Review of Danville’s NEW Checkered Pig BBQ

Here’s the review of the Premiere night meal that I got from Checkered Pig BBQ. They’re open for business tomorrow and located at 155 Crown Drive in Danville (the old Backyard Burgers location). You can call them at 434-793-7747 for more info.

My selection was the BBQ Pork Dinner and here’s what came to my table…

Service: Super fast. Of course, they were working with a limited menu but the speed of getting the order to the table was impressive. The counter staff was very knowledgeable of what they had available and made suggestions when asked. The front-line supervisor knew exactly what she doing and she directed traffic better that any cop could ever dream of. The dining room was patrolled regularly with staff who made sure you were taken care of. Grade: 93 (A)

Food: The BBQ appeared to be a very dry pork but when you took a bite out of it, one of the sweetest BBQ flavors I’ve tasted just poured out of it. The portion was large. The baked beans had a smoky flavor with a hint of their BBQ sauce in it. The coleslaw was very sweet and served very cold. The hushpuppies were crisp and hot.
The fries were the last thing I went to (after trying a few as they were delivered hot) and they were close to an afterthought because the large portion of BBQ combined with the other sides filled me up quickly. The portions were so large that I had no desire for dessert but I’ll be trying that later. When that’s the only thing to complain about, that’s a great sign. The presentation of the food was very good with the cooks having an eye for detail in every food basket that went out. After the meal, I talked with one of the lead cooks and he said that he felt that the presentation of an entree added a lot to the total meal experience. Strong Agree on that one. Grade: 98 (A)

Atmosphere: For the amount of time that they had to retro-fit the restaurant, it wasn’t bad at all. Trophies abound all over the dining area just to remind you that these people know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to BBQ. There’s no getting around a lighting issue in the dining area because the sun beams in strong. They’ve got drop lighting which helps in that respect. They’ve got TV’s in the restaurant corners with the correct relatively low levels. The vestibule has a nice case selection of t-shirts and products for sale. There’s not much else in decorations, but there really doesn’t need to be for this type of restaurant. Grade: 87 (B)

Intangibles: Damn, what hospitality! Tommy & Lisa Houston, the owners, are extremely friendly and calm even on the big day. Joy Bradshaw, the manager, welcomed every single person that came in with a giant smile. The staff knew their job, the food was good, and again i say, “Damn, what hospitality!” Grade: 95 (A)

Overall: I got a good feeling that this place will do well. Grade: 95 (A)