Hog Wild Beach & BBQ — Restaurant in Gulf Shores

Moved here a month ago from Texas because I retired and we love it here. SO far, the BBQ....not so much. We love BBQ. I've smoked brisket, pork, beef ribs, chicken, etc for 40+ years. Been in a few comps. Ive cooked on stick burners and pellets. Doesnt make me an expert, but I sure know good Q from not good. Ive eaten BBQ from the East Coast to Texas, to California and many in between, and this food needs a LOT of work, especially for the price. I got a 2 meat plate, brisket and pulled pork with 2 sides, and my wife got a pulled pork sandwich and 2 sides. No drinks. $51 dollars??? Wow.

Wont go into much detail about the meats because they were not good. Not being rude, but thats what it was. Both were dry, dry dry, and neither the pork or the brisket had much smoke flavor or seasoning at all. Brisket ends were so hard and dry I couldnt eat them. Pork was some of the most bland and driest Ive had. Very little seasoning or smoke penetration at all. I mean...very little. Id almost be willing to guess that it's either par boiled or finished off in an oven. Probably either choice or select cuts. Bottom line, tough, dry and hardly any smoke flavor. Someone is either cutting corners or just flat out dont know how to low and slow smoke meats. Also, dont sell meat that was pulled at 8 in the morning and has been sitting under a heat lamp all day. The sides were "ok" but the mac and cheese my wife got was dry, cold and hard. Baked beans were the best part of the 2 meals and they were "ok". You could wring the grease out of my sweet potato fries and they were lukewarm in the box. If the owner knows what he/she is doing, he or she needs to either spend more time there or the help needs a LOT more training. I guess the snowbirds and tourist just dont know any better. And this is the 4th place I've tried in Baldwin county, and they are basically all the same. Take a trip out to Texas and check out places like Pecan Lodge, Salt Lick, Terry Blacks, Blacks Muellers, Hertados, Franklins, Bodacious, etc...Thats how it's suppose to be done. FYI...the young man that waited on me was awesome. Y'all gotta do better. Cant have a smoker in our new place, and I really want a go-to BBQ place close by, and I...

The good news is the fries were hot and the texas toast was fresh and lightly browned. The bad news is that's about all that was good about our meal at Hog Wild Beach and BBQ.

We ordered Big T's Sampler which consisted of a quarter pound of pork, a quarter pound of sausage, a half pound of plain wings, one quarter crispy chicken, one half pound of ribs, three sides and three pieces of texas toast. As our sides we selected baked beans, potato salad and french fries.

Since there were three pieces of texas toast we assumed three sides were sufficient for three people as well. We were mistaken. Each side is sufficient for one person. Additional sides are required when three people are dining.

That brings us to the meat portion of our meal which was greatly disappointing.

First on the list is the quarter pound of pulled pork. Of the meats included, this was the tastiest. Though somewhat lacking in flavor, it was still head and shoulders above the other meats on the sampler.

Next is the quarter pound of sausage. Actually, the sausage might have been good a few hours earlier when it was freshly cooked. When it was served to us it was shriveled and overcooked to the point it could not be cut with the plastic knives available.

The third item is a half pound of wings which we ordered plain. The wings actually were acceptable though a bit overcooked and had a tasty seasoning.

The quarter crispy chicken was a fiasco. It was so badly overcooked as to be inedible. This one we actually complained about. A replacement item was prepared and delivered to our table shortly thereafter. The replacement was hot and tasty.

This brings us to the final and most disappointing meat item of the night, one half pound of ribs. The ones we were served were almost totally devoid of flavor aside from the seasoning on the surface. They tasted as if they were baked in an oven from start to finish and had no hint of the smoky flavor characteristic of ribs cooked over either wood or charcoal.

Given our thorough disappointment in the food we received, it is highly doubtful there will be a return visit to...

We decided to have dinner here on Friday night because we figured a bbq place that wasn't beach front might not draw quite such a crazy crowd, which was what we wanted to avoid.

My suspicion was correct - there was only one or two other parties here at around 6:45 on a Friday. The interior of the restaurant is quite cute, somehow managing to meld modern and rustic styles together. We appreciated the extra space, but that being said, no need to sleep on Hog Wild -- the food is quite good!

We ordered two pulled pork plates, both with macaroni and cheese. I had sweet potato fries as my side, while my parents had potato salad. We also got a small banana pudding to try for dessert.

The sweet tea I had to drink was very refreshing - sometimes hard to find good sweet tea this far south (I swear, the closer you are to Florida, the worse the tea gets). The pulled pork had a nice smoke flavor and there was very little fat and gristle to be found, which is my preference. That said, it was a little dry - but nothing some sauce couldn't fix! I liked the sweet sauce pretty well, especially the consistency, though it was hedging a little toward too sweet, even for me! Still, it was really pretty good. The sweet potato fries were crispy and parents said the potato salad was solid, too. The macaroni and cheese was the weak link -- definitely needed a little more creaminess and cheesiness! Finally, everyone enjoyed the garlic toast served on the side.

Last of all, later that night, we each got a spoonful of banana pudding. It was tasty and appropriately sweet, though the serving size for the price was pretty small.

Hog Wild offers pretty legit bbq for an alright price in a cute and comfortable atmosphere. ...