Hog Wild Pit BBQ - Wichita, KS

[mgaretz]

Hog Wild was close to my hotel so I decided to check it out. It's a small chain with 4 locations in Kansas. It's kinda like fast food BBQ. You order at the counter and you pick it up when your number is called. Served on foam plates with plastic utensils.

I ordered the ribs and brisket combo. I consider ribs and brisket the hardest to get right in a restaurant setting, so that's my test. For sides, I'll usually try their cole slaw, but I'm lactose intolerant and I always ask if their slaw contains dairy products. I was told that since it was mayo-based, it would have milk in it since mayo is a milk-based product. I tried to explain that mayo was not a dairy product and had no milk in it. He insisted it did. After a minute of back and forth I decided it wasn't worth it and ordered the corn and beans. It came with Texas toast.

I expected the brisket to be sliced. As you can see in the picture, it was pulled. Couldn't really tell if it was brisket. Came with sauce which wasn't bad. The ribs were better, over-cooked but tasted OK. They appeared to be actually smoked and didn't need any sauce. The corn was tasteless frozen corn, better than canned but not by much. The beans were clearly from a can that they had spiced up a bit, but uninspiring. The toast was white bread.

All in all a forgettable meal.

[Craigar]

Thank you for the review mgaretz. One just opened up here in the Omahahaha area and I was wondering if it would be on par with a place like Famous Dave's and from what I a surmising, it is. I'm sure curiosity will get the better of me and I will have to go check it out. The first thing I judge a restaurant on is their ice tea. Do they brew their own or go the easy route with b.i.b.? There is a decent BBQ joint in town, but they don't brew their tea. To me that's blasphemy, but what do I know. Actually what it makes me think is, if you are willing to take a short cut on an item as easy as tea, what else are you cutting corners on? It's the little things that can make a difference for me having a decent experience. Another item right after the ice tea is the beans. Same philosophy in my eyes. Sorry, I will get off of my soap box. Thanks again for the review!

[mgaretz]

Famous Dave's is several notches above.

[Craigar]

Holy cow, really? So I guess I would put in the same classification as Dickey's.

[Huskee]

That's funny Craigar, I couldn't care less about tea, to me what matters is do they put TLC into their food. Best tea in the world doesn't make up for mediocre baked & sauced ribs (to me ).

[Craigar]

At Craigar's BBQ Society we judge on appearance, taste, tenderness, tea and beans. Ha!

[Huskee]

Note to self: When inviting Craigar over for Q, Lipton from a jug will simply NOT suffice! Lol.

[Craigar]

Don't worry, you're in the clear as I usually only drink tea in a restaurant. But if you're cooking, I will gladly bring the beer & wine!

[Huskee]

DEAL! Craigar

[DWCowles]

I guess a cold brew is out of the question

[Craigar]

Quite the contrary, the kicker is I hardly ever make tea at home because I usually have pale ale of some sort in my hand.

[Huskee]

mgaretz Shredded brisket....wowzers. I will state my opinion here, fully aware that I'm ignorant to whether this is perhaps a local or a regional thing actually? But my opinion is that it could be any old beef (not actually brisket), or highly overcooked brisket, and that's the lazy way out...and therefore I would subtract lots of points simply on that account. Like Craigar with tea, I would judge a place FIRST of all on how well their brisket sliced, then on an equal plateau the flavor of it without sauce.