Keeping the Trail close to home we paid a visit to The Pig Shop Restaurant in Virginia Beach, VA. Just to be clear, this restaurant is a branch of Mobile Pig Nic Catering. Once someone told us about them I was surprised to see where they were located. I didn’t know there was anything in that area, nor did I realize it was in Virginia Beach. I thought that was still Chesapeake. Oh well, so much for my sense of direction.

Where is The Pig Shop Restaurant Located?

The Pig Shop Restaurant is on Indian River Road. As I said they are in Virginia Beach, VA just off of Military Highway. We took I-64 to Indian River Road Exit 286A coming out of Suffolk, VA. I have seen MapQuest show a couple different ways to get there other than that route. Look up Mobile Pig Nic on Indian River Rd. and see which way best suits you.

The Restaurant and Staff:

At first glance we thought that The Pig Shop Restaurant would be kind of a small off the beaten path type of place. Once we entered we were pleasantly surprised. The dining room was not large but there were a fair amount of tables. Best of all, the place was as clean as it could possibly be. You could have just about invoked the 5 second rule if something hit the floor. Very nice indeed. We were greeted by a gentleman when we arrived. He was working the counter and the rest of the restaurant as well. He answered all of our questions and helped us decide what we would order. Once we gave him our order we picked a table and had a seat. He also delivered our food to us. Unfortunately we did not get his name. He was a great help, checked on us several times and was very nice to talk to. So far so good.

Mobile Pig Nic Catering started their catering business in the 80’s. They decided to open a “Take Out” Counter 8 – 9 years ago. With the success they had at the take out counter, they decided to open a dining room and named it The Pig Shop Restaurant. This part of the business has only been open for about 6 months.

Our Choices at The Pig Shop Restaurant:

Let’s start with Tammy’s selection. She ordered the Beef Brisket Meal with 2 sides. Her sides were Fresh Chopped Cole Slaw and Mac & Cheese. The slaw was very good. It had a slight sweet taste but not a lot. It was not chopped too fine. Her mac & cheese was good also, cheesy and not dried out. Both of these tasted homemade.

The brisket was excellent. It had a really good smoke flavor and a nice smoke ring as well. The Pig Shop Restaurant’s brisket just had a really good taste that was different from a lot of brisket in our area. Nice job.

I ordered the 3 Meat and 3 Sides Meal. What else? I chose the Pulled Pork, Sliced Brisket, and Baby Back Ribs. For sides I went with the Slaw, Mac & Cheese, and Baked Beans. I already talked about the slaw and mac & cheese. So moving along to the beans, they were wonderful. They had some type of sweet sauce but with a twang to it also. I’d definitely order the baked beans again.

The ribs were fantastic. They had a really good dry rub and smoke flavor. They were a little tough but the taste made up for that with ease. The pork was delicious too. It was pulled until it was very small / fine bbq, but not like minced. Someone has far more patience than I do. Excellent smoke again.

And both meals were served with fresh “Pull Apart / BBQ” Bread.

Sauces:

I tried three different sauces: vinegar, mild and sweet. The vinegar sauce was a good basic Eastern NC type sauce, vinegar and peppers but not too much heat. I liked the mild. It had a slight twang and a little heat, but still not too hot. It was closer to Western NC sauces. Lastly I tried their sweet sauce. It was a good sweet BBQ Sauce with a tomato base. It was more like a VA or Kansas City BBQ Sauce. The sweet sauce was good with the brisket.

All three sauces were really good, but I only tried them out to see how good they may be. I ate my meal without adding sauce to the meats.

Desserts:

We didn’t try any desserts this trip. Maybe next time.

Final Thoughts:

So here’s my wrap up on The Pig Shop Restaurant. We really liked them. With the quality of their food I’m a bit surprised that they were not busier than they were. They did do a steady take-out business while we were there. I felt we received some excellent food for a very fair price and the service was good as well. I would not hesitate to go back. Of the three meats I had with my meal, I believe you would be happy with any of them. Finally I think this is a really good stop along the BBQ Trail and very much worth checking out. See what you think.

Now For Your Thoughts:

Your turn. If you’ve been to The Pig Shop Restaurant tell us about your visit. Was it a good visit? If you visit them after reading this, I’d really love to know what you think. Drop me some comments and I’ll get them posted as soon as possible.

What do you regulars think?

Now I know there have to be regulars out there. As long as they have been in one business or the other, there has to be lots of people out there that return for more. I know I will. Tell us about the people and the food. Fill us in on the rest of the story that I can’t get in one visit. We’d love to hear what you have to say. Again, leave me some comments to post with this review. I’ll get them up there pretty quickly.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

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You can check out their website at: http://www.mobilepignic.com/

You can also find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mobilepignic/

 

 

Enjoy the ride, good eating and thanks for stopping by.