Location

By far, Palmetto Pig has a great BBQ location for anyone who considers Columbia, SC home. Located at the South end of downtown, the Pig has the benefits of 1) conveniently located in the center of the midlands and thus easily accessible, and 2) just enough on the less busy side of the city so that parking is easy and you don’t have to scrounge for a parking spot.

For example, I can go to Palmetto Pig on a Thursday evening, spend a couple of hours in conversation, and still be back at my house in Cayce before 8:30p.m.

Additionally, for gamecocks heading to Williams-Brice for a Football game, the Pig is a great pit stop because it is only a few minutes away from the stadium, but just far enough that traffic is not bad on gamedays.

Location Score: 2 out of 2 points

Bonus: Sweet Tea Placement

Need a refill? No Problem. Palmetto Pig places a jug of sweet tea on every single

table so there is no need to walk across the room to refill your Styrofoam cup when your throat gets dry. I like that. To those who say, “how about a jug of UNsweet tea at each table?” That’s too bad.

Bonus: 1 point

Conclusion

While the BBQ of Palmetto Pig does not compare to that of Hudson’s Smokehouse, nor the spread to that of Little Pigs, I still look forward to going to the Pig. It’s good, convenient, and is always enjoyable because it is filled with my fellow gamecocks.