Shortly after Thanksgiving we decided to take a Jeep Ride out to Checkered Pig BBQ in Danville, VA to give them a try. We had planned to stop there on our way to the mountains at the beginning of summer but our timing was off. I checked their hours and the menu before leaving and planned this time so I’d be good and hungry.
Where is Checkered Pig BBQ Located?
Checkered Pig BBQ is in Danville, VA on Crown Dr. We went straight out Hwy. 58 and then let the GPS take us to the restaurant once we got close. Turns out that Danville is further from home than I thought. That was a pretty good ride. I will say that there is some beautiful country when you ride out 58. It’s especially pretty when you get west of South Hill and into the foothills of VA.
The Restaurant and Staff:
The dining room reminded me of a fast food restaurant. I’m not sure what the building was prior to the owners of Checkered Pig BBQ moving into it. They did have plenty of room and it was decorated with some old pictures. The young lady at the counter greeted us as soon as we came in. She was very friendly. We placed our order and picked out a table. When our order was ready a young man delivered the food to us. Everything was pretty good up to now.
I will have to say that I thought the staff should have checked on us to see if we liked our food or if everything was ok but they didn’t. We were not there at a busy time and they had enough employees that someone could have worked the dining room. In fact there were a couple of people sitting at a table across from us who seemed to be employees or friends of employees. The ones working that day spent plenty of time talking with these two but never asked if our food was ok. They didn’t check on the other customers either. There was probably only 3 – 4 tables other than ours that people were eating at.
So the customer service at Checkered Pig BBQ was really good up front when ordering and delivering our food. However, it fell short on the follow up. This was not a bad experience or enough to prevent me from returning. It’s just an area I feel improvement is needed.
Our Choices at Checkered Pig BBQ:
Checkered Pig BBQ, Sliced Pork Plate.
Ok, now on to our food choices. I’m going to start with Tammy’s this time and move into mine. Tammy ordered the Sliced Pork Plate. The menu board said they have sliced or chopped pork. Since she doesn’t care a lot for chopped, thinking many places chop their pork fine, she went with the sliced. Her plate came with hushpuppies and 1 side. She chose Macaroni Salad. I’ll have to say that I tried her sliced pork and it was not good at all. Sorry guys but it tasted old or stale. I didn’t try the Mac Salad because I don’t like it to start with. Tammy said it was not good either, just tasted like noodles and mayonnaise. I hate to say it but her experience at Checkered Pig BBQ was not a good one. Remember that we drove a little over 3 hours just to eat here.
Well hang in there things do improve. My meal was pretty good. I ordered the Three Meat Dinner. It included Sliced Brisket, Ribs, and Chopped Pork. It also comes with Fresh Cut Fries, Hushpuppies and two more sides. I picked Baked Beans and Slaw. Starting with the fries. Nothing special was done to spice them up or anything but they were good. The hushpuppies were good also. The baked beans had a nice flavor. They were cooked with a sauce that seemed to be some kind of smoky bbq sauce. I enjoyed them. The slaw was fine chopped and sweet with a mayo base. It was a nice compliment to the bbq.
Checkered Pig BBQ, Three Meat Dinner.
And the meats. That’s what we came to Checkered Pig BBQ for, right? I’ll start with the ribs. They were good but I’d like a little more smoke flavor. They were basted in bbq sauce. They actually had a very good sauce and it didn’t overpower the taste of the ribs. Next comes the brisket. I liked it better than the ribs. The brisket had a nice smoke flavor with a little sauce. That was a nice touch. Also, the brisket was not over cooked to the point of being dried out. Finally the pork was my favorite of the three. It was chopped but not too fine. The pork had a slight hint of sweet vinegar. It had very little, just enough to keep everything moist. Very nice. I really liked the chopped pork.
Final Thoughts:
As you can see things did improve with my meal. I think the sliced pork just wasn’t fresh and probably should not have been served. As for the Mac Salad, hey, I would not recommend that anyway since I don’t like it. Over all I thought the meal was pretty good. Mine was much better than Tammy’s. I also stuck with more traditional choices. I do think the management needs to look into the customer service after the food is delivered but again that was not bad enough to prevent me from returning. I do believe I would stop at Checkered Pig BBQ again when passing through Danville. No, I wouldn’t make the 3 hour trip just to eat there.
Now For Your Thoughts:
So now you’ve read my thoughts on Checkered Pig BBQ. What do you think? Have you ever eaten there on your way through? Maybe you’re a regular. What keeps you going back?
Drop me some comments and I’ll get them posted as soon as possible so everyone can get your side of the story. With regular visits you’ll know more about them than I do with my one stop.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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You can check out their website at: www.checkeredpig.com
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