Almost Heaven BBQ

I have eaten here several times while visiting a friend in Clendenin. She usually calls ahead and orders a cold rack of ribs so they can be reheated. The rub they use makes the ribs good and the sauce is tasty too. I have also had their macaroni salad which was also good. He is only open Thursday - Saturday. I have never been inside but I know the food is worth stopping for.

I saw a lot of people become fans of this restaurant on Facebook so I decided to check it out next time I was in town.  All it took was one rib to make me a fan.  Let's go down the list.

1.  Smoke Flavor - Yep, applewood!
2.  Homemade BBQ Sauce - Yep!
3.  Pulls away from the bone but doesn't fall off - Yep!
4.  Visible Smoke Ring - Yep!
5.  Crust from rub - Yep!

Those are the five most important aspects of good BBQ and Almost Heaven BBQ hits the nail on the head on each category.  Despite what some people believe, "fall off the bone" BBQ is overdone and is usually boiled or baked in an oven to get it that tender, it's not true BBQ in any sense.  Real BBQ is smoked and cooked on a smoker over the course of several hours, it's not a fast process and it takes a lot of TLC.  The BBQ at Almost Heaven has received a lot of TLC and as a result it is tender, has great texture, and comes right off the bone with a bite.  The flavor profile of the crust, smoke, and meat just amazed me so much that I ignored all of sides so I could enjoy the flavor of the ribs.

Prices are perfect for a local joint located in the middle of no where.  About $20 for a full rack, $22 for a full rack and two sides, $13 for a half rack.  They have smaller and cheaper meals such as pulled pork and sandwiches for lunch and from the pulled pork I tasted from my wife's to go box it's just as fantastic as the ribs.  If you decide to eat here don't expect to show up and sit down and be served...there are tables here but they are outside.  This isn't a restaurant in the sense that you go in and eat, it's more of a take-out kind of restaurant.  So call your order in early and go pick it up for dinner and serve it at home on your own table.

You can't beat the ribs or other BBQ here at any other local restaurant, whether it be a chain or a ma & pa diner.  Almost Heaven BBQ ranks up with some of the best BBQ I've tasted across the nation at places such as The Pit in Raleigh, NC and Salt Lick BBQ in Austin, TX which tops the list and are owned and operated by champion pitmasters.  

I am definitely putting this restaurant on my Best of Charleston, WV list, where it belongs.

Can you imagine driving down Highway 79 through West Virginia, looking for someplace to eat and seeing just nothing. There are the usual fast-food places, maybe a McDonald's, but even those are few and far between. So I took my chances when I drove down Spencer Road.

As soon as I pulled in to the little patch of gravel that serves as half the parking lot in front of a place no bigger than half a trailer, two trucks were pulling in after me. Clearly this is a local favorite. It was the barbecue sign that hooked me, though I hear that others come for the hot dogs. We had pulled pork sandwiches with sides of coleslaw and potato salad, both very evidently home made. The coleslaw was more finely chopped than any I've ever had elsewhere. The potato salad had bits of celery, onion, pickle, and red pepper. And the pulled pork was fresh, juicy, smoky, and soaked in tangy sauce.

The only funny thing: they asked us twice if we wanted the slaw on the sandwich. Maybe that's a West Virginia thing, but these sandwiches didn't need anything extra on the bun!