Porktropolis

I really wanted to like this place due to being a local but it did not cure my bbq crave. Ribs, brisket and pork brisket was bland. They can call bs on me but I believe all the meats were cooked in the oven. No smoke ring on any of the meats. Ribs were dry, brisket ended up being shredded brisket and pork brisket was dry. Maybe I went at the wrong time but bbq loses all its integrity when you leave your meats on a steam table. On the plus side, the bbq sauces were very good. R.i.p Porktropolis

Wanted to love but disliked the bland and mushy mac and cheese, near raw and tasteless (except for onion flavor) skillet potatoes, and the pulled chicken flavor and appearance. Bone in it didn’t help (discovered once it was in my mouth). Partner had pulled pork and finished it.
I read in the newspaper article in the restaurant that there had been some different sides a few years ago. Those should come back. If I don’t like the side options it makes it hard to come back for just meat.
Other things to note:
Sodas in cans.
No frills establishment, just a few tables right inside the door. You look upon the stock room and restroom.
Might be worth a try for carry out if you decide to take a chance.
No return for me.

Delicious first visit. Dine in. The mac and cheese was super hot, but reasonable portion, so maybe ask to taste.

Porktropolis is kind of a hard place to find, but if you like barbecued pulled pork sandwiches it’s worth the search! I ordered the Exploding pig it was on slightly grilled dark rye, it looked kinda small until I picked it up, it was heavy and fully stuffed. A very good sandwich of jucy tender meats. Your choice of sauces to sample but the sandwich is to good to doctor up and the Manic Mac and cheese is very spicy!!, nice place.

Wow! Fast and delicious. Sauces were unique (try the door county cherry). Small inside but everyone was warm and welcoming. Nice to have rolls of paper towels for messy eaters (me) on the tables. Fun to also get bottled root beer (blumers). Will def stop again next time we drive through.

After several (hundred?) visits I have realized that I had yet to review Porktropolis. Every time is better than the last. Today was the first time that my wife, son, and I decided to dine-​in. What a great experience!
We were immediately welcomed by the owner when we arrived and shown the menu and sauce selection. It took my wife a while to decide and she was asked if she had any questions or would like any suggestions. As we ordered, the owner asked if we would like him to fix a plate for our two-​year-​old which he happily did (and our son happily enjoyed).
The wait was minimal in the seating area. I had to take a quick phone call outside and by the time I came back our orders were on the table. I went with the Divine Swine with Amazing Apple (though I usually go with the Exploding Pig, I decided to be adventurous) and my wife chose the pulled pork with Sweet Memphis. The meat was perfectly seasoned and prepared. We really wouldn’t have needed the side sauces had they not been so delicious. Our son destroyed his chicken, mac, and cornbread (which is a rarity these days).
I won’t lie. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the skillet fried potatoes, but that wasn’t why I was there. This trip was all about the pig. Customer service was phenomenal. We were treated like those dining that were regulars. In short: Love it. Love everything about it.

I love Porktropolis! They have a convenient location, speedy service, and the best barbeque you can expect from a restaurant in Wisconsin. Love the Sweet Memphis sauce and spicy Mac and Cheese. We always get takeout, I haven’t actually had a meal at the restaurant yet.

First time here and they screw up my order… the cook was in a rage throwing spatulas at the wall. I will NEVER consider going back. Go to SMOKY JOHN’s.

