USA TODAY International Edition
Peg Leg is worth a pilgrimage to Nashville
The scene: A porcine logo adorning a barbecue restaurant is usually a good sign, and over the years I’ve seen cartoon pigs, pigs in top hats with bejeweled canes (my favorite), and pigs holding a ham (a little creepy), but never before have I seen a pig with a cast on one of its legs. The logo is a stand-in for restaurant owner and pitmaster Carey Bringle, a Nashville native who grew up around Western Tennessee’s barbecue culture and fondly recalls his grandfather cooking whole hogs for family gatherings. Bringle was mentored in competition barbecue by his uncle, who competed in the first Memphis in May World Championship in 1976.
Hooked, Bringle has competed in the “Super Bowl of Swine” for more than 25 years, taking second-place honors three times with his former team, Hog Wild. The pig represents barbecue, and the cast represents Bringle, who lost his right leg to bone cancer at age 17. He emerged with a new outlook and dedication to living life to the fullest, and his same sense of humor, reflected in the Peg Leg Porker brand. The Nashville eatery opened in 2013, and Bringle also has a line of sauces and rubs, professional-grade home smokers, even limited-edition Peg Leg Porker whiskey.
The restaurant enjoys a prominent location in The Gulch, a trendy neighborhood located between the city’s Music Row and downtown. It is big and, with the upstairs addition and large open-air front patio, seats a few hundred people. Because it often has been featured on TV, Peg Leg Porker is sought out by visitors, and you routinely see people come in with luggage, straight from or on their way to the airport.
Reason to visit: dry ribs, green beans, fried hand pies
The food: Pork is the main event, and eater.com named Bringle’s dry ribs the best in the nation. The operation is derived from the owner's experience in competition barbecue, and focused on pork. Bringle describes his style as West Tennessee, meaning hickory wood in the smoker and tomato-based sauce in mild and hot versions, served as a condiment alongside un-sauced ribs. The signature dry ribs are unusual, seasoned just with Kosher salt, then smoked for eight to 10 hours, a long time for ribs. They are finished with house spice rub only when pulled from the smoker and served. Bringle gets a nice bark, and the contrast with the tender ribs is great. With all the flavor from the dry rub you really don’t need any sauce.
There is also first-class pulled pork (plate or sandwich), where you get to experience the delicious barbecue sauce, and solid smoked half chicken. There is more variety in the appetizers, with a nice take on barbecue nachos.
Sides are more noteworthy, including a standout potato salad. Green beans are cooked in the smoker, and are the best I’ve ever had. The beans are also very good, the coleslaw above average, the mac and cheese fair, and the fries uninspired. Nashville has a vibrant brewing scene and Tennessee has a famous whiskey scene, so the full bar has 11 local taps and lots of brown spirits, including a private bourbon label.
The only dessert option is the all too rare fried hand pie. These empanadashaped hot pies come in peach, apple and chocolate.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes for barbecue fans.
Rating: Yum! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: 903 Gleaves St., Nashville; 615-829-6023; peglegporker.com