Mary's Pit Bar BQ — Restaurant in Alabama

We visited Mary's Pit Bar-B-Q for lunch on a perfect fall day. Located in a residential area, Mary's is a bit hard to find, but it's a solid place for 'que if you're in the area.

The parking lot filled up fairly quickly and we had some trouble getting out, so be careful where you rest your laurels when you first drive in. Head inside and order at the counter.

The menu is a bit larger than some other similar dive barbecue joints, so that's fun. There's pork, chicken, turkey, and ribs. Sandwiches, baked potatoes, plates, wings, etc. Sides include coleslaw, baked beans, mac and cheese, and banana or peanut butter pudding. They offer barbecue sliders, which are exactly what they sound like: mini barbecue sandwiches! A great option if you're not too hungry.

We ordered a pork slider, a pork sandwich combo (comes with chips and a can of soda), and a loaded pork potato, with banana pudding for dessert. Service wasn't unfriendly, but she either wasn't listening or wasn't in a good head space, as all three of us had to repeat something about our order, and my sandwich came out with slaw and pickles on it, with the barbecue sauce on the side...rather than with NO slaw or pickles at all. Luckily, the slaw wasn't super watery, so it was easy enough to pick off. The food was very fairly priced; three of us ate, with dessert, for around $22.

At any rate, our food came out fast and we took it outside to enjoy it at the picnic tables. There's only a couple bar stools to sit at inside, so I wouldn't necessarily plan on eating there. Save it for a good day or be prepared to carry out.

We all enjoyed the pulled pork we had. The slider was perfectly sized for a nice little snack. The pork was tender and very nicely pulled, rather than chopped -- the pieces were really nice and chunky. Most of the burnt ends had been removed. I like it that way, but I know not everyone does. The potato was large and cooked perfectly. It isn't the best barbecue I've ever had, but it's pretty good -- juicy, tender, and faintly smoky.

The banana pudding was a letdown, unfortunately. If it had banana in it, we couldn't taste it. There were certainly no banana pieces in it. Mainly, it tasted like boxed vanilla pudding (made with artificial vanilla extract, too, sadly) with two vanilla wafers on top. I'd skip it next time.

Overall, if you're looking for a pleasant country drive and some good barbecue, Mary's is a...

My family and I went to Mary's this weekend. 2 adults and 4 kids. We live about 45 minutes away so planned to just eat it there. We knew that it was very small so sitting inside would not be feasible. We went to order and were told they were out of ribs. This was a bummer as that was one of the items we wanted to try. So we changed up our order to pulled pork and chicken plus sides. I tried to get banana pudding but they were out. So I was just going to get chips but again they were out. We ended up ordering mac and cheese, potato salad, baked beans and green beans. They have picnic tables outside so we were going to eat there. Once our food came out, there were no paper plate or any utensils. I went to ask if they had any plates and utensils, and was told no plates but she handed me some plastic forks and spoons. 4 forks and 3 spoons to be exact. The pulled pork was in a little red and white paper tray wrapped in plastic. No big deal if you have something to put it on. The chicken was just wrapped in tin foil. Again, fine if you have paper plates. I ended up driving down the road to a gas station to find paper plates and some plastic utensils. Why have seating (picnic tables) at all if it is meant solely as take out to go home? When I returned to my family seated on the picnic tables, I noticed I did not get potato salad but go two baked beans. My son took them both in to exchange one for potato salad. The lady took them both and gave him the potato salad. We had to go back in to get the other baked beans back which they ended up just giving both back. They seemed annoyed at all the questions but you can imagine our irritation at having to ask all the questions. Now, the food was pretty good. It wasn't anything to write home about but good. Probably won't go back based on...

Mary's is my favorite place for bbq chicken, pork, and all of the fixins!! Their potato salad is AWESOME!! The food is always fresh and it's DEFINITELY worth the drive!! Their prices are more than reasonable, meaning you'll get your money's worth, plus some. The owner is one of the most friendly and hardworking guys you'll come across, and most days you can find him there in the pit overseeing the meat to insure that it's cooked to perfection. He won me over a few years ago when I happened to have my dog with me. I was trying to get out of the car to run inside and pick up my order real quick while leaving my dog in my vehicle with the a/c running when this man happened to step out of the employees door, greet me, notice I had my "partner in crime" with me, and he said "bring him inside. He's welcome here, too. And I've got a treat for him." So I grabbed my dog (on leash) and we walked inside where we were welcomed by all of the employees and then he was presented a big, FRESH rib bone of his own. Now my dog literally knows the phrase "do you want to go to Marys?", jumps into the car, and enjoys the wind in his fur on the roadtrip, gets out and walks inside where he gets pats on the head by whoever is there, then patiently waits for his rib bone that he knows Daniel has for him. He considers Mary's his home away from home, even though we're only there for 5-10 minutes picking up our food to go. Of course, I also give him the meat from a chicken leg and thigh for his dinner once we're home. His rib bone lasts him for days and he ignores all other bones when he has one. Needless to say, the two of us make the journey to Mary's Pit BBQ 2-3 times a week and they're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays!! Obviously, my 🐕 isn't the only one that considers it our go to place for dinner on the nights I don't feel...