My wife, being a Little Rock native, was certainly familiar with Burge's, although she thought that they mostly just sold smoked hams and turkeys and such. After all, their official name is "Burge's Hickory Smoked Turkeys & Hams." I made sure to file that knowledge away for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, but I'm much more interested in other kinds of smoked meats. Luckily for me, Burge's also has a fair amount of barbecue on their menu.
Burge's occupies a bright cafe-style space right in the midst of a small shopping center. The walls were adorned with an array of old soda and gas signs, as well as some obligatory Razorback decor. Looking around, most of the other diners seemed to be enjoying deli-style sandwiches, with no barbecue in sight. Oh well, their loss.
The order line was a little bit busier than I had hoped for, and it looked like some rain was headed our way. Neither of those things bodes well when you have an infant along for the ride, so I just got my food to-go. Burge's doesn't list any multi-meat barbecue plates on their menu, and if I hadn't been a little pressed for time, I might have inquired further just to be sure. I ended up ordering a pulled pork sandwich and a brisket plate with potato salad and beans. Their plates are actually served with beans and a choice of potato salad or coleslaw, in case you're some kind of crazy person who doesn't eat potato salad.
Some people say that you eat with your eyes first, and honestly, this plate of food made my eyes sad. The beans were lukewarm at best, and it only took me five minutes to drive home, so I doubt they cooled down that much in transit. They were reasonably sweet with good hits of acidity. A little added spiciness would have gone a long way here. My beloved potato salad was mostly mayo-based with some mustard tossed in for extra flavor. I kept wishing for more veggies, since without them the whipped potatoes lacked any real texture.
I was particularly dismayed with the brisket. Slices of what might have been awesome smoked beef were absolutely drowning in more sauce than any one human should safely consume. The meat was pretty tough to chew, even the fattier slices. I caught a little smoke here and there, but mostly all I tasted was the vinegar and tomato of the sauce.
The pork wasn't really any different than the brisket. My sandwich could have easily passed for a sloppy joe. Heck, it might as well have been ground up hotdogs for as much sauce was on there. It was also a bit confusing. Some of the pork was shredded, and some came in a big slice. The only meaningful difference between the pork and the beef was a slight spiciness to my sandwich. The pork was also more tender than the brisket had been, but it was still fairly dry.
Much as I hate to waste food, I ended up throwing away 90% of my lunch in favor of some chips and dip that I found in the back of my pantry. It's been a while since I've handed down a one-star rating. Maybe Burge's should stick to ham and turkey.
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Burge's Hickory Smoked Turkeys & Hams
5620 R St
Little Rock, AR 72207
(501) 666-1660
http://www.smokedturkeys.com/
Hey Barbecue Fiend! I don't love Burge's as much as I love you, but they've been in my life waaay longer! I've never had barbecue there, though, because that's not what has made them famous for 50+ years. For me, it would be heresy to order anything except turkey salad at Burge's--it's referred to as "turkey crack" because it's addictive in the most heavenly way. Burge's started out in what is for me God's Country--Lewisville, Arkansas--and my dad was friends with Alden Burge since the 1950's. (As an aside, I do not think the Burge family owns the business nowadays.) I enjoyed reading your review and warning about the barbecue there, but I'll stick with the turkey no matter what!
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