Chopped pork, fried okra, onion rings and a barbecue sauce worth going back for.
Before anybody pulls out a county map, we know. Big Daddy’s is in Munford, just across the line in Talladega County.
We went anyway. Consider it neighborly research.
Big Daddy’s Bar-B-Q sits right on Highway 21 and has the kind of look that cannot be manufactured by a restaurant chain. There is plenty of wood, country character and a large porch area outside that makes it feel somewhere between an old-school barbecue joint and a small-town gathering place.
We ate inside, but that porch is hard to miss. It looks like a good place to settle in, eat something messy and stay longer than you originally planned.
I ordered the barbecue plate with two sides and chose fried okra and onion rings. What came to the table was a white disposable plate loaded down with chopped pork, thick Texas toast, golden okra and some full-size onion rings.
Nobody was trying to make it fancy, and that was perfectly fine with me.
Plastic plates. Real barbecue.
The serving of pork was generous, and the barbecue sauce quickly became one of my favorite parts of the meal. I am not trying to start a regional sauce argument here, but Big Daddy’s has a good one. It brought everything together, and I had no trouble finding reasons to add a little more.
The onion rings were big, golden and exactly the kind of side that belongs next to a pile of barbecue. The fried okra fit the plate just as well, and that thick piece of toast was ready to soak up any sauce that tried to get away.
Big Daddy’s menu goes beyond barbecue, with burgers, ribs, chicken and other familiar favorites. I cannot review all of that because I went there for the pork. On a first visit to a place called Big Daddy’s Bar-B-Q, ordering the barbecue plate seemed like the responsible thing to do.
What I liked most was how honest the place felt. It was casual, comfortable and lived in. Nothing about it seemed overly polished or designed to look like a barbecue restaurant. It simply looked and felt like one.
That is part of the appeal of finding these local spots.
Some of the best meals around are served in places where the decor does not match, the plates are disposable and nobody in the kitchen is worried about making your lunch camera-ready.
They are worried about feeding you.
Big Daddy’s did that part just fine.
Would I make the short drive back? Absolutely. Next time I may have to try one of the burgers or give the ribs a shot. But for my first visit, a big serving of chopped pork, two fried sides and plenty of that barbecue sauce was the right place to start.
Plastic plates. Real barbecue. Done right.
Plan Your Visit
Big Daddy’s Bar-B-Q
43121 AL-21
Munford, Alabama 36268
256-358-9005
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