After the excitement of the Hickory Pig, the next barbecue place was bound to be a let down, but I didn’t realize just how far that there was to fall. Driving back home from Macon, I realized I’d have a chance to stop at the fifth best barbecue in metro Atlanta (from the June 2011 Atlanta Magazine article), the Blind Pig in Jackson, GA.

Driving up US 23, I had to drive by Fresh Air, one of the classic GA barbecue joints, always near the top of any top 10 lists.  As I got closer to the Blind Pig, I saw the first sign.  It was highly promising.  Clever even – a pig with sunglasses and a cane.  When I got inside, as it was mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, there weren’t a whole lot of folks around.  I asked what was fresh off the grill and they said ribs and pork.

So I ordered the ribs, with stew and fried potatoes.The stew was, in a word, awful.  I’m not a huge stew fan, but this wasn’t even tolerable.  The ribs were mediocre, at best.  As I sat there and ate half of my pricey lunch, all I could think was, “I could have gone to Fresh Air…”