Helen's Bar B Q

Yummy pulled pork, great potato salad, & good slaw!  Beware:  It's absolutely a dive...but a dive with tasty BBQ & hard working staff!  They give you a lot for your money too!  Alert: No signage outside Helen's..just look or smell your way there!

Came here with my wife after reading the review in Garden and Gun.  I have to say that I disagree with the first review here. Having eaten at Payne's yesterday, I don't find these styles of barbecue particularly similar.  Helen's barbecue is slow smoked over Hickory and Oak, and you can definitely tell. Further, the barbecue is pulled into large hunks and long strands, Payne's uses a cleaver to chop barbecue into tiny pieces.

As for the ambiance, the space is small with only two tables. However, that is all made up for by the fact that it smells like rich hickory smoke. The whole place was warm and inviting.

The coleslaw was basic, but it was being made fresh while we were there.  While I like mustard slaw, I think that the sharp taste would have concealed the smoked flavor of the pork.  In this case, basic was probably good.

Both of the hot and mild sauces were good, but both had a slight catchup flavor to which I am not partial. I think, however, that this reflects more of my bias against catchup then the quality of the sauce.

Overall, Helen Completely deserves the award that she received from the Southern Foodways Alliance.  Helen is preserving a truly remarkable tradition of Southern food.  Probably the best way to experience this, is to get the barbecue by the pound and take it to go.  You might want to get an extra pound.

Splendid swine! Great pulled pork, spicy and oh so moist. The beans and slaw were top notch as well. Helen's only has two tables so it can be crowded. Some of the best BBQ I have had.