THE INKED PIG — Restaurant in Gainesville

Joy, and Anne, were awesome! They greeted us, and walked us through the menu, and the beer selection. (The beer options are quite nice!) The menu is not complex, but wow, what should we choose? I'm a brisket fan, and if the brisket is done right, you can bet the pork is on point! So I chose the train wreck. It was huge! It was great, really great. The chimichurri sauce was flavorful with a pop of citrus, and the brisket, or barbacoa, was wonderfully moist, and flavorful. It had little bits of great, tasty fat, but it wasn't greasy. (To me, somtimes too much fat is incorporated into a "wet brisket, and some times, no fat is there, and it makes a brisket dry.)Inked Pig has found the proper balance. Tim chose the Baked, a baked potato stuffed with bbq pork and cheese. I would have to say the pork was great and the potato was just how i like it. To the point of well done, not cooked in a hurry...I traded part of my sammich for a piece of his tater! I also had collard greens, and Brunswick stew as sides. The stew is meal worthy! It is hearty, and well spiced. The greens, well, I have never had greens seasoned the way these were. At first bite, I wasn't sure about them, after a couple of bites, i was really enjoying them! They have a little vinegary tang to them, and obviously scratch made. I decided they were awesome, a little different from my grannies, and the deep South style. I will definitely have them again. Their "side" game is strong! I may go eat a lunch of just sides at this point, to be able to try them all! A cool little bright point, were the little side of pickled vegetables, served with the meal. They are made in house. The pickled onions were simply amazing! Neither of us tried the peanut butter banana pudding. I'm totally intrigued by it. I'm absolutely going to try it next time! Large portions, of small batch, properly smoked meat....Yes! Large portions of from scratch, sides...Yes! Killer beer selection? Yes! Friendly, caring service? Yes! No wonder, even through this last, God forsaken year, called 2020, y'all are about to celebrate two years of service! Great spot to...

We had excellent service with cold, bubbly drinks. But the positives pretty much end there. (Scroll to bottom for TL;DR). Mediocre food at high prices. Me & my partner had been craving good BBQ all week. After reading the reviews here, I thought for sure this would be good BBQ.

My partner got a BBQ sandwich with chips and a side of ribs & myself, a "pick one" plate with pulled pork, baked beans & Brunswick stew. The total was $51!! I was completely taken aback by the price but inside & just outside the restaurant smelled phenomenal so I had high hopes.

When our buzzer went off to go get our food, I was concerned by the look of it. The $8 side of ribs is just 2 small spare ribs with bone fragments throughout. The sandwich meal with chips was $15 as it is & was not proportional or fresh enough to justify the price paired with a small bag of Ms Vicki's chips. The pulled pork was more fat than meat & incredibly greasy. The baked beans had the appearance of chili & even tasted like chili- VERY disappointing. The Brunswick Stew tasted just like the "baked beans" but had a thinner consistency, also primarily oil.

However, the MOST DISAPPOINTING thing was the BBQ sauce. It had the consistency of Hot Sauce & didn't take on any of the traditional BBQ sauce looks or flavors. I was overwhelmed with the flavor of vinegar & not much else. Instead of adding rich flavor to the meat, it made the sandwich a soggy, oily mess. The pulled pork plate was not appetizing at all with the fat, grease & vinegar marinating on the deli paper. I could not have been more disappointed with a BBQ restaurant.

PARKING- It's very difficult to find good parking here & not because they were busy. They are located in the heart of the industrial area with dilapidated roads & parking lots, many rough train tracks. The walk wasn't bad, but could be difficult for handicapable BBQ lovers to visit.

PROS: -Cold drinks -Friendly Staff

CONS -Very expensive food, small portions (Lunch portions, approx $25 per person) -BBQ sauce is runny -Baked Beans seasoning & consistency off -Brunswick stew too greasy & not...

The Inked Pig has it figured out! This is our second time to visit plus one food truck experience. It has been so delicious every time. Today my husband had the Shrimp and Grits and I had the Strawberry Shortcake for brunch. He said his was a five star all the way. My Strawberry Shortcake was exactly like the picture on thier website/Facebook page. I didn't have my phone to take a picture but it was beautiful. It was so good. Three stack of pancakes that were doughy, soft on the inside slightly crispy on the outside with fresh thinly sliced strawberries in between each layer. Strawberry glase poured over the top (a good amout, not to lightly but also not to over powering) with some cookies crumbles and a delicious whip topping swirl on the top! I would definitely recommend! The girl taking the order was nice and patient with the first time customer in front of us. The staff was all great really. It was very clean. The only downside is the restaurant is a tad small for all the customers. They were really busy this morning for brunch but the wait was definitely worth it. They also had some picnic tables outside. They also had lemonade and coffee on a table for customers...