whole hog cafe

being greeted by a wall of trophies upon entering a bbq restaurant is a good sign.. that's exactly what you get at the whole hog cafe. this is a family owned establishment with multiple generations working there, also a good sign. then there was the crowning glory, a 5ft tall memphis in may grand champion trophy. so, eating pork here is the exact right thing to do.

there is an order counter and menu board. the procedure is pay and retrieve your meal when your number is called. theribscame highly recommended and i ordered a platter for myself as did my dinner companions.

there was good reason behind the rib recommendation.

theribswere the second best i've ever eaten in my life. that's saying something because i live in the ark-la-tex where bbq is king. whole hog's glaze is the best i've ever had. there was a smoke ring almost a half inch thick on a rack of ribs, i've never seen that in my life. the bite, chew. and flavor are award winning, literally. easily the best bbq i've eaten in a restaurant.

the sides i chose were potato salad and cole slaw. the slaw was a little sweet and plenty crunchy, i really liked it. the potato salad was different, made mostly with sour cream. this suited me just fine, my dinner companions did not agree however. i tasted my companion's baked beans which were rich with delicious flavor, layered in while slow cooked.

there is a drink station offering a wide variety of thirst quenching options. there is a caddy tableside with a half dozen specialty sauces made by whole hog, and a flavor description of each.

to tell the truth, i didn't need any sauce on my ribs. the glaze was such a beautiful symphony of flavor that nothing extra was needed.

we returned for lunch the next day and i immensely enjoyed the pulled pork platter. i did sauce this pork with whole hog's sweet honey smoke sauce.

i can't rave about the food at whole hog enough. it isn't just eating bbq, this is a destination quality food experience. please go and enjoy award winning bbq at the whole hog cafe.

went there twice and the food was cold. as for the taste my husband thinks i still make the bestribsaround.

good bbq; awesome potato salad!. this is not my favorite place but does satisfy my craving for quick bbq. theribsdo not have a smoky flavor. however, the pulled pork does...not sure how/why that is. the showstopper is the potato salad - that stuff is addictive!!!! service has been pretty good on each of my visits.

best beef brisket, pulled pork. makes me hungry to think of whole hog original location on cantrell road. buy meats by the pound. best beef brisket ever. pulled pork delicious.ribsgreat too, although we prefer sim's ribs. bbq is a very personal decision. anyway, we love whole hog and would never, ever consider corky's for real bbq.

best bbq in lr. hands down, the most affordable and best bbq in town. never disappoints. bbq is great,ribsare good too!

best bbq ever!. i am an ex employee of the original whole hog cafe on cantrell road. i do not have an axe to grind,although i was fired for b.s. reasons a few years ago,and i have moved on with my life....so i'm no longer full of resentment.

they have the best ribs, pork,beef and chicken ever. whenever i want bbq......that is where i go. whenever we have out if town visitors, either family or friends, i always take them to whole hog cafe and they have never been disappointed. i have even shipped theribsout of state fed ex overnight to family craving the real bbq deal.

i will let you know in on a couple little secrets though.....all of their smoked meats are seasoned to perfection and cooked on site. even though their sauces' are delicious, all their sauces are another known brand name that you yourself can find at some of your local grocers and all i will say is that brand starts with the letter "c".#1 sauce is regular mild/molasses,traditional, #2 sauce is hot and spicy,#5 is heavy sweet molasses style sauce.the other sauces....#3 is hot and spicy with an added ingredient, #4 sauce is a blend of two different brands of bbq sauces, plus another ingredient, #6 sauce is gold sauce, some sweet and sour sauce and another ingredient, and last, but not least, volcano sauce, which is a hot and spicy sauce, with an added certain hot sauce . i can't let the cat completely out of the bag, so some of the ingredients are secret and some of which i will not say.

as far as their side items go, they only make their beans and coleslaw. the potato salad, which is actually one of my favorites, is a pre-made loaded baked potato style potato salad from a known food restaurant distribution warehouse.

