Pork & Beans barbecue restaurant lives up to the hype
It felt like Pittsburgh waited forever for Keith Fuller and Rick DeShantz's barbecue restaurant, Pork & Beans, to open. They teased us for months with shots of the interior, images of the test menu items and collaborative meals where the luckiest of the bunch got to sample what they were hoping to offer.
Last fall, when Pork & Beans finally opened its doors, we found that it was well worth the long wait. I waited even longer actually, for the fanfare to die down (it hasn't). I finally just gave in and battled the crowds so I could see what all the fuss was about.
The atmosphere is electric and can be felt as soon as you near 136 Sixth St.. A long bar runs along the outside of the restaurant, offering patrons a stool to sit and watch the city buzz.
Rustic meets rad inside. Wood from all walks of life, faded and chipped by age panel the walls save for a wall of beer cans, color-coordinated to outline the shape of a hog. Thick ropes close off deep, low booths. And metal sheeting punctured with thousands of tiny holes to imitate the starry sky adds a whimsical element to the ceiling of the restroom.
The menu. Half booze. Half meat. Some veggies and starches were sprinkled in for good measure. I started with booze. Instead of filling my belly with one of the seemingly endless offerings of beer, I opted to try one of the specialty cocktails — the Bumble Fuzz. Of course, it was served in a small glass jelly jar. But don't let the cutesy cup fool you. That cocktail was no joke.
Because I couldn't possibly decide on my own what to order, I had our delightful server bring out whatever he thought we should try. We started with the Frito Pie, their version of the walkin' taco but obviously classed up a bit with crispy pork belly. The dish was on the lighter side as to not spoil your appetite for all the meats to come.
The Deviled Eggs of the day (read: every other day or every couple of days) give all the chefs within the restaurant a chance to flex their menu muscles. Good news for me and my obsession with chorizo, this particular day's offering was an egg with chorizo and manchego cheese served with sliced scallions. You get six per order! Tackling them made me feel like Rocky, gearing up for a fight.
Our main course came on a gigantic metal tray with all the dishes splayed out like an art project. THE SMELL! We got a sampling of five different meats including pork ribs, pulled pork, brisket, beef rib and one of the house-made sausages, jalapeno sausage. To accompany all that salt and seasoning, we had a smattering of house-made pickles, pickled white onion and red cabbage, marinated cucumber salad, mac & cheese, collards, jalapeno & feta cornbread and two very soft, squishy white bread rolls for sopping up our plates.
What I loved is that none of the meats come pre-sauced. You can pick your poison from the table and douse to your heart's content. Despite my aversion to chipotle flavoring, their seasonal offering, heavy on chipotle, was my favorite. Second place went to the hot mustard sauce and runners up were classic and hot.
While all of the dishes were outstanding, three stood out among the rest. And one was out of this world. Let's start with the collards. For collards to be something worth calling out when most of the menu is meat … you KNOW they were good. The perfect balance of sweet and savory, which is hard to accomplish, and they had enough crunch and chew to separate them from baby food. The jalapeno sausage. Crisp on the outside and So. Freaking. Juicy. on the inside. Both of these dishes had tremendous flavor. And not just “salt” flavor.
Now, for the out of the world dish — the $40 beef rib. Hard to find elsewhere in the city and worth every single penny. Served on the bone a'la Flintstones, it practically melted in my mouth. Don't you dare put sauce on it.
I can't believe we attempted dessert after all that, but who am I to turn down a square of Piebird Pecan Pie topped with a scoop of Leona's vanilla ice cream? Or an ice cream sandwich — with strawberry ice cream between two peanut butter cookies — sure enough to satisfy the inner child in all of us?
Kudos to Keith, Rick and all the other hardworking chefs that have a hand in preparing all these “Pork & Beans.”
Amanda McFadden is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
