Hog Wild Pit Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Wichita

Coming from Texas, I'm well versed in barbecue, and though I understand that regional variations exist in the Q, there still that picture in my mind of what a barbecue place should be.

You should be able to smell the food from miles around. Open pits aren't a requirement for good barbecue - I would use an enclosed solution at home, for example - but in a restaurant setting, there's such a disconnect between my idea of barbecue and the sterile, open kitchens which contain the smokers somewhere in the back.

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich. They were offering a Carolina-style version on special, which came with a "tangy" coleslaw served on top. What I received was a nicely toasted bun with their standard pulled pork* - an adequate, though sometimes a little dry affair with moderate bark and no smoke ring that I could see. I was expecting the worst with a thick, heavy, and sweet sauce, but Hog Wild exercised a good deal of restraint here, which I appreciated. The coleslaw was your standard supermarket product and not particularly more tangy than any others I've tried, though Carolina style is less about the coleslaw and more about the vinegar-based sauces. I didn't really expect the restaurant to get this aspect of the barbecue correct, and I think it was more of just a re-employment of things they had lying around.

*As an aside, if there's one thing I think the Texans have wrong about barbecue, it's the choice of cow rather than the pig. I understand that cows (rather than pigs)were abundant in the Lone Star state and vice-versa for every other states.

The curly fries were rarely more than slightly curved, but they were pretty standard and underwhelming. I should have tried some more standard sides, like the beans, but it wasn't meant to be (read: it was lunchtime and I didn't want to).

When I moved into the middle of the barbecue belt, I was expecting a lot from Wichita. Unfortunately, Hog Wild didn't meet my expectations. The food was serviceable, sure, but there has to be something else in...

Fast food bbq… it’s a thing now. I wanted to love this place just because all of the reviews but I’d give it a solid 3/5.

Ordered a chicken bbq sandwich and hot link sandwich. There was more bread than meat but honestly, I wasn’t really bothered by that much. The chicken was moist and the bbq sauce was okay. The sausage was fine but it lacked depth of flavor. I did order a side of their spicy bbq sauce to try and it did help flavor up the hot link sandwich quite a bit.

The real winner here for me was the fries. They taste just like McDonalds and I’ve NEVER had anyone’s fries taste like McD’s!!! I devoured every last one of them! lol 🍟

I’m going to give them another whirl before I head out because I feel like you can’t really judge a good bbq place until you’ve had their brisket. This TX gal knows her brisket! I’ll be back to update my review at that time. I’m thinking I’ll try the brisket baked potato - doesn’t that...

We keep going back to Hog Wild because the meat is so good. Before I go, I try to get pumped up to enjoy something different, but I nearly always get the rib dinner. The dinner is a half slab, some grilled Texas toast (not bad) and two sides for only pennies more than just the half-slab by itself. Sometimes when I'm avoiding carbs, I just order some brisket by the half pound. I also like their hot links. All of their meats are tasty.

The down side is that the sides are not the best. The fries are so-so, mashed potatoes seem to be instant ones, and the cole slaw is bought wholesale instead of being made there. The baked beans are okay, but they are nothing special, either. With my aforementioned rib dinner, I usually order two sides of beans.

There are other BBQ joints in town that have pretty good meats and much better sides. Once is a while I'll go to one, but it is hard to beat the ribs...