my point is, that i don't continue to patronize them for their side items or even sauces. i continue to go there because they are the king of all smoked meats. everything at whole hog cafe is delicious...bottom line...theribsare my personal favorite. they taste so good...just like candy in my mouth. if you want to try the best, go to whole hog cafe...you will not be disappointed.

whole lotta hog. whole lotta flavor.. whole hog cafe serves up the best pulled pork i've ever eaten. period. i've never had better in memphis, texas, lr, or anywhere else. can't comment on the ribs, because i've never had them. reviewers seem to be divided on the quality of theribshere, but who needsribswhen their pulled pork is so heavenly?

i am not a big fan of standing in lines to order, and really wish that whole hog would hire a waitstaff. i also wish that whole hog were open later, as the restaurant closes at 8 pm daily. those are my two main gripes. whole hog has won many first place trophies at bbq competitions around the country, and they are displayed proudly at the riverdale location. pictures of bill clinton dining at whole hog hang on the wall, and i think it's cool that a former us president has eaten here.

some reviewers insist that whole hog fails to provide the best pulled pork in town, but i must respectfully disagree. the first time i had this amazing bbq, i realized it was special. this bbq melts in your mouth. their sauces are tantalizing, especially the volcano, but as one reviewer stated, you only need a dollop. this barbecue does not require masking agents. this bbq is like a fine steak; the flavor does not need to be augmented with sauce. the meat does just fine on its own, and excessive sauce detracts you from enjoying it properly. the pulled pork is truly phenomenal, and i strongly encourage you to try it.

try it once... you will be back.... their pulled pork is a thing of beauty! theirribsare also works of art. i love bbq and they have the best in town. everything else there is great as well. the beans and potato salad are also favorites of mine. everyone has an opinion about bbq, but the whole hog deserves their great reputation.

wow - the best??? i don't think so. i am always confused about how much people love this place. the pulled pork sandwich is decent. the six different sauces are pretty good. but they don't warrant anything special in my opinion. i generally come here because it's close and it scratches my bbq itch, when i get one.

i've ordered theribsand they were awful. they were tough and lacked any trace of smoky flavor. drowning it in sauce didn't really help matters much.

i can't stand the potato salad. it's made with waxy potatoes so it has an odd texture but what makes it truly awful is the ranch dressing that it's mixed with.

there are much better places in little rock to go for barbecue. whole hog just ain't one of those places.

their bbq sandwiches are amazing but theribswere extremely disappointing.

will def go back! the sauces were fantastic! the pulled pork was great...even the sides were good. i will be more than happy to try the rest of the bbq! iain does have it pretty correct though... theribswere good and i thought they had a good flavor (with or without the sauces) but as iain said they were a little on the dry side. overall experience was great though and there are plenty of menu options.

loved it. sorry about your experience iain, i on the other hand don't likeribsto start with, so i got the pulled chicken. they also have pulled pork. the chicken was great and the sauces were amazing.

good sauceribsnot so good. i have been to many bbq places in little rock over the last couple weeks looking for the bestribsin town and whole hog was a disappointment. i went for lunch and they were crowded which i thought would be a good sign. theribswere among the worse i have had in this town. they were covered in a sweet sauce which seemed to zap them of moisture and made them abit hard. the chopped pork coming out looked good but if you can't make goodribswhat is the point. i won't be going back. i did sample the sauces on the table and they were good especially volcano. great sauces but poor ribs.

response to rufus:

i do have an axe to grind when food is not up to par. they are a bbq joint and as such should be able to smoke ribs. the volcano sauce was on our table and i am so glad it was because it was the best thing about the place. if rufus hasn't had theribswhy criticize my take on the place because i had a bad experience. i was wrong and rufus is correct though it is pulled not chopped pork. the pulled pork is good. theribshowever are a pathetic mess.

go to whole hog and at least give them a chance but write an urban spoon review on your findings.