Dave Poe's BBQ — Restaurant in Marietta

I moved to the Atlanta area 3 years ago and I have yet to find a decent BBQ place anywhere near here

Take Dave Poe's for example

Upon pulling into the parking lot and couldn't figure out what was missing I should've known immediately.

The great smell of a BBQ pit smoke in the air, tempting anyone nearby was missing

The inside was very clean but smelled more like cleaning supplies than BBQ , but hey, the place was clean

I was greeted by a young man who seemed more interested in shooting the breeze with his coworkers in back, rather than answering a question

Almost $30 later (including tip) for a sandwich, 2 sides and a drink my order number was called

What was on my plate was a heap of unseasoned brisket and what tasted like Publix side items

As previously mentioned, the brisket was obviously unseasoned, there was no bark on the outside, and no smoke ring

It was just a pile of chewy wet meat

Good BBQ doesn't rely on sauce to make it good

Good BBQ stands on its own, and the sauce compliments it

This place was the equivalent of a JR. High cafeteria with a unmotivated staff, high prices, and decent Texas toast

I'm convinced that nobody in Georgia has decent BBQ, as this place makes my recommendation record would be 0-32 after this disappointment

Georgia can't do smoked meat right, and thanks to Dave Poe's blah offering, I'm going to stop looking

2 stars for toast...

I ordered the large pulled pork plate which, as you can see, comes with a generous portion of pork, 2 sides (baked beans and mac 'n cheese for me today) and toasted Texas toast. I'm impressed with the taste, texture and moist protein here... this is how pulled pork is supposed to land on your plate. 100% edible with nothing left behind here - AND plenty of "bark" to enhance both taste and texture. The mac 'n cheese was warm, creamy with just the right taste. Made with larger more substantial noodles (think tortiglioni) it has the great advantage of holding lots of their creamy cheese sauce, IMO it's perfection. The baked beans are a solid #2 favorite with a big smoky sweet flavor - no need for help in the taste department here. (Sometimes, I find myself adding some bbq sauce or bits of the protein to up the taste quotient for the beans but that's definitely not necessary at Dave Poe's.) Heck, these guys have even found a way to elevate the bread... look at that sear! If there is any knock I could make it would only be about temperature on the protein. My serving was generous and tasted great but could've been better with an elevated temperature. Still, 5-star dining for great BBQ in...

I’m so full and so happy.

On a day of errands, the whole family stopped in for an early dinner. For us, bbq is often a miss (dry, lacking flavor, bad sides). That’s not the case here! We found ourselves looking for any knocks we could find so we wouldn’t be tempted to drive the hour across town it will take to come back. We thought we found one. We didn’t love the bbq sauce. However, in going back for a cookie for my two toddlers, we discovered we missed all the sauce options!!! Now I can’t wait to go back and try them again with that pulled pork plate.

For reference, we got pulled pork plates (best cooked pork I’ve had in a long time) Cole slaw (peppery and a great compliment to the pork). I got the fried okra (the kind that reminds me of what my grandmother would grow and make) and my husband got the “redneck lasagna.” A Mac and cheese layered with Brunswick stew. It disappeared before he could think to offer me a bite.

The kids loved their pulled chicken and Mac and cheese.

Overall, my new #1 rec for bbq in the greater Atlanta area (and I’ve tried a...