Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ

Great food service was fast and friendly. First place we found in the area that has sweet tea.

Holy smokes (get it… that was a joke)! This place is exactly what Anchorage needs for a BBQ joint. Walking in, the smells of food in a smoker or on the BBQ immediately made my mouth water and confirmed my decision to come here was spot on. Sitting at the table, I could not believe this building used to be a Burger King. Our server was Chris and he nailed everything. Drink glasses were always filled. He was constantly checking on us. And most importantly, one of the first questions he asked when we walked in was for the name of my 10-​month old son who he addressed through the meal.
I ordered the Bore Tide sandwich with curly fries. The meat was tender and delicious. The curly fries were overflowing from the plate. One thing I loved is the bottles of BBQ sauce on the table (similar to how Famous Dave’s does it.) Our options were original BBQ, spicy BBQ, a mustard sauce and some liquid thing I didn’t try (vinegar maybe?)
In the end, I have nothing bad to say about this place. I hope they stick around for a VERY long time and I cannot wait to go back!

I’ve had better. Ribs were a little tough and chicken was a little under cooked. The baked beans were the best part.

Average!
They must be very proud of their super sweet tea. 3.50 for a mason jar with refills.
Ribs eh
Beans eh
Sauces eh eh eh bleh
I wish I had tried the brisket. I may have to go back just for that. But I fear the result will be the same.

I’m not too much of a bbq fan but decided to try this place out. The service was awesome, I like the atmosphere & really enjoyed my food. I had the pulled pork sandwich with beans & Mac &cheese. I’ll definitely be coming back to try more food.

This is a relaxing and clean place to get some bbq in Anchorage. The prices are pretty typical for the city. I tend to get one of their combo platters. It’s a nice choice if you like a little variety, want to try a few things, or plan on sharing. My son loves the chicken strips… it’s a super healthy portion of strips and fries. The fried pickles are the best I’ve had and all the sandwiches have been tasty. Service has always been speedy and courteous. No real gripes here. I’d be interested to compare the food here to some of the small off the road bbq places I’ve seen around.

I’m not a big BBQ lover so the fact we went here at all is amazing in itself. Perhaps the brisk Alaskan air over a period of an hour as we took a long walk may have something to do with it.
We came here about three months ago while the weather was still very wintery.
Our total order included some of the following:
Baby Back Ribs: These were tender and delicious. Some of the best ribs I’ve ever had, in fact. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
St Louis style ribs: Disappointing because they were tough and not very juicy. Flavor was pretty good. ⁵⁄₁₀
coleslaw: Totally vinegary and gross. Not the coleslaw I was expecting, but perhaps southern style coleslaw is supposed to be like this? ²⁄₁₀
collard greens: These were also vinegary and not as good as hoped. ⁵⁄₁₀.
cornbread: Decent. I’m not a huge cornbread fan but hubs liked it a lot. I tried a bite. ⁷⁄₁₀
sweet tea: You either love this or hate this. I love sweet tea and this stuff fit the bill. ⁸⁄₁₀
Bread Pudding: Pretty good. ⁷⁄₁₀
Banana Pudding: Not as good as I had hoped. ⁵⁄₁₀. It would help immensely if the instant pudding weren’t used.
Service: Good. We had a lovely server who paid us great attention. ⁸⁄₁₀
Ambience: Pleasant. It wasn’t overly hot or bright inside which was amazing because it was arctic cold outside the night we went. Most places overheat but these guys didn’t.
All in all, a mixed bag I guess.

It was okay… a few tips
1. Key seasoning in collard greens is not sugar but smoked turkey meat. No pork needed.
2. Deep fried wings should be crispy not flabby.
3. Spice Rub should include some type of salt, unless you want the chicken to taste like spicy water.
4. Don’t wrap your to-​go chicken in plastic. The heat causes chemicals to be releases from the plastic into the chicken.
Make these subtle changes and you’ll be the best BBQ joint in town. Clean restaurant, nice atmosphere, great customer service.

