Helen's Bar B Q

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  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!

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  Posted on 08.08.13 J B.

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  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.

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  Posted on 02.15.13 Brice T.

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  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.

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  Posted on 02.13.13 Collins B.

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  After sampling 5 BBQ sandwiches at 4 joints (!!)  between Madison and Haywood Co's today, it's clear I underrated Helen's.  The flavors here are so intense compared with the others I had.  The complexity of the hot BBQ sauce combined with the slaw is something to behold.  Get it!
  
  Don't go in wearing clothes that need to be dry cleaned.  You can see the smoke haze in the air of the dining room.

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  Posted on 01.29.13 El J.

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  Pulled pork sandwich was delicious. Slow smoked over hickory & oak, so it's smokey, juicy, not too fatty, very flavorful. Mild sauce = good. Hot sauce = very good. Housemade slaw was good enough. Mustard potato salad is fluffy, not chunky or soupy. I liked it.
  
  This is not a dine-in type restaurant, unless you happen to get one of the 2 tables. It is the kind of place you grab lunch on-the-go, or pick up a family sized order. There are plenty of potato chips, snack cakes and sodas to add to your order at the window.
  
  I usually have a pretty small appetite, so I try to make my meals count. I actually thought about ordering a second sandwich  at Helen's.
  
  After only waiting about 5 mins inside for lunch, the sweet/smokey smell was infused into my hair, much to my husband's delight.
  
  Take cash. Plan to picnic.

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  Posted on 12.29.12 Jenifer A.

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