The condiment queen meets her match

 Never one to shirk from embarrassing myself, I am sharing that yes indeed, one of my nicknames is the condiment queen! I needlessly (as well as shamelessly use ketchup on just about everything), as well as taking dunking and dipping to new heights. So imagine my delight upon finding the Whole Hog Café! (No jokes, please).

The Whole Hog Café is based in Arkansas, with numerous locations throughout that state; they also have other locations in New Orleans, and Tennessee, and most recently with two restaurants in New Mexico. (Santa Fe & Albuquerque). They are a multi year winners of such food competitions as “The Memphis in May” and the Kansas City Barbecue Society Barbecue Championship”, under the name of the Southern Gentlemen’s Culinary Society. I can understand why.

The Albuquerque Location is at 9880 Montgomery, NE, and upon entering the place; you are immediately met with the smells of an array of sweet, smokey and tasty barbecue. I hope I am not insulting the vegetarians who read this paper, but good barbecue is hard to beat. They offer a menu of meats that are sure to please any BBQ connoisseur. (Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, Pulled Chicken, Pork Loin and Beef or Pork Sausage). The meats are seasoned with a Dry Rub, and then smoked for over 15 hours. What makes this place unique and dear to the heart of any condiment queen are the sauces that are available to compliment the choices of meats. At each table is what looks like a paper container for a six-pack, and in that six pack are a variety of sauces. They are:

Sauce No.1: A sweet mild molasses flavor

Sauce No 2: A traditional tomato vinegar sauce

Sauce No.3: A Spicier version of Sauce No. 2

Sauce No.4: A Traditional southern vinegar and spice

Sauce No 5: Sweet Heavy Molasses Flavor

Sauce No 6: Rich Mustard and Vinegar

They also a sauce called the “Volcano”, which is only offered only at the counter, as the menu says, “The Heat speaks for itself.”

My visit at the restaurant started with checking out the menu and as always whether it is accessible. It houses a larger room than I originally thought it would be, and has an outside patio, which although it faces Montgomery Blvd, is not overtly noisy. Tables are set wide enough apart to accommodate folks using wheelchairs as well as the restrooms. The menu boasts their selections of “whole hog sandwiches, whole hog plates, and salads, a nice array of side orders and bulk meats and sauces. Since I am attempting to stay away from breads, I went for the plate, which includes a meat, 2 sides and a dinner roll. My order of a regular brisket plate (Regular size versus a jumbo plate). Service was quick, so quick that by the time I was finishing ordering my food at the counter, and paid for it, my plate was ready. I have to say, the brisket was as tasty as I expected, without the range of sauce choices that were offered, but doing justice to my condiment queen reputation, I ventured forth. I stuck with the 1 & 2 sauce offerings. Suprisingly, I found the sweet molasses flavor alittle too sweet, but the combination of the too was fantastic. They complimented the rest of the food on the plate as well. I ordered baked beans and coleslaw as my side items, although they also offer potato salad, chips for sides, and for $1.59 you can get an iceberg or romaine salad.

They also have several unique items on the menu such as a barbecue salad, with your choice of beef, pork or smoked chicken, as well as Barbecue nachos. For the heartier eater, they offer two larger size platters. The Whole Hog Platter comes with 3 meats; Pulled Pork, beef brisket and 3 baby back ribs, beans potato salad, coleslaw and a dinner roll. The Ultimate Hog Platter comes with 4 baby back ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken and the sides.

The prices are more than reasonable, the portions are hearty and the wait staff is very personable. Beer and wine is available as well. They also offer catering, which means that you can share with friends if you are so inclined.

The Whole Hog Café is the kind of place for a nice family get together but is comfortable as well for the single diner. Oh, yeah at each table is a roll of paper towels to clean up the condiments off your face. Enjoy the messiness, it’s worth it!