The Pig

As an out of towner, The Pig is just what I expected from a Carolina barbecue spot. We were warmly greeted upon entry and offered samplings. Our greeter explained that their pigs are locally raised and on a strict antibiotic, hormone-​free diet. All of the preparation, smoking, and slicing and dicing is done on site. At this point, I was compelled to order the BBQ sandwich. It was topped with «slaw» and came with a side of pickles. I also ordered a side of mac and cheese to complete the package. I couldn’t be more pleased with my selection. My friend ordered the catfish po’ boy which didn’t disappoint. Prices were pleasantly appealing. Overall, it was a worth while experience, definitely a must do when in the area.

Any place named «The Pig» better have great bbq, and this place does! Why anyone would order anything that doesn’t go «oink» is beyond me.
This is a very small place with counter seating and small tables. It is in a strip mall on Weaver Dairy Road about 7 minutes outside downtown Chapel Hill. I love a good bbq sandwich and The Pig has a great one with homemade vinegary pickles and slaw with a touch of acid in it. The bbq has just the right amount of kick to it. The meat is cooked to perfection and isn’t watery. The Pig gets a five for its bbq. The sides are average but ample. My mac and cheese had Worcestershire sauce on it which wasn’t wonderful just ok. The hushpuppies tasted great but were inconsistent in size and stringy. Everything else was great.
This is definitely worth the trip for bbq. One of the best in the area.

This is a great place for healthier BBQ. The BBQ is very lean compared to a lot of places near here. The large BBQ plate is more than enough for two people. The fried green tomatoes are great, but make sure you ask for the chipotle sauce because they don’t always remember to bring it and it’s really good. The beet and blue salad is great and a half size is large. I ordered the Vietnamese pork belly salad once, and while it was tasty the meat had lots of fat.

I went to a southern barbecue restaurant and ordered the most ethnic item on the menu. Some might think this would’ve been a mistake and I almost second guessed my order until the cashier and our food deliverer confirmed my ordering choice: «you’re going to love it!» And love it I did! A little pricey, at $ 9.00 for the Vietnamese Pork Cheek Sandwich (which I opted to have as a salad) but with tender pork cheek, a carrot slaw, cilantro, grilled jalepeno slices and dried shrimp. A little oddly located, tucked away in a small shopping center down the street from East Chapel Hill High School, but definitely worth the distance. Love their homey touches, like serving their own pickles with their sandwiches and plates, and of course their Southern hospitality. I look forward to returning.

After a couple of not so great visits to other BBQ places in the area, I finally found hog heaven here. Smoky, slow-​cooked whole pigs from small, sustainable farms, a kick-​ass slaw mixture and voilà! The perfect Barbeque sandwich. The happiness factor is heightened by a great selection of draft beers, also available by the half-​pint (I did have to drive to the airport) — I tried a Berliner-​Weisse style beer and it went very well with the rich pork. My companion tried the Creole-​style gumbo and liked it very much. Definitely my new go-​to place when hankering for BBQ around here.

Yummy yummy yummy, I’ve got pig in my tummy!
The photos here are 100% accurate. The pulled pork (bbq plate) is very good, the hushpuppies were very tasty but overly browned on the outside (I like my hushpuppies to be lighter on the crisp), the Pimento Cheese Fries are fantastic! The Mac & cheese is also very delish and homemade tasting!
Went in with my roommate, who is a piggyhog like me lol, neither of us were satisfied with the pickles or the weird orange slaw that automatically comes with your plate. I took the bbq from the plate and mixed it in with the pimento fries, and if you aren’t eating them that way, you’re missing out! It was amazing! I would just order that! lol
I dropped a star first of all because there is no form of service. You order and pay at the counter, and everything else is up to you at that point. They don’t even bus the tables, you take your plates and cups up to the end of the counter where they have a sign to put your dirty dishes and such in these bins. I found that odd. Also it’s a little bit pricey because you have to order sides separately. I feel like the pickles and slaw should be optional, so you can get a smaller portion of the fries and mac WITH it instead of on the side.
I would return, roommate would return, very yummy place for regular bbq eats! Can’t wait to try the ribs!

Great food, some of the best BBQ I have had since moving to the area.
Brisket was excellent and the mac and cheese was incredible!

I’m sort of a BBQ snob being from the south and this place does it right. Phenomenal food and an even better staff. This will be my new go to BBQ joint in Chapel Hill.

Stopped here after reading Unilocal reviews, sure glad I did! Had the large pulled pork plate with Mac and cheese side (some of the best I’ve ever had!). The slaw was a little under par, but the fluffy hush puppies made up for it! BIG portions of meat, and some good sauce to slather it in! Well done, Pig!