Every now and then you will come across people who do not like BBQ. Show them the door, you don’t need that negativity in your life. But if you keep the kind of company that love tender smoked meat with delicious sauces, or just have no shame in eating alone like me, then you must visit Porktropolis. Seriously though, why can’t we have an eight star option.
I arrived at the start of dinner time. Greeted instantly by the owner himself and his two employees behind the counter. All were very friendly and offered a world of advice on all things meat. The first thing you see when you walk in is a raised table in the middle of the room. On said table you will find what I will refer to as the showcase of sauce. All their sauces in little cups to sample with tiny morsels of bread. More on those later.
*Just a side note. All their meats are seasoned without sauce. The sauce comes on the side.
I had a small feast so I will break it down for you.
~ 3 way platter $ 25: ½ rack of ribs, 12 lbs each of 2 meats and 2 sides.
Ribs: Dry rub, dry rub, dry rub. Good god why don’t more places around here have dry rub. The half rack was large. Very large. It had a perfect char. Just enough to add flavor but not enough to taste burnt. Think of a perfect piece of toast, but meat. It was not fall of the bone which is amazing. They came apart with just a little effort. Also a huge plus was the fact you couldn’t bite through the bone. To many places throw their ribs in a pressure cooker and call it good. Not I said the little pig.
Beef Brisket: Pulled and juicy. Have you ever had dry brisket? You would remember if you had. Not here. You could taste the flavor of the seasonings combined with the fat it cooked in. It was simple, yet elegant, like a fine aged wine… except meat.
Grilled Pork Brisket: This folks, is the winner. If you come to this establishment and don’t try this dish you will bring shame upon your family. I’m not sure how to describe this other than comparing it to the feeling of standing up and stretching after a 12 hour care ride. Or embracing your loved ones after a two week work trip. Think of a two week vacation in Hawaii… except meat.
Mac and Cheese: So cream, so rich and so flavorful. One bite will remind you of the childhood cooking you would have had if you grew up in the south.
Creamy Slaw: Not marinated, not dry, not even a little bit of creaminess. This was great with the BBQ. Such creamy but yet still crunchy.
Sauces: I tried the NOLA and the Carolina Vinegar. Now the NOLA had a good flavor, that of Franks Red Hot with a hint of spice. Cajun spice I assume. The Carolina was not to heavy in the vinegar but you could taste it. I wish it was a little thicker but that’s just personal preference.
Corn Bread: Who doesn’t love it? Now nothing compared to my sisters cornbread bread but this was still great. Definitely not dry and paired perfectly with the NOLA sauce.
Brunswick Stew: Holy stew super pig! This was so sinfully delicious I thought I was committing a felony. Whats in this magic potion you ask?
Pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken, grilled pork brisket, corn, Carolina vinegar and Memphis BBQ sauce and a secret blend of spices. Sorry guys, the lady behind the counter would not give me the full recipe :/​
Is your mouth watering yet? I left full but got food to go it was so good. Porktropolis is not like the other BBQ I’ve had in Madison. Nothing was dry, nothing was flavorless and nothing was not a life changing experience. I urge you to stop what you are doing right now, call in sick to work, cancel your vacation, go get food. If there’s one thing I know in life above all else its good food and this place my friends, will blow your house down.

This restaurant feels like the sort of place you’d expect to find attached to an old gas station off a rural highway, you know, the kind where the gas pumps are so old they don’t accept credit cards. It feels very rustic and do-​it-​yourself, with big old wooden dinner tables taking the place of booths or diner-​style seating. None of this is «bad» and it didn’t really bother me, mind you, but it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
As I came in an employee urged me to sample their barbecue sauces (they offer 10 or so options) which were lined up on a table in little plastic condiment cups, along with a basket of bite-​sized bread bits. This immediately struck me as kind of gross: these plastic cups had been sitting in the open air for God knows how long. How many bugs had landed in these sauce cups? Also, how many people had double-​dipped in these things? Granted, that’s unlikely given the small size of the bread bits, but still. I kind of cringed at the notion of sampling BBQ sauce through this method, but I did sample a few of their «sweet» sauces, and both of them were quite tasty. Still, I’d feel much better if the sauce samples were in little squeeze bottles.
I ordered the Exploding Pig, I believe it’s called, with their «Apple» BBQ sauce and pan-​fried potatoes. The sandwich was very good. I’m not any kind of BBQ expert, but they gave me enough sauce (on the side) to saturate the sandwich, which is how I like it, and the meat was tender and juicy and tasty. The potatoes were good in a home-​made sort of way. And it was all relatively affordable (I put it in the ~$ 10/​meal «fast casual» category). I’m curious to try their ribs next.
If I’m ever in the mood for a BBQ dinner, I will certainly consider Porktropolis over Texas Roadhouse or other Madison options, because the food is tasty. But the down-​home, barely-​up-​to-​code feel of the restaurant leaves things to be desired. And please, find a more palatable (and professional) way to present your sauce samples!

Went to their truck today and was turned off from the moment I ordered food. The guys were rude even when there were only 2 people behind me. I had the divine swine and it was soggy mush. I pulled the filling off the soaked and non-​toasted bread and ate the pork mixture with the Carolina vinegar. Not very good, but I did like their vinegar, it has a nice zing. Dining mate had the pulled pork sandwich and was equally turned off as her bun was also soaked through. Bbq sauce was just okay. Sides were forgettable. Not sure if I will try it again.

This place is fantastic!!! Sauces are original and flavorful, meats are tender and perfectly seasoned, sandwich portions are huge, and the prices give you a full meal under $ 10! 10/​10, would drive from Madison again to eat here any day!

