Piggybacks BBQ and Catfish

Place: Piggybacks BBQ and Catfish

Location: 116 Sauls St., Lake City, SC 29560

Hours: Closed on Tuesdays, open 11am - 10pm Monday - Saturday, 11am - 3pm on Sundays

Type: Order from the menu. Salad bar

Price: Build your own platter (1/4 lb of pork, 1/4 pound of brisket, 1 sausage and 2 sides.) - $16.95

I was in Lake City, SC recently and I decided to ride through the ever changing downtown area. If you have not been to downtown Lake City lately I highly suggest taking a trip. As I was walking around downtown I came across Piggybacks BBQ and Catfish restaurant. My first impression was of how nice this place looked. It was obviously a newly refurbished building and it looked exactly how a new BBQ restaurant is supposed to look. Wooden tables, metal chairs, everything looked great so I was really excited about trying the food.

Service:

As I entered the restaurant I walked to the counter to order my food. I noticed immediately that this place was very popular which is always a good sign of the quality of food. The lady behind the counter kindly took my order and explained to me where everything was located. I ordered a "Build Your Own Platter" that included brisket, pulled pork, link sausage and two sides. The beverage center was self-serve with Coke products, tea and lemonade. They also have to-go cups available without having to ask for them (Rule #32). Beside the drink station they had multiple BBQ sauces in dispensers. The one that stood out to me was the Tailgater Hater sauce that is a local sauce. As I found a table I was anxious to get the meal so I could try the food.

Food:

My meal was brought to me on a tray lined with butcher paper. Now for people who do not frequent many BBQ restaurants this may seem odd but this is a very common method of presenting BBQ dishes. Pink butcher paper has become a symbol of BBQ aficionados all across the country and I really appreciated Piggybacks using it for plating.

Pulled Pork:

If you have read any of our other reviews than you probably know by now that we prefer to taste the meat instead of sauce. My favorite sauce for pulled pork is vinegar, salt and pepper. When I see pulled pork that is drowning is BBQ sauce I automatically assume the "pitmaster" is trying to hide something. Piggyback's pork was saturated in sauce. The sauce was good but it was just too much of it. I could not understand why they would have sauce dispensers and still soak the meat in sauce. I would have liked to use my pork to try the different sauces available. The sauce that was covering my pork was sweet with a little heat. It tasted like they mixed Blues Hog original and Tennessee Red which is a popular method in competition BBQ. I could not see or taste any smoke on the meat due to the amount of sauce. If I ever go back I will ask for the pork to be dry.

Ribs:

*Disclaimer:* I bummed a couple of ribs from another person at the table for "research" purposes only. The above price of my meal does not include ribs.

I love ribs. Baby back, Spare, St. Louis or Country style, I will eat them all. The ribs at Piggybacks were great. They were not heavily sauced but they were not dry either. In my opinion they had the perfect balance of sauce and dry rub which really created a nice flavor profile. The ribs were tender without being overcooked and had a bite through texture. They had a great smoke flavor and little bit of sweetness in the sauce. Piggybacks has the kind of ribs that make me want to take the bones home so I can finish them in private without looking like a slob in public. I highly recommend the ribs, they were by far the star of the meal.

Brisket:

I understand the brisket is the great equalizer when it comes to BBQ restaurants. The south is not known for brisket like it is known for pulled pork and ribs. Brisket is more of a Texas tradition than a southern tradition so folks around this part of the country may not be familiar with what it should taste like. When I go to a BBQ place that serves brisket I prefer and expect a couple of questions when ordering the brisket. First, "Would you like the flat or the point?" then "Would you like it sliced or chopped?". My personal preference would be slices of the point every time. The point has more fat content than the flat which I believe gives it more flavor and tenderness. Some people do not like all of the fat so they tend to go with the leaner flat. I never choose chopped brisket because in my mind restaurants only chop brisket from the day before. I want fresh slices about the same thickness as a No.2 pencil. Before you start to think that I am being ridiculous, I have admitted multiple times that we are BBQ snobs here at the Pee Dee BBQ Review.

If I had to use one word to describe the brisket at Piggybacks it would be: Weird! I was not asked how I wanted my brisket which was a little concerning. The brisket arrived and the first thing I noticed was that it covered in BBQ sauce. Beef and sweet BBQ sauce is not a good combination so I was immediately concerned. The brisket was cut very thin, about the same thickness as thick-cut bacon. The pieces were so uniform and thin that they had to be cut with a meat slicer. To make things more unusual, the brisket was curled like bacon. I have eaten a lot of brisket from a lot of places. I had brisket from a gas station in Kerr, Arkansas that wasn't as bad as this brisket. I can only assume that the brisket was cut so thin because it was dry and nobody wanted to throw it out. The curled pieces probably came from soaking the thin pieces in a beef broth and reheating when it was time to serve. I would rather be told that the brisket is not available than be served the garbage I had at Piggybacks.

Sausage:

Sausage from a BBQ restaurant can be tricky to critique. When I think about sausage at a BBQ place I always think about "hot gut" sausage. Hot gut sausage is another Texas staple in BBQ places just like brisket. In the old days any meat that wasn't able to be used would be ground together and mixed with spices including cayenne pepper and stuffed into a pigs intestines. Hence the name: Hot Gut Sausage. Piggyback's sausage was really good but it wasn't anything different than sausage from any other restaurant. I did not taste any smoke flavor but my taste buds were pretty shot after eating the brisket.

Final Thoughts:

Piggyback's BBQ and Catfish is very nice, clean and friendly restaurant. Most of the patrons were eating the fish or some type of BBQ sandwich and they were very busy. I would have liked to try the BBQ chicken and I am sure the fried catfish is very good. The BBQ however is not equal to the appearance of the restaurant. If I ever go back I will stick with the ribs or try the chicken and fish.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars