Mean Pig BBQ

My initial review of this place was composed without much forethought, and was carelessly worded, such that I overstated some of my misgivings. After being reached out to by the owner, I’d like to revise my thoughts. I strive to be evenhanded and thorough in my reviews, and I didn’t do a good job the first time.
Anyway…
The truth is, this is a good barbeque place. To my knowledge, it’s the only REAL barbeque place in Cabot. Their closest competition doesn’t hold a candle.
Everything I’ve had here was good. The sauce is a breath of fresh air in the south: not too sweet, not too vinegary. The ribs are good, and the coleslaw is too. That’s part of my problem with the sides: I’m left wanting more every time. 4 oz is like five bites for me. But maybe that’s just me.
Their famous Shut Up Juice is NO JOKE. I’m a fan of all things spicy, and this sauce made me stand up and pay attention. You wouldn’t want it on every bite, it’s mostly a novelty, but it’s worth a try for any firebreather.
One of my main beefs with Mean Pig is I feel their hours are too limited. When I first moved to Cabot, I got a hankering for ribs on a Monday, only to find I couldn’t have any. Perhaps they have a perfectly good reason for being closed Sundays and Mondays, but that doesn’t help me any. Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
I will go back to Mean Pig. I like this place. My only real issue is that I want more. I’m a Kansas City native, and therefore EXTREMELY opinionated about barbeque, and fiercely loyal to my hometown institutions. Mean Pig is good enough for me to eat more than once and that’s saying a lot. It’s real barbeque in a part of the country where I didn’t think I’d find such a thing. They may not be my favorite, not even in AR, but they are the best in Lonoke County.

When it comes BBQ this is my favorite by far. The jumbo beef BBQ or a rack of pork ribs are the best. Here is where you go for BBQ. Service is quick and people are friendly. Always a line with a crowd, which is a good sign. The only draw back are the sides, portions are small and the potato salad is terrible, otherwise excellent. Highly recommend and differently going back. They can’t be beat… yet!!!

I love going to Mean Pig and getting a heaping dish of pulled pork with the sweet B-​B-​Q sauce. It’s the best and I always have leftovers to take home for later.

Great sandwich !!! Very reasonable price too I would say it’s one of the tastiest pork bbq I’ve had !!!

We had the smoked Frito pie and not your momma’s meatloaf. Both non traditional and tasty. Meatloaf is like pulled pork made into meatloaf. Not going to replace momma’s meatloaf, but tasty and interesting (in a good way). Baked beans and potato salad were ok. Frito pie was great and a fun idea. We would definitely go back.

I am from AZ. Passing through Little Rock for a few days. Went directly from Airport to The Mean Pig. I love love love the Frito pie. Got it half sweet half hot. Hot is making my nose run just the way I like it!

Pulled pork was good but not great. I was disappointed that I couldn’t get ribs without ordering a half rack. Not much variety on the sauce and there is none on the table so you can try more than one. No Carolina style sauce available.

We ordered from the Mean Pig online and had it delivered to Saint Petersburg FL. Smoked ribs… OUTSTANDING…Pulled Pork with Mean Pig Hot BBQ Sauce… INCREDIBLE…Baked Beans… OMG so awesome!
The owner went out of his way to make sure the online ordering experience was a positive one and that our food arrived safely.
My guy had visited AR ages ago and eaten there… even used their online presence as a solid example of how even the smallest companies/​restaurants could have LARGE visibility. He had spoken of them for a while.
We finally ordered and no lie… BEST BBQ!!!
I highly recommend you give this place a try regardless of where you live!!!

Good food good people. You won’t be disappointed here. I am a little surprised by some of the reviews of the beans. They are my very favorite and when my meal comes with two sides I usually get both beans. They put cole slaw on the sandwich so that’s greens for me. I have done the challenge and have the shirt lol. Not sure it was worth it though as the night that followed was not good. Buddy and family will take care of you. They do keep hours that suit them. It is their business and family definitely comes first for them. I say good for them.

Get BBQ from the Mean Pig almost every time I am home. Enjoyed the jumbo pulled pork sandwich with sweet sauce! Have had take out a number of times and today was my first time to eat in. Great, friendly service. Didn’t have the smoked queso today, but it is delicious.
If you want ribs in the evening, be sure to call ahead so they don’t run out before you get there.
You can also buy the sauce by the bottle to take home!

When I was thinking ‘Mean Pig’, I was thinking something with a little more kick. I was disappointed but there were some things to like. The staff was really nice and gave me extra BBQ sauce without charging me. I asked them why they didn’t charge me and they said it depended on their mood. Ha… it might have helped that I said this was my first time here and I was excited about it. The 3 sauces were all ketchup based with a mild, sweet, and hot. Overall, they were pretty good. I had the 2 meat plate with chopped pork and brisket. Both of which tasted really bland. Baked beans which they say are patented had an unique taste to them. They were different and had more of a smoky hickory taste to them with some meat mixed in. Potato salad was good but nothing special. Sweet tea was satisfying but the atmosphere was really quiet. Not much to it. Seems like they try to push their ribs with the big sign outside and you have to buy ribs separate. I might have to come back and see but I don’t think I will go out of my way for it. Overall, the Mean Pig is more like the Docile Pig. It’s just overall… ok.

Absolutely the best BBQ in the area. Pulled pork sandwich with slaw just cannot be beat and the beans are fantastic and not thick and dry but juicy and full of meat with just the right amount of everything. I don’t live in the area but my family does and I will be back when I’m in that area.

Awkward silence best describes the visit. We sat in a silent room listening to the ice machine while looking at each other trying to find something to say about the meal we just had. More awkward silence. Nothing was bad, but nothing stood out as homemade or authentic. The meat was good and tender, but the sauces and sides packed in styrofoam were much lacking. I’d head to Kroger for sides if this is the best they can pull off. Maybe next time.

The BBQ is legit. A little wet for my tastes but still good. Baked beans were very good. Potato salad was meh. The sauce is great (I had mild). I tried the Shut Up Juice. My mouth nearly burst into flames. If you are into extremely hot sauces, you’ll probably love it. Definitely worth checking out.

Great find on my way through Little Rock! Conveniently off the interstate and easy to get in and out of.
I ordered the spicy BBQ Frito pie and peach cobbler. The portion was good on the pie. There was a nice spice to it and the pork was very moist and tender. Unfortunately, the cobbler definitely lacked in taste for me. For starters, when I got my order I asked about the cobbler because I didn’t see a serving on my platter. I was informed that the thimble-​sized foam cup was the cobbler. That’s not a good start… and on top if that, I didn’t enjoy it very much. Perhaps the sauce seared my mouth to any taste, but really the cobbler wasn’t anything to write home about.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the BBQ and the atmosphere and would be back…

The food is good. Definately stop by. The staff is real friendly. The shut up sauce is famous, but I’ve never tried it. But I have seen many young bucks outside yacking. Funny.
They have gluten free options!

One of my favorite things about my ex was his ability to take on the weirdest, wildest and most insane challenges known to man for no reason. So, of course, we hit the road to take the Shut Up Sauce challenge. I like my intestines intact and my mouth sans third degree burns, so I opted for a pulled pork frito pie (nice spin on the classic, by the way) while he held down a pulled pork sandwich, drowned in some of the hottest sauce known to man, for five minutes. He did it, but it was a horrible next 24 hours. We literally had to pull over six times in the next hour and a half for him to throw up, and he spent the next eight hours hugging the toilet in the hotel room. I would think he was being a baby, but I tried a finger-​lickin’ taste of the sauce and my mouth was on fire for thirty minutes.
Basically, this place is for people to go watch other people make stupid decisions for bragging rights’ sake. It’s pretty decent food while you do so.

