The Blistered Pig Smokehouse

Reviews 5

CU

Cullen Roberts

I will try to keep this short and just hit the highlights... -Food poisoning -Expensive & disappointing food -Terrible bar, equivalent to a hole in the wall bar, but much more expensive. My brother, his wife, my wife, and I ate at the Blistered Pig per my insistent desire to try a new place in Downtown Apex. That was a mistake. -The bar was TERRIBLE. They only serve sugary pre-made mixers in their abysmal drink list. Our bartender was inexperienced and slow. First round of drinks was disgusting, so we gave it another shot and we all ordered something different. Again, disgusting. Please, please, recreate your drink list, add proper well known drinks, and for Gods sake make your own mixers and syrups. -We ordered a few appetizers (chicken wings, hushpuppies, pork rinds) and they were ok. I got the pulled pork sandwich and it was dry, no sauce in sight, and Im begging for some sauce. My wife got the shrimp and grits and was disappointed. She also got food poisoning and that ruined our entire evening. My wifes co-worker also ate at the Blistered Pig a couple weeks later and got food poisoning as well. So far, theyre 2/5 for giving food poisoning to the people I know that have eaten there. -The only upside here is that I really like the environment of the restaurant. They have a really cool back porch area and they have the foundation for an upscale BBQ restaurant, but are severely lacking in the implementation of safe food handling practices and quality. Please improve your bar (trash your drink list & serve upscale/quality drinks), and most importantly your food safety handling practices. I would like to give the Blistered Pig another shot after theyve had some time to make improvements, but Im going to have a hard time convincing my wife to forget that terrible evening.

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ST

steve dave

I was really, really, hoping for a local place that offered great pulled pork but it fell short. I went three times and Ill break it down. 1) Ordered takeout for 1b of pulled pork. Great experience. 2) Ordered takeout again for 1b of pulled pork. Had a beer while I waited (it was quick). I got home and weighed the pork because they used a smaller container than the first time. I thought it was odd the container was different from the first visit. My scale is good to the thousandth gram (I use it for measuring hops for homebrewing). It came out around 12oz. I called and spoke to a Manager and honestly I wasnt too mad but wanted to let them know they arent weighing the meat correctly. They said I could come back and get the difference (so approximately 4 oz or so) and I wasnt going to make a big deal about it. It wasnt worth my time to drive back over. They were nice and offered a solution. 3) Last visit I showed up with a friend for lunch on a Saturday. I finally sat at the bar and ordered a plate of the fried chicken. It was amazing, loved it. The Mac and cheese side had much to be desired, but Im not too picky. I had few beers as well. Heres the problem. I went to go to the bathroom and both doors were male or female. There were no dedicated restrooms for gender. One door wasnt locked so I went in, did my business, washed my hands, and as I walked out a woman wanted the room and made a smirk as she passed me into the room. So not only did I get to leave your establishment uncomfortable because I felt like I was at a gas station, but the woman who wanted my room also gave me a bad look. I think its completely ABSURD that there are two bathrooms both men and women can use. I wont be coming back.

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KR

kristin griffin

I was highly encouraged to visit this BBQ restaurant. I am from Texas, and I was told they have the closest thing to Texas Brisket. I came in on my own for lunch. No one was at the host stand so I walked to the bar. The atmosphere in the restaurant was really neat and the outside seating looked great! If I had friends with me I would have loved to sit out there. A server came by and asked if I would like a menu for my To Go order. I was going to eat at the bar but then decided to order out. After a few mins the bartender came over to take my order. I of course ordered the brisket sandwich with sweet potato fries. I did not automatically order a drink, nor was I offered one. The bartender immediately brought me my check, and did not come back to check on me. It took about 30 mins for my sandwich to arrive. The bartender who was giving lots of attention to the gentlemen sitting next to me, gave me zero attention. I tipped the bartender and left to eat my food on my own outside where it was a really pretty day. My brisket sandwich was cold. Not slightly warm, but cold. After 30 mins of waiting I was expecting it to be steaming hot. There was not too much flavor, so I added the BBQ sauce that came on the side. The brisket slices were also very chunky and kept falling out. I am used to long tender juicy slices of brisket. This was dry, small, and chunky. Tasted ok with the BBQ but had to take the homemade pickles out. The sweet potato fries were also ok... Not hot, and some were soggy. Overall, not a great experience and food could have been better. Might try it again to see how the Carolina BBQ is. I will bring friends with me to see if the attention level gets any better.

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PI

Pit Master

This place is really not that good. I have been twice. First off the seating is horrible. I feel like a pig packed into one of those trucks going down the highway. They have an ok bar but the service from the bar to the table is very slow. The first time I went I got the ribs. I ordered 2 sides of them. The flavor was terrible and the bbq sauces on the table are not to my liking. One rack was burnt so bad I only could chew half off the bone. It was trimmed really bad with shiners and black burned bone. INEDIBLE! The other rack was under cooked where the connective tissue was not broken down. I tried some meat off the plates that were served to my friends at the table and it was all pretty much bad. The chicken and pulled pork were very dry. The brisket was served pulled and had sauce on it. It must have been very dry and this was done to moisten it back up. It had the best flavor of all the meats that were served that day. The sides are not that good as well. I did like the roasted Brussel Sprouts though, not bad at all. The second time I went Me and a friend got pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. My pork was cold and dry. The bun bottom was completely soaked. The fries are greasy with a unpleasant garlic flavor.The service was never bad. The music is very good! They get an extra star for the music......

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PA

Parker Stephenson

By far the worst experience I have ever had. Called ahead for a reservation, got there and waited over 30 minutes...no big deal. Finally sit down, waitress takes 15 minutes to acknowledge us...no big deal. My wife and I order sweet tea, it takes another 15 minutes to get it...no big deal. I ask for a refill, it never happens. Food arrives & I ask for another sweet tea. Waitress comes back 5 minutes later with a water and says theyre brewing new tea. When I remind her (again) and she finally brings me tea, Im done with my meal and she slammed it on the table like it was too much to ask. Big deal...Thats where I draw the line. Literally everyone around us was complaining to management except for us, because it obviously wasnt going to do any good. Manager is welcome to try and admonish this situation and reach out to me but chances are I will never be back. Im from apex originally and I will be sure to tell literally everyone I know how terrible it was. I got my bill, never got an apology and was even charged for the sweet tea. I have never been so pissed off to spend $48 in all my life. The joke was on me, apparently.

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