Sassy Pig BBQ is a food truck that I tried out while attending Cryptid Bash at Freefolk Brewery in Hico. The food truck specializes in pulled pork – platters, sandwiches, nachos, and topped on baked potatoes or macaroni & cheese. Wings, ribs, and hotdogs round out the menu, along with potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw sides. I went for their special, which was macaroni and cheese topped with pulled pork, black olives, jalapeños, barbecue sauce, and sour cream. These toppings left a little to be desired. It ate a little on the salty side with the olives. I would have loved some crunch - maybe a slaw - to bring in some creaminess. Grade: B

Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que is one of the most famous BBQ restaurants in the country. Here are just a few reasons why: 



- Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain listed Joe's original Kansas City location as one of "13 Places You Must Eat Before You Die." [7]
- Joe's was named "Kansas City's Best Barbecue" by Zagat. [9]
- USA Today said the ribs were the “Tastiest Ribs in America [10]
- Food review site Yelp ranked Joe's Kansas City No. 3 in the top 100 places to eat in the U.S
- Thrillist named Joe's among the "33 Best BBQ Joints in America" in 2013 and 2016 [11][12]
- The New York Post named Joe's number one on its list of the 28 best BBQ restaurants in America in July 2017. [16][17]



Located in the Kansas contingent of Kansas City, this bbq joint based in a renovated gas station serves up Kansas City-style barbecue known for its thick, sweet sauce often made of tomatoes, molasses and brown sugar. Burnt ends, the crispy charred edges of slow-smoked beef brisket, are also a hallmark of this type of BBQ. 

"Although pork is commonly associated with Kansas City-style barbecue, there is also a strong tradition of barbecuing other meats, including beef; no doubt the result of Kansas City’s important role as a meat-packing center. The thick, tomatoey style of Kansas City barbecue sauce has become the prototype for commercial sauces sold nationwide," according to the Culinary Institute of America. 



"This is the story of Jeff and Joy Stehney and their company, Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. In 1990, Jeff and Joy attended a barbecue contest for the first time, at the invitation of a friend. The Stehneys soon bought a competition-style smoker and, together with a few friends, formed a barbecue team. They called it Slaughterhouse Five. It wasn’t long before Slaughterhouse Five began winning contests. As their reputation for championship barbecue began to spread, folks began to ask Jeff and Joy if they would cater special events, wedding receptions, retirement parties, and such. Out on the competition circuit, Jeff and Joy had become friends with Joe Don Davidson, founder and owner of the Oklahoma Joe's Smoker Company. Under the heady influence of barbecue smoke, Jeff and Joe decided to go into the restaurant business together. Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue and Catering was created in mid-1995, and the first Oklahoma Joe’s restaurant opened in January 1996 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Later that year, experience and commitment intersected with opportunity and serendipity at the corner of 47th Avenue and Mission Road in Kansas City, Kansas, where the owner of a little neighborhood gas station and convenience store, not far from the Stehneys' house, closed the little fried chicken counter he had been operating inside the store. "We put together a proposal, made an offer, and all of a sudden we were not only in the barbecue business, but also in the gas station business.” Then, in 1997, Joe Davidson sold his smoker company and moved to Texas. With no one to oversee the Oklahoma restaurant, it was closed and Jeff and Joy bought Joe's share of the Kansas City restaurant. The Stehneys have been the sole owners of Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que restaurants from that time forward."



I ordered the Z-Man, which has slow-smoked beef brisket, smoked provolone cheese, topped with two crispy onion rings, on a toasted Kaiser roll - and it has a bit of a history itself:

