One of the pleasures of visiting or moving to a new place is discovering the restaurants where the locals go. It’s that insider’s fun of stepping into the day-to-day way of life of the people who live there, in on their culinary secrets. A North Carolina newbie, our contributor, Matthew Bruster, discovered his new favorite BBQ joint, Little Pigs BBQ. 

Little Pigs BBQ keeps its decor simple but fun, keeping the focus on the food. Photo courtesy Little Pigs BBQ

Asheville, North Carolina is currently booming. Within this city you can find record stores, art galleries, and more craft breweries than you can shake a stick at. Most importantly, though, you can find some darn good barbecue.

If you are in this town for barbecue you have to go to Little Pigs Bar-B-Q, which has been serving the public since 1963. The menu is simple offering chopped pork barbecue, ribs, broasted chicken, hot dogs, and a hand full of tasty sides. The simple outside and their plain décor allows you to focus on the only thing that matters, their delicious food.

You can taste the hickory smoke in their chopped barbecue, which comes on both a plate or a sandwich. Their pork is so delicious no barbecue sauce is needed, but if you are there give their sauce a try as well because it’s excellent.

A feast that includes many of the choices from Little Pigs BBQ’s menu including lots of hush puppies! Photo by Matthew Bruster.

The ribs are a must eat. They come smothered in sauce and are oh-so-tender, no fork or knife needed to get the meat off the bone. The broasted chicken is crisp and juicy and when paired with slaw and beans a dangerous combination that will leave you craving more. I would be in trouble with my girlfriend if I did not mention their hush puppies, which may have been the best she has had, requiring the need to get an extra order! The atmosphere is welcoming and the staff is friendly and if you’re new to the restaurant they are also quite helpful. After eating here it is easy to see that the quality of food and the welcoming atmosphere are what have kept this place open since the ’60s.

Fun facts about Little Pigs Bar-B-Q:

The restaurant was established in 1963 by Joseph and Peggy Swicegood.  Joseph passed away (March 2018) but his son, Carr Swicegood, continues to own and operate the restaurant.  The menu is quite simple which is the way Joseph liked most things. He prided his business on cleanliness, service and treating his staff well in addition to, of course, providing great tasting food.

The hickory smoked chopped pork bbq cooks in a smoker for 15 hours – basically, while you sleep, it smokes.

Little Pigs is also known for its broasted chicken.  They use special fryers which actually quick fry the chicken under pressure, pushing the oil from the inside out leaving the chicken moist on the inside but crispy on the outside.  Lots of people love the chicken. It tastes like fried chicken but isn’t dry on the inside and doesn’t have all that oil in it.  Typically, fried chicken sits in a lot of oil for a long time in order to fry up.

Little Pigs was built out of an existing building – the Pure Oil Gas Station.

Little Pigs BBQ was built out of an existing building – the Pure Oil Gas Station.

Learn more about Little Pigs BBQ on their website, here.

— Article by Matthew Bruster

Hungry for more? Read about more discoveries in North Carolina, namely, something sweet to eat, on the Surry Sonker Trail.