Not very impressed, and probably would not go back. The chicken dinner was all dark meat, and it would have been nice to have a wing and/​or breast in there for some balance… The brisket of beef po boy sandwich also was a huge disappointment with very little meat and way too much fat and gristle content in the meat slices served. I was told they cut away most of the fat, but I did not see that happen at all. Therefore, I had to pick off large strips and chunks of fat by hand, leaving too little meat behind. Also, the lettuce, tomato, and mayo did not help that sandwich at all…
The Pig fell way short for me compared to many other great BBQ places I have visited throughout the country.
The only exception was the pickled cucumber salad that was made well and was very tasty. However, the coleslaw was just average at best, and the fries were warm and soft vs. hot and crispy.
The prices were a bit high too, so overall it seemed like a poor value, mostly because the food left me very disappointed.
The service was nice and professional though…

If I could have given negative 10 stars, I would have. I
ordered fried chicken. Got 1 leg and 1 thigh. Both were a strange magenta color with a hard, super thick crust and no flavor. Ick. The potato salad had a bizarre flavor not normally associated with barbecue. Curry, perhaps? My husband had the grave misfortune of ordering the Vietnamese pig cheek sandwich — an inedible slab of fat. We both left the restaurant feeling physically violated. That said, the place was packed with customers, so either we ordered the worst items on the menu or these customers were all in some Nasty Food — lovers Cult. Really horrible experience.

All you can eat? Those words can make me come running, regardless of where they come from. AYCE is always a good thing. Recently, The Pig decided to host all you can eat rib night one more time. At $ 25, I knew, or at least hoped, that this was going to be an awesome meal. With hushpuppies, pickles, and slaw included in the price, this wouldn’t be too bad. With a drink also included in the price, I knew/​hoped this would be one of the best meals that I’ve had in a while. But holy crap, The Pig is pretty far away from me.
The ribs at The Pig are absolutely huge. I should’ve known that this would’ve been a challenge, given that Kuanyu was only able to finish 3 rounds and start his fourth. Fortunately, these were probably the best ribs that I’ve ever had. The cook wasn’t perfect on all three rounds, but the barbecue sauce was among the best that I’ve ever tasted. It had a terrific combination of savory, acid, and spicy flavors, without any of them being overwhelming. Typing this sentence makes me want to get more ribs. Now.
The hushpuppies, pickles, and slaw were all very good. I just didn’t down them as quickly given that I wanted to have plenty of room for the ribs. I wasn’t able to beat Kuanyu’s record, but I managed to eat the most amount of ribs in the least amount of time during the day.
As much as the South is known for good barbecue, I haven’t yet been truly impressed by a restaurant. That has changed. I cannot recommend the ribs at The Pig highly enough. I look forward to returning to The Pig to try the food in a setting where I am not actively trying to hurt myself.

Outstanding Barbeque and sides in an unassuming setting. Between sides, the hush puppies, specials and staples, it’s a great find hidden in a simple cinder block building. The Fried Green tomatoes were terrific, a bit unorthodox and memorable; the brussels and shrooms an unusual find, sweetly spicy. The Pulled pork namesake is smoky, tender, moist and paired with a house vinegar sauce — superb. I’d like to go back for the $ 3 draughts, locally sourced. Service was fast and friendly, to boot!

Probably my favorite barbecue place in the Triangle! You definitely wouldn’t expect it since The Pig is located in a pretty shabby strip mall seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but it serves up some fantastic BBQ.
I’ll make it clear right off the bat that I’m a vegetarian reviewing a BBQ place, so my comments will mainly be on the side dishes and vegetarian options.
That being said, I absolutely love that The Pig has so many entrees catered towards vegetarians — I’ve actually never found that in another BBQ joint anywhere else. There are sandwiches and plates with tofu, tempeh, and shiitake mushrooms made with a BBQ twist, so vegetarians, don’t worry! There are plenty of options for you here.
I’ve had the BBQ Tempeh Sandwich. I’m usually not a huge fan of tempeh, but I wanted to see if The Pig could make me like it. I thought that the BBQ sauce on the tempeh was absolutely delicious, but it still couldn’t bite through the grainy texture of the tempeh that I dislike. So yes, it still tastes like tempeh, but the barbecue flavor definitely made it more bearable.
In terms of side dishes, 100% GET THE MAC-​N-​CHEESE. It’s the bomb. The best mac-​n-​cheese I’ve had. I don’t know how they do it, but it just has the perfect combination of cheesy flavor and smokiness that I love. I can finish a double portion on my own, and it’s the only side I ever get here. You won’t regret getting the mac-​n-​cheese, I promise.
I’ve tried the Pimento Cheese Fries as well, and the portion is gigantic. The fries are crispy, and overall, it was a very overwhelming dish. I usually hate pickles, but the ones here are unexpectedly refreshing.
I’ve never been disappointed with a trip to The Pig. My meat-​loving friends that I’ve brought here also rave about the meats, so I expect them to be just as good, if not better, than the veggie options.