Excellent bbq great variety of sauces all of which you can sample before you order Nola would be my favorite love the split brisket sandwich half beef half pork exploding pig is also good good prices on bulk meats gotten beef brisket and pulled pork for parties a couple of times guests loved it probably about 6 tables for dine in carryout seems to be the popular option sides were good nothing spectacular manic mac & cheese my favorite ribs were the least successful could have used more rub not bad but as good as the brisket or pulled pork

This is hard. The staff are very friendly and the pulled pork and brisket are sooooooooooooooo good. The sauces are nice but I hate making choices. I’d rather just eat the sauce someone chooses for me so long as it is quality sauce. I have no doubt Porktropolis puts quality ingredients in their sauces and even use top quality meats too. I just wish my ribs were … whats the word. i don’t know. I keep trying the ribs every time I go and they are just meh. I want them to be like really good and they’re bland. Very good meat and they are cooked great but I can’t taste any flavor from rub or smoke. Otherwise, I have always been blown away with the sandwiches and the pulled pork. Yum. I’ll never give up on PorkT for the pulled meats. They rock my world. especially when I’m in the mood for some comfort food like the kind I get when I visit my family down south

I’m a fan on BBQ! I love it, and I love to try new BBQ places and see where they rate.
I’m giving this place a solid 3 stars because It didn’t fall flat on it’s face, nor did it make me jump up and down and yell «It’s better than Rudy’s in Texas!»
The ribs: I had a half rack, and I was given a extra little chunk, so that scores bonus points for me!!! They were a dry run, which I definitely did enjoy eating but still prefer a sauce soaked/​I need a bib rib. They were lacking some moisture, but I think that comes from their pre heating process or maybe they were a little over cooked?
The beef brisket: This is hard to say because I love brisket, but how they did it was not to my liking. The ½ lbs. I had was cut up into very fine cross sections, meaning no big chunks of meat what so ever (small thin slices chopped up). I found this to be some what strange considering the large amounts of brisket I’ve inhaled over the years. So, it was hard to eat. It lacked seasoning, and the taste I was getting was coming for the BBQ standard Memphis sauce I went with (which was similar to Sweet Baby Ray’s, it was tasty).
The pulled pork: Somewhat better than the brisket. It was moist but still lacked that extra fatty punch I was looking for. Again, they chopped the heck out of it before giving it to me… what is with that? Give me some chunks of stringy meat already!
They have a great sauce selection, and a tasting booth when you walk in. That was a really cool idea, but somewhat unsanitary considering there was a guy standing over it coughing his lungs out, clearly not their fault, but still kind of gross.
Maybe put the sauces you have for sample in pump containers or squirt bottles? I really wanted to try them all but just could not do it after seeing the gross patron spread his yuck all over the little cups sitting out.
Great corn bread muffins!
Great Cole Slaw, it was standard Cole Slaw, hard to mess up.
The chopped potato’s were a fun side that you don’t get often in Wisconsin BBQ joints, so I appreciated that.
The mac and cheese was mushy. It was missing that extra yum factor that would have spoke to me and said, «oh your so good, eat me more of me». That was a bummer, because I love some good homemade mac and cheese. Not sure if this was of not. Probably will not order this side again.
Like I said, this place is ok. If you want BBQ in a pinch and are in the proximity of this location give it a shot. For the person really loving dry rubbed BBQ, it might be exactly what your craving.

How did I miss this place?! I have heard so much about Porktropolis and who does not love the fun name?
My husband and I got take out. We ordered the 3-​way platter. It comes with two ½ pound meat options and a half rack of ribs. It comes with two sides as well. $ 25.00. Not a bad deal.
The pulled pork was good. Nothing outstanding but adding their Mmm Mmm Mustard brings it to the next level. The brisket was also great, a good pairing with the NOLA sauce. When you go in there, they have a basket of bread where you can try all of their sauces. BRILLIANT! I made educated decisions. I didn’t try the ribs, so I can not speak to them.
Our meal came with two cornbread muffins. And wow, were they moist and delicious. I am not a cornbread fan but this was a stand out muffin. The sides left a great deal to be desired. The skillet fried potatoes were just that. Nothing special. The mac and cheese was boring. Mushy, possibly straight out of a box of off brand mac and cheese. Skip it. I was really disappointed. Mac and cheese is my favorite BBQ side. We chose Porktropolis just for the mac.

Very underseasoned, unsmoked brisket and flavorless sauce with cherry pie filling served by slovenly and unfriendly help. The meat seemed boiled. Never going back. Wildly disappointed.

I’ve done take out bulk just meats no sides few times and it’s been from very good to not so much. Loved the ribs first time — baby backs meaty moist good taste naked or slathered. Last time the first couple at ends of rack were dry side.
Sausage was quite good, pulled pork & brisket was OK as well and prices are reasonable– $ 16 for a rack of ribs no sides.

When I am traveling from NYC to Sun Prairie to visit my staff, I will make sure to stop by this place with the boys for some heavenly BBQ. I have eaten here twice and the place does not disappoint. The food is great and the owner sure knows how to treat his customers.
@ Porktropolis BBQ — enjoying the split brisket/​pulled pork sandwich with habanero and manic smokin Mac n Cheese and a local cream soda.

Yet another great trip to Porktropolis! I ordered the Exploding Pig with the mac & cheese. Wow! The sandwich was full of flavor and had tons of… you guessed it pork!
My daughter once again enjoyed the pulled chicken and the mac & cheese.