I had heard Sauceman's mentioned more than once when asking friends what the best barbecue joints were in town. Before yesterday I had only been to Midwood Smokehouse. I've always liked what I've eaten there as well, but I knew there had to be a more basic no nonsense type of place like this.
I went on a Monday around 2pm and walked right up to the counter to place my order despite many seats being filled. The lunch crowd had likely left by this point and the place was calm yet steady with customers. After some deliberation on whether to get ribs or pork I went with the pork plate with fried pickles as my side. The plate also comes with two hush puppies and your choice of red or white slaw.
My meal came served on a lunch tray lined with a torn sheet of butcher paper as old school barbecue should be. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of pork. I was also very happy that the meat came out unsauced, allowing you to apply whatever amount and flavor you like. You can choose among the three varieties placed on the table near each seat.
The pork was really good. My personal preference would be to have a little more fat incorporated in with the chopped meat, however I definitely can't complain about the flavor as it was. I applied two of the sauces, leaving out the vinegar sauce, and really enjoyed them both. The hush puppies were perfectly fried and crispy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside. They were honestly some of the best I've had before. The same goes for the fried pickles. I'm not a big slaw fan so I didn't dig into that too much.
As of now I'll say this is my favorite barbecue place I've tried in town. I hope to explore as many other spots as I can as I hear about them so we'll see how it holds up over time. Next time I go to Sauceman's I'll get the ribs plate, which will be the ultimate test of their barbecue mastery.