Polite Pig: A Review

Chances are if you’ve ever visited Disney Springs and parked in the Lime Deck, you’ve smelled the heavenly scent of smoked meat wafting past you- sometimes even before you get out of the parking deck!

That delicious smell is the Polite Pig, a modern BBQ place; but does it live up to the promises it makes your nose?

Polite Pig is set up as a quick service- you stand in line, choose your food and pay at the counter. Food comes out very quickly, so you may still be staring at their collection of Coke and Blue Sky beverages when it comes out.  You have the choice of sitting inside, or outside.  We chose inside, because HELLO A/C!

We tried the Butcher Board, which serves “two” (or in our case, three) and provides a wide variety of smoked meats, along with your choice of two sides, slaw, pickles, and two cornbread muffins. So how does it stack up?

Full disclaimer before we continue: I’m from North Carolina, which automatically makes me a total BBQ snob. Not only that, always and forever number one in my heart and mind is vinegar based sauces. It’s not BBQ without the vinegar, y’all.

So, first up is the absolute best thing we tried- the Smoked Chicken. I’m salivating just thinking about it. The meat was tender and full of smoke and flavor. It was succulent and I begrudged every bite I had to share with my kid. I’m serious. I would have happily eaten my weight in chicken and so would my husband. Hands down the best. Did I mention it was the best? Because it’s amazing. My husband thought the skin was absolutely divine. I feel like I need some smoked chicken, right now.  I miss you, smoked chicken.  I love you.

The BBQ Cheddar sausages were SALTY and cheesy. Don’t get me wrong, I like my salt, but wow. Overall, these sausages didn’t need any help from the sauces, but I definitely used the side dishes as a bit of a palate cleanser. They were full of quality meat (I didn’t find any pieces of “ew, what’s that”, which I find important in a sausage.) If you’re watching your salt intake, run- don’t walk- away from these tasty little salt bombs. Otherwise, walk on the wild side and enjoy them! Just make sure you’ve got plenty of drink on the table.

Next we tried the Pork Shoulder. It was tender, with a very light hint of smoke flavor. Overall, I found it to be fairly sweet, though there is some light peppery taste there. You can eat it on it’s own, but I’d recommend going with some sauce. It’s just too plain jane for me, otherwise.

The Brisket was the worst thing on the platter, unfortunately. Not only did it have quite the healthy fat cap, I’m not a fat eating person. I just can’t do it.  I know, I know- then brisket isn’t for me. My husband eats the fat on anything and he thought it was fairly good, as far as fat goes. However- the meat itself was bland. So very, very bland. Tender and bland. I didn’t get a hint of smoke or any kind of seasoning, so this is where your sauces really shine-if you like the sauces.

Remember how I’m that vinegar snob? Don’t look for vinegar based sauces here, they were all pretty sweet except what we referred to as “the South Carolina sauce”, which is Thomas’s Southern Gold- a mustard and vinegar based sauce. I can’t do it y’all- I live in SC now and I still can’t get behind mustard based sauce. My husband liked the vinegar twang, but referred to the spices as “weird” and thought they had almost a mexican spice leaning taste.

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to mix and match sauces to create the perfect (or most acceptable) flavor for you! We settled on a 50/50 mix of the bottled “hot” sauce and Lil John’s Signature Porter Sauce. While it was still sweeter than I prefer, it made the brisket edible- although you’re really only going to taste the sauce. The meat doesn’t do much. We also used it on the pork shoulder to give it a little something.

As for the sides, you’ve got quite a range. We chose the BBQ Waffle Fries, which are waffle fries sprinkled with the polite pig rub- they were crispy and delicious as-is, no ketchup or sauce required!  I was a big fan.

I also chose the caesar side salad, because I like something a little lighter and fresh with my BBQ. It was absolutely drenched in dressing. For my tastes even half that would have been too much, but I know some people love it covered, my husband included.  Do y’all know how many years it took me to break him of pouring so much on a salad it left an inch of dressing in the bottom of the bowl?  That’s beside the point though.  The salad boasted plenty of quality cheese and even a few thin slices of carrot. It was an excellent addition to my meal- just maybe ask them to go light on the dressing.  Next time I’ll see if I can get it on the side, so I can control the amount.

The Slaw was fairly standard- we felt like it needed more salt. Perhaps they could have taken some from the sausages and thrown it in.  Overall, it was a good, if somewhat boring, accompaniment.

Finally the cornbread- it was sweet, fluffy and had a few corn kernels, a few teeny dices of jalapeno and what appeared to be a bacon bit here and there. Don’t let the jalapeno fool you, there was no heat here- even my four year old daughter devoured a muffin without so much as a wince.

Overall, the Polite Pig is a tasty place to get something beyond hamburgers or chicken nuggets. Myself, my husband and my daughter were easily able to eat off the one meal, and still find ourselves stuffed.

If you want to sample what they have to offer, grab a friend (or two) and get a Butcher Board to make your own conclusions about what’s the best- HINT: It’s gonna be that chicken!