Saw's - Get There As Fast As You Can!

Wow.  I may, in fact, have a new favorite place to eat BBQ in Birmingham.  Jim-N-Nick's, Full Moon, Johnny Ray's, Golden Rule and even (I can't believe I'm saying this) Dreamland are now chasing a new frontrunner in my book.  Recently, a friend said to me, "if you want a hole-in-the-wall with the best BBQ in town, you need to go to Saw's!"  His confidence and description encouraged me to add it to the top of my list of places to try.  Saw's BBQ is located in Homewood, Alabama just a stone's throw from Dawson Memorial Baptist Church.  Having grown up in Texas, I've always been a bit biased toward beef brisket.  So needless to say, I went into this "North Carolina" venture with a bit of skepticism. 

Saw's is not a big place (10 small tables and 6 stools), but it was full of people.  The entire time we were there, there was never a moment that someone wasn't in line at the counter.  By the way, it's worth noting that there was a 5:1 ratio of men to women.  If you're going to dine in, be prepared to come out smelling like smoked meat...and know that it will stay with you the whole day.  (side note:  a few hours after my lunch, I picked up my son from school.  The first thing he said to me was not, "hi dad"... but rather, "what have you been eating?")

My wife went with the Pork Sandwich Combo, which came with one side (she had the potato salad and loved it) and a drink.  The pork was a perfect combination of inside/outside meat and it had great flavor!  The sauce is vinegar based and has a good balance of flavor and tang.  The sandwich combo is a great choice for a quick and inexpensive lunch!

As for me, I went with Saw's Sampler...two ribs, a quarter chicken and a pile of pork.  Now, I fully realize that spares and baby-backs are two different rib conversations.  I get that.  Someday we'll have that conversation.  Saw's does spares...they were tender and flavorful with just the right texture on the outside.  The chicken...simply delicious.  My "sampler" also came with two sides...I went with the mac-n-cheese (amazing) and the collard greens (also amazing).  I managed to peek in on the guy next to me and he had deviled eggs that looked pretty tasty.  Saw's also has a unique white barbeque sauce that goes best with the chicken, but before my meal was over, I was dipping everything in it! 

The service?  Quick and friendly.  I had to wait a few minutes on my mac-n-cheese (because they had run out and needed 10 minutes to "bake in" the top layer of cheese on the next batch), but it was worth the wait.  Crushed ice (although it was only available behind the counter, not at the drink station) and great sweet tea filled my cup that was a tad on the small side - but that was a small detail in comparison to the meal.

Bottom line...Saw's is a winner!  I will be back.  I will tell others.  If you like BBQ and you haven't been to Saw's...you're missing out...get there as fast as you can!  And if you think there's better in B'ham, I'd love to know about it.