My wife and I showed up hungry on Sunday night. The place was about ¾ empty which should have been a clue about the quality of the place. I had a Pyramid beer and my wife had the sweet tea. We also ordered fried pickles as an appetizer. The drinks were served in a mason jar which were not cold so my beer was not as cold as I like it. The fried pickles were served in a cardboard dish and the dipping sauce was in a disposal plastic cup with a lid on. It reminded me of fast food containers which I could forgive if the pickles were any good. I don’t understand what all the fuss about the fried pickles were for. The pickles were limp oily pickles with a light limp breading. My wife and I only finished half of them.
I ordered the ½ lb of brisket meal and again it showed up at the table in a fast food container on a plate. I wish I had a scale with me because I doubt it was ½ a pound. It was quite dry and I had to put bbq sauce on it just to eat it. I didn’t taste any smoke flavor. The sauce was already on the table so it was cold. I had the beans and mac & cheese for the sides. They were the best part of the meal.
My wife had the barnyard #2 with ribs and sausages. We shared as we usually do so that we can both taste more menu items. The sausages were quite good but small portions. The ribs were okay but not much smoke flavor.
We paid over $ 60 for the meal and we left wishing we had gone to the McDonalds across the street.

Pretty good slow smoked BBQ. Not the best I’ve ever had but not the worst. The honey butter on the cornbread has cinnamon in it, that isn’t needed. The beans were tasty but the original, spicy sauce and the beans all seemed to have the same basic seasoning. The Duse Juice is vinegar with some spices. The mustard sauce is nice on the chicken.
We ordered the #3 with the brisket, ribs and one additional chicken thigh so we could try it all. The brisket was my favorite.

YES! The new menu is so much better than the old one!
We order the ½ lbs brisket with a side of baked beans, collard greens, and coleslaw. We also had the hush puppies.
We liked the Arm Pit before, but this new menu is awesome! The brisket was tender and delicious, the best baked beans this side of the northern border, yummy greens, and coleslaw was a new and lovely flavor. The hush puppies are always golden and perfect.
I think they might need to work on the service, but it wasn’t terrible, just a little unaware.
And they have a drive through!

Only ok. Very expensive for what you get. While the meat was good the bread buns used were of a very low quality. Sides are nothing to write home about. The hostess recommend the burgers, but there were no burgers on the menu.

I came here on a Sunday around 2 pm and it wasn’t really super busy except for the large party of over 20 people there which I would assume is not the norm.
So we were seated right away and ordered our drinks (we got two sweet teas which truly lived up to its name). After they came back we ordered an appetizer of hush puppies and our entrees were the brisket sandwiches (chopped). I also got two sides, macaroni and the beans and my husband got the beans and coleslaw.
The food came out quickly despite the large party ahead of us. I haven’t had bbq in a few years, but anyways we got our appetizer of hush puppies. I wasn’t sure what they were at first because they looked really different then what I was used to eating. Despite that they were very good, and they came with some type of sauce that was also good.
Shortly after that our entrees came out. The brisket, I did find it to be a little dry, but honestly I felt it was good despite that. I hated the macaroni, it had no flavor at all and my husband agreed with me. The beans were really good. My husband said he enjoyed both the coleslaw and beans but I did not try the coleslaw so I can’t personally speak to that.
The service was okay, we had to ask for refills on our drinks (instead of them just seeing the drinks need to be refilled) but I’ll give them a break there because they did have a large party there.
Price was okay. We spent about 38 bucks plus whatever tip my husband left. They do a 10% military discount, just show your ID to the server.
Overall it was a good experience. I’d go back every now and again.

This place has turned a new leaf, new menu and just new attitudes. Maybe new cooks? I am not sure why it was delicious tonight but I will definitely return.
I suggest anyone on the fence to give them a try and anyone willing to give them a second chance– go!

