Hog Wild

4950 S 108th St.
402.991.4227
Sun-Sat: 11 am - 8 pm
http://www.hogwildpitbbq.com/

As I was in the process of eating/writing my review for Brazen Head, I came across this post on /r/Omaha, which is the unofficial official Omaha page on reddit. For the shortened version, someone who goes by CrayolaHead accidentally walked in during the soft open for Hog Wild, and unintentionally got a free meal that he quite enjoyed. So, I mentioned I would review it the next chance I had. That time is now.

First things first: this is the first chain I'll be reviewing. These guys are based out of Kansas, and this location is the first, from what I can tell, outside of their state. They are so new here that, at the time of this posting, their website doesn't even list Omaha as one of their locations. Also, this is the first drive through I'll be reviewing. Honestly, I've always thought a drive though BBQ place would work. It takes so long to cook the meat that you have to have it prepared to start the day anyway, all you would have to do is pack it and toss it out the window. Well, they beat me to it. Damn. Finally, regarding BBQ in Omaha: not that long ago I'd have said Omaha was sorely needing good local BBQ joints, at least ones without "Dave" in the name. Obviously, others have seen that opening as well, because there's been a small flurry of them opening up recently, including a food truck called "402 BBQ" that has garnered quite a bit of good ink. This can only lead to good things in the future.

Like most BBQ places, you walk up to a counter and place your order and pay. After that you wait a minute or two by the pop machine as they put your meal together, then they call your number and you go find a place to eat. The dining area is actually fairly large compared to some BBQ places, is brightly lit, has country playing all the time (its easy enough to ignore if you're like me and hate the stuff), and the walls are covered in picnic table tablecloth-style wall paper and photos of cows and pigs.

(Warning: incoming digression.) Regarding the music: maybe it's because I associate Kansas City with BBQ, but am I the only one who thinks BB King goes best with a rack of ribs? Regarding the pictures on the wall: its a bit disconcerting looking a pig square in the face when chowing down on some pork shoulder. And on a slightly related note, what is the fascination of having a happy pig as your mascot of a BBQ joint? Its a little macabre, is it not? Hog Wild is no exception here. (End of digression, thank you for your patience.)

I stopped by twice, as usual. Both times on a Wednesday at around 5-5:30 pm. The first day I ordered the three meat combo. I chose ribs, brisket, and the hot links, with cole slaw and potato salad as sides.

The tray is heavy and coated on top with a kind of rubber coating. You can easily see where I put the bread on it. Actually I can't get over the trays. They are really high quality. Like, seriously. I didn't know they made them like that.

These ribs were legit.

The spare ribs were awesome. I could easily pull them apart with my hands, which is good as the silverware I was given was of the plastic variety. They were amazingly tender, but they still held on to the bone. They were brushed with a sweet and mild BBQ sauce that paired very nicely with the strong smokey and salty flavors the meat held. Excellent stuff, this.

I was expecting slices of brisket, but I guess pulled will do as well.

The brisket was...okay. I can't complain about the technique in smoking it, for certain. It was very tender and moist, just like a good brisket should be, But the flavor was overwhelmingly of roast beef with a little BBQ sauce. Yeah, when I go out for BBQ, I don't expect pot roast.

I find it kind of odd they slice it for you like this. Not that I was offended, which is how the next sentence will sound: I felt like a six-year-old being served like that. 

Finally I dove into the hot links. When you bite into them, there's a good snap to the outside, and the sausage itself was very tender. They are doused in their spicy BBQ sauce (the "hot" in "hot links" I guess), which took me a little by surprise. It was good spicy, I just wasn't expecting it. By the way, its never been adequately explained to me: what kind of sausage is it when you order sausage at a BBQ place?

The sides were standard fare. The slaw was a generic cole slaw. The potato salad was no different than what you'd find at Hy-Vee, so good, but nothing spectacular. Each meal is served with two slices of Texas Toast from Rotella's buttered and grilled. I know its Rotella's because they have a sign saying as much at the register.

All told, between the meal, the drink, and taxes, my total came to $15.23.

The next week I stopped by I wasn't as hungry so I got the two meat combo. This time I ordered the pulled pork and ham; as sides, I got the mac and cheese and corn.

Its a beautiful thing.

I was really excited about this pulled pork, and the coloration of the meat was especially enticing.

I'm sorry to say the pulled pork suffered the same kind of fate the brisket did. Again, just like the brisket, the technique isn't what wrong: it was super tender and juicy. But all I tasted was roast pork. There was no smokey-ness to it. I didn't sense any BBQ rub bark that is a hallmark of good BBQ and I had to pour a ton of sauce on top to make it taste right. Maybe that's what they're going for, but I hope not.

Now I kinda regret not moving the front piece to get a good view of what the ham actually looked like.

The ham was excellent. Smokey, well brined, tender, salty, delicious. Get the ham. Like seriously, get the ham.

The mac and cheese was basically the same stuff you'll find at KFC, which I kinda like actually. At least a step up from Kraft. The corn was buttered and warmed canned corn. I was honestly expecting a half cob like you'd find at Long John Silver's and was kinda disappointed I was served canned. There are better choices on the menu, so stay away from the corn.

With the meal, drink and taxes, my total came to $12.48.

It just occurred to me that I've gone this far in a review of a BBQ restaurant and I haven't really talked about the BBQ sauce. Hog Wild offers two kinds: a mild and a hot. They are essentially the same sauce, but one is spicier than the other. They're not world beaters, but they are still very, very good. On the sweet side, thick, smokey, tomato, and vinegar. Excellent stuff, here.

I think these guys will have some staying power in the long run, but they need to improve a few things. They're in an accessible part of town with a lot of businesses around that should be tired of burgers and Valentino's by now, so they'll do just fine. Give these guys a shot. You don't even have to get out of your car to do so.