In 1997, not long after Jeff and Joy opened their barbecue joint at the corner of 47th & Mission Road in Kansas City, Kansas, they were approached by a fellow by the name of Mike Zarrick who had an idea to pitch. “I recognized the guy,” recalls Jeff. “He was a regular customer. He told me how much he liked our restaurant, and said that he was about to launch his own sports talk radio program on a new station in town; 1510 AM. It was just a little start-up station, and the jocks actually had to buy their own time on the air and sell their own advertising. So, I decided to take a chance on the guy. What sold me was his absolute passion for our barbecue. I’d rather partner up with someone with passion and enthusiasm at a little station, than with some big conglomerate with all the Arbitron numbers and no passion.” About six months later Jeff had an idea. “I had created this new sandwich which featured sliced smoked brisket, smoked provolone cheese, a couple of onion rings, a bit of barbecue sauce, all on top of a Kaiser roll. So, I went to Zarrick and asked him to talk about the sandwich on the air, and to invite his listeners to try the sandwich in the restaurant and to submit names to the sandwich. It would be a contest, and the winner would get a prize and we’d use that name on the menu. “Well, Zarrick was getting pretty popular and he had begun calling himself ‘Z-Man’ on the air. So when people came in to try the sandwich as part of the contest, they would ask for ‘that Z-Man’ sandwich. Eventually, a winning name was chosen, but it never stuck. By the time the contest ended, everybody was calling the sandwich the Z-Man! We’ve been calling it that ever since.”



The sandwich was great and had a little bit of everything - the sweet sauce, crunch from onion ring, smoke from the BBQ. Straightforward and satisfying. I also couldn't leave without some mac & cheese because arguably the sides are the best part of BBQ. And it did not disappoint - creamy, cheesy and the perfect side for the rich sandwich.



Grade: A

Charleston has so many amazing festivals during the summer.



One of my favorites is Multifest.



"MULTIFEST is a highly anticipated event in West Virginia that brings together various cultural and ethnic communities in an atmosphere of tolerance and goodwill through art, music, education, cultural programs and cuisine," according to the website.



It was founded in 1989.



And has the mission: "The Multi-Cultural Festival of West Virginia, Inc., aka Multifest, is a non-profit organization that seeks to enrich, develop & enhance multiculturalism in the lives of those we serve in the community. This is done by providing a friendly, family-oriented environment, non-violent tolerance & safe venue to celebrate diversity for all citizens through art, music, education, ethnic cuisine, health & wellness and cultural programming."



They feature a variety of musical artists, but of course, I get most excited about the food.



There were SO many food vendors that I had a hard time keeping track of them all.



But here are some of the ones I noted:



Phat Daddy's, Dem 2 Brothers, BG'z LA Street Tacos, Oishii, Holy O's Donuts, Sharky's, Fudge Bar, MR Poppins, Bayou Classics, Chicken Teriyaki, Fruits Juice, New Orleans Sno Balls, Jojo's Tacos, Taste of International, The Lucky Lemon, Le'Cool Concessions, Pop's Sno Palace anndn Treats, Zul's, Jumbo Fish Wings & Shrimp, Shotgun's Smokehouse BBQ, Chef Hogate '85, Philadelphia Water Ice, and more.



Plus some vendors that had huge signs promoting deep-fried goodies.



I was able to check out three vendors.



Though, honestly, I wish I could've stopped at more!



Those were: Scooby's Icy Treats, Bro Marsh BBQ, and Rumtastic Gourmet Rum Cakes.



Let's start with Scooby's Icy Treats.



I've actually been trying to track these folks down for a while.



I just happened to not be in the same place as them until now.



They offer a bunch of different flavors of Philadelphia water ice, which is like a super smooth, satisfying snow cone, but more fine and delicious.



I opted for the tropical rainbow, which just felt like summer in one bite. Super colorful, fruity, fresh.



It was super refreshing. Grade: A



Then, moving onto Bro Marsh BBQ.



This Beckley-based BBQ food truck offers pulled pork, ribs, hot dogs, wings and more.



I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with slaw, potato salad and macaroni and cheese.



This was a pretty good pulled pork sandwich. Nice helping of pork, pretty decent slaw.



The potato salad was decent, as was the mac and cheese. I wanted some more oomph in that mac & cheese.



But it wasn't bad.



Grade: B



Finally, Rumtastic Gourmet Rum Cakes.



This guy is based out of Georgia, but these little rum cakes ship everywhere. They come in 7 flavors: Original/French Vanilla, Pecans, Chocolate, Pineapple, Red velvet, Lemon, and Pina Coloda. He said the original/French vanilla was most popular, so I went with that. You can certainly taste the rum in these little guys, but they're also moist as heck.



