Gastronomique: BBQ Pork Battle
Food Face-Off Number Two (you can find Number One here) will pit against each other two BBQ places. In our fighting pit, we welcome Big Nate's and Memphie Minnie's. Our favorite BBQ place, Brother-in-law's, we wrote about yesterday. Last time we were at B-I-L, we enjoyed some superb ribs in our car, parked in front of the then-Justice League. We were meeting a date later at Fly, and we were crying. Not because we did not have a box of altoids in the car, dooming us to a solo trip back home that night, but because the beautiful hot sauce was working its full magic, rich, vibrant, spicy without being scorching. That night, we induced B-I-L into our BBQ hall of fame, hung their jersey from the rafters and excused them from any further competition.
SFist Cedric, contributing.
The Hall of Fame is an easy hook to segue into Big Nate's. Nate Thurmond owns the place, and hard as it is now to believe such a breed once existed, he was a Golden State Warriors All Star. When you step into his place, you see the pictures on the wall where he is joined by all kind of sports celebrities, including our own personal God, Michael Jordan. We ordered the Memphis Pork Sandwich ($7.25) from the counter. There are a few tables, but eating in is not very tempting. So off we went. When we opened the brown bag, we had a hard time finding the sandwich: Nate is Big, his friends are Bigger than life, but the portion definitely was not.
We were quickly consoled when we bit into the sandwich: the tender pork meat was moist, with a sweet, non-acrid smokey flavor. It was covered with a sauce which we requested mild, but still packed some hidden heat. The accompanying cole slaw was non-descript.
Memphis Minnie's, despite a miniature namesake, is no David to Big Nate's Goliath. The lower haight shop has a cartoonish decor, with a smiling pig sign that looks straight out of disney. The cartoon character vs. the NBA hall of famer: space jam II.
We ordered a smoked pork sandwich as well. It also came in different flavors: beef brisket, or andouille, even chicken. Price is comparable ($7.50). While we understand that MM has invested in the decor, the perky cheerfullness of the design put us off, and we also took the sandwich to go. We added a side of fried grits ($3.50).
The grits looked like Captain Igloo Fish sticks but without the minced pollock, and with grits. They turned out quite delicious, still soft and polenta-y inside, and golden crusted outside. The tartar sauce was better than we expected and tasted store made.
Same as Big Nate's sandwich wasn't Big, Memphis Minnie's wasn't Mini. It was on a French roll. The BBQ sauce was served on the side, and two different variety were included in little containers. Unfortunately, neither of them was any spicy. One tasted more of vinegar, and the other erred on the sweet side. The pork, while good, was a bit too dry for our taste, not as moist as Nate's. For our side we ordered collard greens, which came in a sweet vinaigrette. It was too sweet for the greens, which we enjoy with more bite.
Picking a winner is always difficult, but Big Nate's takes the Battle Smoked Pig. The jury decided that size should not matter. Big Nate is a couple blocks away from Rainbow Grocery, and should not scare away Rainbow's vegan crowds with obscene amounts of in-your-face meat sandwiches. We appreciate this consideration for their surroundings. Also, Big Nate is a throwback to better times, when the Warriors had All Stars, and portion inflation has not endengered the lives of countless obese people. Big Nate does not want us to have a heart attack from his food, and that is thoughtful. If the portion is big enough for His Airness, it better be big enough for us.
Better smoked meat always win in the end. So congrats to Big Nate's!