Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q / Durham
An evening photo shoot at Duke had me in Durham the other day and the scheduling meant there'd be no time for dinner at the "normal" time, so I opted for eating on the early side and searched for some barbecue close to East Campus. I found Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q just north of where I needed to be. I'd never been, so I was on lock.
The online reviews were all over the place. "Love it! Hate it!" Hog Heaven was either "God's gift of BBQ" or "Nasty as hell." Not much in between it seemed. That just means I needed to try it for my own self.
I am here to report that you can put me down for "in between" as I didn't love it and I also didn't hate it.
The sandwich is nicely priced considering today's current economy, so I was not expecting a heaping helping of 'cue. The portion was "in between" I might say. Not too much, not too little. But just right.
The pork was a moist and tender chop with a few cracklin's here and there. Chopped to just the right size which added a decent little crunch.
Negatives on the chopped pork are lack of smoke (none, zero, zilch) and flavor (tiny, minuscule, nearly absent). While there appeared to be a few flakes of red pepper, there was not much heat at all. I'm kind of unsure of where all the meat moisture comes from as it's not overly apple cider vinegary. And it could have used a little extra salt.
The bun was fresh and soft, slightly steamed from the barbecue while in the styrofoam clamshell. It held up well over and under the moist meat and wet slaw.
Speaking of slaw, while it could have used a pinch more sugar, it was pretty tasty with a good chop on the cabbage and carrot. The amount paired well with the meat.
On a side note... their Brunswick Stew looks the part! I opened the container to find the consistency of what I feel should be a traditional Eastern NC stew. Strands of meat with visible whole kernels of corn and slightly al dente butter beans. Just needed the same taste! I was disappointed in the flavor which was very sedate. No sweetness. No pepper. No salt. Bland. Thankfully, the little plasticware packet had salt and pepper. I stirred those seasonings in and it made a difference. Wish there was more seasoning. And I am sure a little bit of sugar and maybe some Texas Pete would take it where it needed to be.
Back to the 'cue: Generally, not a bad sandwich at all. A couple of changes here and there and it would easily ride its way to the middle, upper levels of my rankings. However, as presented, this Hog Heaven barbecue sandwich sits appropriately right smack dab in... you guessed it, somewhere in between.
7 / 10
2419 Guess Road
Durham, NC 27705
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