"While struggling with the mortgage meltdown crisis of 2008 and 2009, our founder Kevin L. Wilburn found himself with little money and a lot of time on his hands. He decided to tinker around with a long-held hobby, baking. And thus, Rumtastic was born! Now of course he couldn’t eat all the large cakes by himself, so he started sharing the cake with his co-workers at work. The demand for the cake was so high that the sharing turned into selling! And as they say, “the rest is history!” Rumtastic is a provider of gourmet rum cakes. The original recipe was an "old family favorite." We wanted to bring a lot of excitement and indulgence to that recipe. After extensive sampling, we came up with a recipe that is sure to delight and pleasure any palate. We focus on using quality ingredients to provide "the perfect gourmet rum cakes." We have varied sizes, including "made to orders." We are located in Atlanta, GA. We ship all over the United States. "What ever your budget, we have a cake for it. Wherever you are we will get it to you." We look forward to being your preferred provider of quality service and product.



These were pretty dang tasty. Grade: A

Charleston's favorite BBQ restaurant has opened a new location downtown on Summers Street.
  

Dem 2 Bros and a Grill, originally on the West Side, was created by Adrian "Bay" Wright:

ADRIAN” BAY” WRIGHT STARTED SELLING BBQ ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHILE VISITING HIS HOMETOWN OF CHARLESTON, WV FOR A FRIEND’S WEDDING. AFTER A LITTLE CONVINCING FROM HIS FAMILY AND GROWING DEMAND FOR WRIGHT’S BARBECUE, HE DECIDED TO STAY. AFTER 2 YEARS OF STREET VENDING, WRIGHT SECURED HIS FIRST STOREFRONT LOCATION, THUS DEM 2 BROTHERS AND A GRILL WERE BORN.

DEM 2 BROTHERS AND A GRILL WERE FEATURED ON THE FOOD NETWORK’S “SOUTHERN FRIED ROAD TRIP”. D2B HAS GAINED NATIONWIDE RECOGNITION AND RANKED ON SOME OF THE TOP LISTS FOR THEIR DELICIOUS BBQ AND HOME-STYLE SIDES. LISTS INCLUDE TOP BBQ JOINTS IN THE USA, TASTE OF SOUTH MAGAZINE, “BEST MAC & CHEESE IN THE STATE” AND BUZZFEED.

ADRIAN WRIGHT A CHARLESTON HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STANDOUT, WRIGHT PLAYED FOR VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY BEFORE HE STARTED A STINT IN THE NFL. WRIGHT, A FORMER TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS RUNNING BACK, ENDED HIS FOOTBALL CAREER IN 1987.



The new restaurant has a bit of a more refined vibe, whereas the original location is comfy and homey. The downtown location has this punny neon sign wall and a bar with tube lighting and yellow accent walls. 



Same warm hospitality and excellent customer service I've come to expect at the main location - just all in a new space. And the food? Always delicious. 


I went for a pulled pork sandwich, sweet potato casserole and macaroni & cheese. Let me start backwards with the macaroni & cheese - because it's one of my favorite dishes ever, and this restaurant has one of my favorite versions. It's a little sweet, always moist and love that cheese pull.  The sweet potato casserole is always a go-to for me because you don't find it everywhere, and I love those warm spices. And the pulled pork - moist, free from fatty bits and topped with a tangy BBQ and crunchy slaw. Delish.



Grade: A

Wild & Wonderful BBQ is a food truck that doles out pulled pork, smoked bologna & sausage, and brisket sandwiches in addition to a bevy of sides.



Based in Huntington, the truck can be found at events locally. I visited them to get my hands on some grub. First things first, I ordered the Mountaineer Cheesesteak with pork, sautéed peppers, and cheese on a hoagie roll. I liked this well enough, but I wish the cheese was cheesing more. I think the cheese sauce was a bit too thin, so it didn't lightly melt. It kinda got soaked up. I did enjoy the twist with the pork though; it added a nice flavor.



And while it might not be the most appealing visually, the smoked scalloped potatoes were pretty good. Scalloped potatoes are one of my preferred mediums of potato and, to have them cheesy and smoked, that took it up a notch.



Because the nature of the restaurant, the menu can change bit by bit. What have you had here? What's been your favorite?



Grade: B