We were so excited to try this place out but was deeply disappointed. Last night we went through their drive through to order dinner to take home. We ordered the barnyard with briskit and ribs, and chose cornbread and Mac and cheese for our sides. The ribs were were tender but you had to dip it in the sauce for any flavor. The briskit was awful. It was so dry /​what a disappointment! It was not worth $ 18.99 at all. You get a square piece of cornbread that was moist, but again lacked flavor. We were given a smear of their special butter — I wish there was more! The Mac and cheese looked nothing like the photos people ordered that was posted in Unilocal.Bland! We ordered the curly fries as and appetizer and realized they messed up our order and gave us yam fries. Nothing special about these yam fries. They are like the ones you buy frozen from the store. We were not going to drive all the way back to correct our order. We also ordered their special maple ribs that weren’t bad.
We were just disappointed in our food and were hoping for a good BBQ place. I don’t think we will be back.

Very good food, delicious sauces, high quality meat, and everything was fresh. We got our food very quickly, and we were both satisfied. The décor is nice and welcoming, and the restaurant is extremely clean. My husband is in love with the fried okra.

Okay folks– sorry no pictures this time.
So first off~I was born in Mississippi and grew up in Alabama… so I know southern food, and I know Bar-​B-​Que :)
They get no points for the sweet tea. It was gross… If you want a good sweet tea in this town… THEN GO TO THE RUSTIC GOAT… it is by far the best I have had up here!
The fried pickles– HOT DAMN these were delightful! Five stars!
The collard greens– I dont even be digg’en on collard greens and I could’a gone for second on these! Five stars — yum yum yum
The mac and cheese– fell flat– boo! Will not reorder this lackluster side item.
Corn bread– I grew up on the savory corn bread (not sweet) cooked in a cast iron skillet and topped with pork cracklings. I enjoy both the savory and the sweet and Turnagains was just okay. It was good– was the sweet kind came with a cinnamon butter. not the best I have ever had and not the worst.
Cole Slaw– was more like the vinegary slaw– it was good. The only way I know how to explain it is like so… It was not like Catfish Cabins (which anyone from Bama’ knows is the best)… it was more like a thick cut Whitt’s version.
Ribs– we got the St Louis (with most the meat between the ribs) and the baby back (with most the meat around the rib) and they both rocked. They do a dry rub slow smoke here and it seals in a juicy smokey flavor. Five star bar-​b-​que.
The sauce selections– they had Original Bar-​b-​Que sauce — which was a little sweet, Spicy Bar-​b-​Que sauce, Mustard sauce, and a vinegar sauce (it was more like malt vinegar you use for fish and chips with a spicy kick (not like Whitt’s).
Overall– best choice for Bar-​b-​que in Anchorage… I am ASHAMED I have not eaten here before. My excuse is… just when I want good southern food and bar-​b-​que… I get my fix when I visit sweet home! :)

The flavors are fairly bland and really have to be spiced up with the sauce in order to cover up the dryness of the meat. Nothing about this place stands out and its not worth going out of your way for. I hear better things about the one out south towards Seward but this place doesn’t turn the needle enough to make me that curious.
Very friendly when we walked in and the inside is what you would expect of a log cabinesque bbq place in Alaska

Had some not so great bbq here the other day. My husband and I shared the barnyard which consisted of two chicken thighs, links and a slab of ribs. The links were probably the only thing that tasted good. The ribs were pretty bland and the chicken thighs tasted like day old chicken that they just reheated and served. Yuck. We also ordered a side of Mac and cheese which was no bueno as well. The only decent bbq spot in town is probably that little shack by the shell gas station on the east side of town.

I was up from Nashville (Travel and Leisure’s #1 BBQ city in America) for work. Craving a little home cooking we stopped in for lunch. The place was nearly empty, which was a little surprising because the food is good. It’s not quite as good as the best in Texas, but on par with most any BBQ joint in Nashville. The brisket had a nice smoke ring and was tender. The sandwich was piled high. Mac and cheese was hot, but nothing exceptional — not bad, not great. The AK sauce was good, but the brisket was not needy for it. The sweet tea was among the sweetest I’ve ever had — just how I like it.
Give it a shot.