I disagree with the other reviews, I dined in earlier today and really enjoyed it. The staff was incredibly friendly and very attentive. The food was generous portions and smoked with a great flavor. I really liked the Wild Hog sandwich, it was pulled pork and chicken mixed with their sweet and original sauce on texas toast. Their happy hour from 3-7 was awesome as well, with 2 for drafts and wells. Couldn't be beat. I will be back.
Wild Hog Barbeque
Reviewed
By: Dave E.
Sarasota, FL
October 26, 2009
Food-8,
Service-8, Overall-8
Being a southern born native, I expect alot from a BBQ place. I was not let down at this one. I had the beef brisket (which was so tender it could be cut with a fork) with Baked Beans and Fries. This is what BBQ should be. Dry rub, slow smoked meats, not drowned in sauce. Overall I have to say it was exactly what I was looking for. I will be back to the Wild Hog.
Wild Hog Barbeque
Reviewed
By: Ryun
Sarasota, FL
October 22, 2009
Food-5,
Service-7, Overall-7
The smell of smoke was promising crossing the parking lot and entering the restaurant. Unfortunately it seems that the smoke permeated the air more than the meat we were served.
I tried the Brisket and the Pulled Pork and I must say that for smoked meat, there really wasn't any smoke flavor, not to mention hardly a smoke ring on either cut of meat. Either it was cooked over too high of a temp in the smoke with low/no smoke, or it was "smoked" for a few hours and then placed in an oven to finish off.
The Brisket was well portioned, but there was way too much fat on it, and the meat was rather chewy, not at all like the Texas style brisket that I am used to. There was also a puddle of liquid fat at the bottom of the plate that was quite unappealing.
The pulled pork had no rub on the crust, therefore no real flavor, and the meat was very stringy and dry. It was obviously not pulled to order and having eaten at 1:00 I am assuming that it was pulled at least a few hours prior and left in a warmer to dry out.
Although the meat wasn't a hit, some of the sides fared much better. Sadly The cole slaw made me think they bought some large bags of slaw mix from Sam's and emptied a bottle of cheap slaw dressing over it, mixed it up and called it done. Sonny's, KFC, Sweet Tomatoes and Publix make much better cole slaw. The beans were easily the smokiest thing on the plate and they actually tasted pretty good. The Mac & Cheese on the other hand was EXCELLENT! More than enough cheese to go around and it had a great baked cheese crust that any good BBQ joint should have.
The real highlight of the meal though had to be the yellow mustard based sauce. The taste was reminiscent of a sweet honey mustard and it definitely helped the meat go down.
Maybe we just had a bad experience, but I am reluctant to give it another shot. The price is right... 3 of us left full for around $35, but sadly it wasn't what we would call fulfilling meal.
Wild Hog Barbeque
Reviewed
By: Van
Sarasota, FL
October 19, 2009
Food-2,
Service-8, Overall-4
St. Louis Ribs were over-smoked, too dry and hopelessly stringy, the "Wild Hawg sandwich (minced pork/chicken) was o.k. but not memorable, sides were mushy and ordinary and the fries were slimy & greasy - though fresh-cut, when you ask for them to be double-dropped, extra crispy you shouldn't get that. The wait staff and bartender were sweet and helpful but the bored-looking, apathetic kitchen help could obviously give a rat's *ss and it shows . . . too bad, I drive past it twice a day and SRQ could use a decent BBQ joint. This hog ain't wild, it's mired in the mud.
