Black Hog BBQ

Location: 118 South Market St., Frederick, Maryland

     I really love a good barbeque place, so when I heard about the Black Hog opening up I was pretty excited to go downtown and give them a try.  Was I disappointed? No, not really...
    Well, maybe a little.
     According to our server, Black Hog smokes their meats for "18 hours over hickory" to get it to taste the way it does.  I have to say that the smoky flavor is certainly there, but it's a trade off for the moisture that used to be in the meat.  Talk about dry!
     I'm an absolutely huge fan of brisket.  I love the stuff, but found Black Hog's brand to be almost inedible.  The taste was average, but the consistency?  Imagine shredded beef jerky.  You'll need a lot of water with this item.
    They have two kinds of ribs: wet and dry.  The wet is done with a coating of BBQ sauce, but this isn't enough to save it from that dryness that haunts all their meats.  To be fair, some people actually prefer dry, stringy BBQ, so such patrons may say I'm crazy for slamming Black Hog, but I'll take Famous Dave's any day over Black Hog.
    The dry rub ribs were actually quite good despite they dryness.  Dry meat is somewhat expected with most dry rubbed BBQ, so I was okay with the consistency, and quite pleased with Black Hog's own unique rub concoction.  I give this item a big thumbs up!
    Now for the truly bad part of the meal:  the sides.  In all honesty, the tastes of these few items were perfectly wonderful, but the portions?  I kid you not, these were the tiniest little cups I'd ever seen.  I thought the server was kidding when she gave me my miniscule portions of greens and pinto beans with rice.  I could easily have eaten each one with one swallow, and that's no exaggeration.
    The Black Hog's prices are just barely acceptable for a one-time visit, and that's stretching the truth just so I have something nice to say about them.  I doubt I'll go back, but many locals disagree with my opinion on this place and think it's wonderful.  At best, I'll recommend you give it a shot just to see what you think.

 
Second chance review:
    The service was outstanding, but the place is just too freaking expensive for a rib joint.  We spent almost $40 for just two people.  That may be okay in New York, but this is Frederick, Md.  There are just too many places to eat where you can enjoy equally (or better) food for 33% less money.  Try the Old Town Diner on a Friday night when they have All-You-Can-Eat ribs for only ten bucks!  Sorry, Black Hog, but this is your competition.  Deal with it.
    The sides are still insultingly small unless you happen to be a mouse, and we weren't too crazy about the amount of Styrofoam containers we saw passing through the place.  Haven't these people heard we're in an environmental crisis?!  We liked the coleslaw very much, but three bites later it was gone, and it was off to the local landfill with the container.  Shame on you, Black Hog!  Shame on you!
    The beef was still tasty, but the hot wings were boring and "safe."  
    And what was with those mustard sauce wings?!  Yuck!  I'm a mustard freak, but even I tossed half of them away.   Absolutely terrible.
    Very cool decor from the outside, though.  We highly recommend driving by it at night.

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