Definitely one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Chapel Hill. Don’t let the plain sign of «The Pig» in the shopping center next to «The Bagel Place» fool you. The inside was just about what I expected except for ordering at the counter which I can appreciate because it guaranteed fast service. Here’s what I ate:
Chopped Pork: Unfortunately, they were out of ribs, but I like chopped pork anyway. Moist, not too salty and the best part is that you don’t even need some kind of sauce to enjoy this, so to me, that’s the best measure of BBQ: not needing sauce.
Coleslaw that comes with each plate is mustard based. This is a nice change from mayo-​based cole slaws.
Brisket: Not bad. I’m still a bigger fan of chopped pork.
Pickled Plate: Must have, in my opinion, and quite possibly the thing I enjoyed the most. This plate is generous and definitely shareable. I had to take this home. Pickled green tomato, green beans, beets, egg… can’t go wrong with any of these. My favorite was a tie between the green beans and the egg. I’ve never had a pickled egg before so this was my first time, but I really liked the taste and how creamy the yolk was. Everything tastes better the next day, in fact, the green beans were a little spicy.
Sprouts and Mushrooms: This side wasn’t bad. There’s a smoky, cumin taste to it. Brussel sprouts are caramelized and most of the mushroom pieces were chopped up. The Pig is probably the first BBQ place I’ve encountered that serves brussel sprouts which has become trendy the past few years.
Collard Greens: I appreciate that this wasn’t too overcooked. Collard veins in the leaves still have a good bite to them. This wasn’t cooked to mush, but I still like the sprouts/​mushrooms side dish better.
Banana Pudding: Joe, who works at the counter, had me sold when he said he made it himself. Banana pudding was a tasty dessert as a chaser to all that BBQ. This tastes homemade because it’s got that starchy/​grainy taste to the pudding. Not sure if it was corn starch or if the bananas weren’t ripe enough. Typically, I’m used to a really smooth banana pudding. Be warned that there’s not much «nilla wafers» to this.
Absolutely a huge fan of this place. The large plates are generous and we probably ordered way too much food that we had enough for another meal. We still thought about The Pig on our second night in Chapel Hill. We’ll probably stop here again next time.

I actually bookmarked this place based on the Unilocal recommendations– so I am reviewing this as an out of towner.
This place is very unassuming and located in a strip mall. The décor is limited and there are a couple of tables (so probably not the best place for huge groups). There is a menu and you have to order at the counter and take a number.
I got the BBQ large plate (I split in two) which came with pulled pork (vinegar based), pickles, coleslaw, and an extra side. We picked the mac n cheese. The plate was HUGE and only cost $ 12.50! I was really impressed with the quality, price, and portion size. I would definitely recommend this place to someone looking to grab a quick simple bite of BBQ

I sooooooo wanted this place to be awesome. With all the positive reviews I knew I was in for a treat. I was let down however. The food is good, but not great. The brisket had pretty good flavor, but was really dry. Maybe they cut it without resting it? Or maybe it was reheated? The sauce was really good though! I preferred their version of western carolina BBQ versus their eastern version, although I prefer eastern typically.
The fries were good. They seemed to be from actual potatoes instead of the processed garbage fries at most places. The hush puppies were really dense. The flavor was ok, but by no means traditional. I’m not a fried green tomato fan, but we had them as a side. The breading was really good! I still do not condone ending a tomatoes life before it turns red and can be used properly.
My highlight was eating at the table literally sitting beside Tyler Hansbrough! We didn’t bother the fellow because he was eating, but that was still really awesome!