If you like BBQ, this is a great place to start.
I live less than 2 minutes away from Mean Big and it is a place I visit when I feel a good BBQ craving. The sandwiches are great and everything is made extremely fast. I have mostly had just the pulled pork sandwiches, which is their signature item on the menu, and I think they do it well. Their BBQ sauce is made in house and they have several different flavors.
Their ribs are pretty tasty but I personally like them a little more dry and meaty; still some great ribs. The potato salad there is also pretty great. All around a good BBQ place but I am not convinced it is the absolute best, although it is definitely a local legend. Keep up the good work!

My Dad and I were heading up the road from Little Rock and we thought we would stop at The Mean Pig since it is located conveniently right off the highway.
What a mistake.
The Mean Pig is widely known throughout central Arkansas and was featured on the Travel Channel program «Man vs Food». However, it also happens to be one of the worst BBQ joints I have ever had the chance to try.
When it comes to BBQ, word of mouth is key. It usually comes because an establishment is so good that people want others to give it a shot as well. In the case of The Mean Pig, I don’t know why anyone would recommend it to anybody.
From outside, The Mean Pig appears to fit the mold of many hole in the wall BBQ establishments. However, there was a distinct lack of the smoky aroma that one expects to be confronted with on approach to the front door. In hindsight this was the first bad sign.
The menu was pretty standard: pulled pork, ribs, slaw, etc. I decided to go with a pulled pork sandwich, baked beans, potato salad and sweet tea, or so I thought. I would later find as I went to fill my cup that they did not have sweet tea, that is unless you consider tea with sweet and low sweet tea. I don’t. This again, was another bad sign. A southern BBQ restaurant without sweet tea, I was baffled to say the least.
Our food was ready almost instantly. Upon further inspection my Dad and I would conclude that it was because it was most likely sitting around for a while before we ordered it.
The first thing I noticed was the amazing small side items. I had never seen sides so small at a BBQ restaurant. This, much like the lack of sweet tea, took me of guard. I mean come on, BBQ restaurants are known for big portions aren’t they?
As I sat down with my sweet and low infused tea and shot glass sized styrofoam encased side dishes to say I was weary would be an understatement. And as I would find, rightly so.
The pulled pork was incredibly bland, really no flavor to speak of smoky or otherwise. The «hot» BBQ sauce was neither hot or tasty, making the situation even worse as it was drenched over every bit of the sandwich’s surface, obviously a poor attempt to camouflage the foulness of the pork.
The potato salad was actually good, the only good aspect of the meal or restaurant as a whole.
The baked beans were another story. I could not finish them. They tasted like a can of off-​brand baked beans that had had a healthy portion of maple syrup squirted in them. They were in a word horrible.
I strongly caution all who enjoy BBQ to avoid The Mean Pig at all cost. For the life of me I can’t figure out how there are people who are giving this place four and five stars. I can only think they were eating somewhere else.
Just because it was featured on the Travel Channel does not mean it is good.

I decided to stop by Mean Pig on my way to Memphis to try their ribs and Shut Up Juice. Let me start by saying DO NOT FOLLOW GPS DIRECTIONS for this place! The restaurant is NOT located six miles from the freeway; it’s only a block from it next to Sonic.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about ribs. To be honest, I thought the mild rub could have been more flavorful, so next time I’ll request the spicy rub, but you can definitely taste the quality of the meat. I prefer dry rub over wet ribs because you can get a purer taste of the meat itself instead having it drowned out by sauce.
But speaking of sauce, if you do want some on your ribs, Mean Pig has some good ones. The mild is good, but the (regular) hot sauce has the perfect amount of heat and flavor.
Now the Shut Up Juice is a whole other story. I dipped my rib into the sauce and I had beads of sweat on my face for the next twenty minutes. I should have bought a bottle of that to play pranks on my friends… or to clean the rust off of my bike.
These ribs were better than the ones I ended up eating in Memphis, so if you’re in the area, come on by.