This restaurant does not accept cash.

Earlier in the week, I saw an article in Eater Atlanta about a new barbecue place that had opened on the west side, Owens and Hull, and thought to myself, I’ll have to try that soon.  I had actually thought about driving over one day for lunch, from the office, but it would take an entire hour to get there and back, with no time to eat.  So as I was heading home, with our youngest granddaughter in tow, I called ahead for a pickup order.

To start with, the Smyrna address is VERY generous.  I grew up in Mableton and that’s not what we called the area between Bankhead Highway and South Cobb Drive, just inside 285, back in the 80s.  It was just Mableton, or maybe Oakdale…  Second – they are open Thursday – Sunday only, with a menu that differs slightly daily.  One consequence of this is that there no ribs except on Saturday and Sunday.  Sides also vary by day, along with daily special sides that are added, as well.

This is a joint venture/ labor of love between Robert Owens (of Grand Champion) and Bryan Hull (of the Secret Pint pop up) and they’ve been in a soft opening for about two months.  One thing the four day a week hours allows for is focusing on a more “craft” approach to barbecue and that is evident in the menu.  And in the preparation.  When we arrived and I gave them my name, one of the butchers said, “Great. I was waiting for you to get here to slice the meats.”  It was a nice touch.  On this evening, arriving around 4:00, it was pre-dinner and we had the place to ourselves as I picked up our order.  I ordered the Huey- a four meat and two side combo, that serves 2-4, with an added side.

Getting it home, I laid out our choices on the counter: pickles,radishes and onions (a VERY Texas side), green beans (topped with garlic and Parmesan), cheese grits (with Monterey Jack, cheddar and cream cheese) and collard greens.

I won’t speak to the collards, but my all-Greens taster said that while they were oddly sweet, that was along with being vinegar-y, and were very good.  The green beans were fine, which isn’t a glowing observation, but they were actually cooked soft.  On the other hand, the cheese grits were fabulous – creamy, cheesy and filling.

The meat selection for the Huey is comprised 1/4 pounds of pulled pork, brisket, sausages (you get a half link of two sausages) and turkey.  They usually don’t have ribs on Friday,, but as they were preparing my order, they told me they had put a rack on because a distributor was coming in and they threw a couple of bones in with our order.  Again, a nice touch.  All three folks that I spoke with there were excited about their restaurant and really seemed to want us to enjoy our meal.

We also had some sliced white bread and cups of their three sauces, mustard, white and red.  On to the meats!

We chose the jalapeño / cheddar and garlic and black pepper sausages; They were fine, and I liked the jalapeño and cheddar better, but I’d try another kind in our next visit.  The pork was pulled and lightly sauced, with a vinegar sauce that did not have a lot of heat.  It was definitely A-rated pork.

The turkey, which I tried with both the red and white sauces, was some off the moistest sliced turkey that I’ve had. Even this close to thanksgiving, it was a welcome addition to the meal.  The white sauce had more to it than a mayo base and it was not my preferred dip.  As to the “bonus” ribs. – these were meaty, with a good bark and the right amount of pull to get the meat from the bone.  That leaves the brisket, which had a perfect smoke ring and great flavor.  And the mustard sauce, again, was not just a note of mustard, and complemented it well.  The only thing that kept it from being A+ brisket was that it was so fork tender that it was hard to pick up.  I could order anything (other than the sausages) again and be pleased with my meal.

The plate that I may when we got home.

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With the bonus of being open on Sunday, and less than half an hour from home, they are a great contender for a return visit.