We had northern friends in town and they wanted to have BBQ for dinner. We had never been to the Pig before but, it was near where we wanted to end up for the evening and it had pretty good reviews on Unilocal.So, we came and checked it out. I was pretty darn impressed.
Food wise — I would describe the Pig as BBQ with a Carrboro/​Chapel Hill twist. Think local veggies — homemade pickled cucumbers on the side, an option for a Tempeh dish, etc. Pretty cool. I ordered the BBQ chicken plate and asked for Mac N Cheese for my side (it also came with hushpuppies and the pickled cucumbers). My husband ordered the Pork Chop Plate (may have been the special of the day). Our friends both got BBQ sandwiches.
The stars of the show — for me — were the Mac N Cheese, the Fried Okra (my husband ordered as his side) and the Pork Chop plate. I didn’t actually try the BBQ so my apologies. Our friends finished both sandwiches though — so it must have been pretty good. The coleslaw that came on the sandwiches was unique too — an orange sort of color to it had me guessing whether it was coleslaw or pimento cheese. My friend liked it though. Mac N Cheese — yum — just order it. I thought it was great and I can be a critic of this particular item. Fried Okra — seasoned really well — salty but sometimes sweet too. All four of us really enjoyed it. My husband’s pork chop plate was really awesome — the pork chop was like a smoked pork chop if you have ever had one of those — a yummy, salty flavor similar to ham. It laid atop a bed of what they called sauerkraut. This was homemade and had it’s own flavor about it — less sour and less traditional kraut — which was fine. Yummy, fresh cabbage with caraway seeds. Then, it was served with a cool sauce on the side — a beet mustard. Yes — it was a mild mustard that was pink — this goes to my description — BBQ with a Carrboro/​Chapel Hill twist — local/​fresh ingredients — unique.
Drink wise — I enjoyed the sweet tea. Our friends had local beers — Bull City Cider and a Steel String brew — thumbs up for some good local options on tap.
My only negative comment about the entire experience — the hushpuppies. They weren’t very sweet. I’m used to a sweeter hushpuppie. This is the only thing I wish would change.
Good job Pig. I hope to be back.

My husband and I came here for a late lunch. It was our first visit, and all I can say is WHY DID WE WAIT SO LONG!!!
Seriously, it was awesome. We started with a small order of pimento cheese fries with cheek bacon. Perfect size for the two of us to share. Fries weren’t crispy but neither one of us cared that much.
I had the Vietnamese cheek salad and my husband had the bbq sandwich with mac and cheese. My salad was AMAZING, the cheek was insanely tender-​melty-​fatty-​good, perfect vinaigrette and loved the grilled jalepeno and baby shrimp. Husband loved his sandwich and mac and cheese was great. And $ 3 glasses of wine on Wednesdays!
Last but not least, super friendly service from the lady at the counter, wish we had caught her name.
We’ll definitely go back, maybe even for dinner tonight!

Items Selected:
Hand Cut Pimento Cheese Fries with Cheek Bacon
All Dark Meat Fried Chicken with Pickles, Hush Puppies, and Slaw
Hickory Smoked Whole-​Hog BBQ, Roughly Chopped and seasoned by Cider Vinegar Sauce with Pickles, Hush Puppies, and Slaw
Sweet Potato Bread Pudding
Banana Pudding
Targeted as our final meal in the state of North Carolina, a post-​game destination after watching Roy Williams run the 4-​Corners in honor of Dean Smith against Wake Forrest in the dome bearing his legendary name, it was just moments prior to 3:00pm that we entered The Pig and with a sign at the door proudly promoting the use of locally-​raised hormone and antibiotic-​free pork the barbeque that followed was the very definition of ‘saving the best for last.‘
Perhaps a bit more hip and trendy than traditionalists looking for a spot like Olé Time or Allen & Son would prefer, but at the same time offering all the essentials plus some whimsical specials in a space far less commercial than The Pit, it was only after standing back perusing the laminated menu and chalkboards that an order was placed, the $ 45 tab after tax and tip speaking to higher ingredient quality while the décor was mostly wood, tile, and Formica with a few swine-​centric ornaments strewn about.
Waiting only ten minutes while a few more parties sporting Tar Heel Blue filed in, it was with both appetizers and mains served simultaneously that we sat impressed by the portions and uncertain of where to start a mixed tasting would ensue, first bites of the crispy hand-​cut potatoes beneath spicy pimento cheese and briny cheek bacon proving far better than later bites after the oil set in while both the slaw and hushpuppies were as good as we found during our trip, the later rich with herbs beneath a particularly crisp shell.
Focusing next on the «Carolina Classics,» though here served as separate plates as opposed to in combo form, the question of whether the brined bird or cracklin’ studded pork was better is truly a matter of taste because no matter how you rate it they both were reference standard, the former just short of Beasley’s for best in The Triangle while the later was even more succulent than that at Ayden’s Skylight Inn, a tremendous amount of smoke proving an adept balance acid and salt.
Not exactly a spot for sweets, but trying far harder than many mom n’ pop houses of ‘cue, it was a menu of four specials that we were left to navigate and with the banana pudding an obvious choice my personal preferences also saw a bowl of steamy bread pudding arrive alongside, the former nothing to write home about compared to those at Mandolin, The Pit, or others while the sweet potato pie-​meets-​flan concoction was surprisingly mild, the tuber’s natural starches providing most of the flavor alongside milky tones with whipped cream added for sweetness as well as to lighten the load, each bite still stick-​a-​spoon-​up-​straight thick.