Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis: Opening: Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Opening: Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant

You might remember my friends, Heath and Brett, from our Thrill of the Grill episode of Capital Cooking. Now, Pork Barrel BBQ is pleased to announce it has fired up its smoker and will open the first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant to guests tonight for dinner between 5:00pm and 10:00pm. Pork Barrel BBQ co-founders Heath Hall and Brett Thompson partnered with veteran restaurateurs “Mango” Mike Anderson and Bill Blackburn in 2009 with the goal of turning their dreams of creating a gathering place for the community centered around their national award winning barbecue into a reality.

Much like the process of slow smoking true barbecue, building the inaugural Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant from the ground up has been a time-intensive effort and labor of love. As for the barbecue, Hall and Thompson have climbed to the top of the professional competition barbecue circuit and racked up numerous awards for their ‘que and sauces since restaurant groundbreaking ceremony in October 2009.

Pork Barrel BBQ takes great pride in serving quality barbecue that will please barbecue lovers from the Carolinas to Memphis and Texas to Kansas City. All meats are seasoned with Pork Barrel BBQ’s award winning All-American Spice Rub and slow smoked over oak and hickory.

The menu includes Pork Barrel BBQ’s take on traditional barbecue meats and side dishes. Customers can order ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken and sausage as a sandwich, platter or by the pound. Side dishes include BBQ baked beans, cole slaw, mac and cheese, smoked Ratatouille, collard greens, Texas caviar, potato salad and corn pudding.

Thompson and Hall are barbecue innovators who are, as Washington Post reporter Jim Shahin noted, on the brink of a new era. Since starting Pork Barrel BBQ in 2009, they’ve become the most recognizable winning entrepreneurs from ABC’s hit reality show Shark Tank, been featured on numerous television and radio shows, where they share their BBQ tips with the everyday backyard barbecuer, launched the world’s first barbecue-scented fragrance called Que, started BBQ Backyard, a social media site and forum for the barbecue enthusiast, and are selling their award-winning sauces and spice rub in over 1,500 grocery stores across the nation. The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition Barbecue Team, led by pitmasters Hall and Thompson, has accumulated numerous notable awards including trophies for winning Grand Champion at the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle, becoming the Perdue National Chicken Champion, and having been named the nation’s best BBQ sauce and one of the “125 Best Foods for Men” by Men’s Health magazine.

For more information about the Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant, visit www.porkbarrelbbq.com and read about their latest updates and adventures on Facebook, Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq) and the company’s blog.

I can't wait to check it out!