The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint

If you are in the South, barbecue is a must.  This joint is like eating inside a large barn-like warehouse, with pretty lights strung up, and everything made of corrugated metal.  Ever since Katrina, I guess they felt that it would be better to just set up shop with simple materials, literally, a shed.  

I got the ribs and brisket combo.  The brisket was kind of dry and not so great but I enjoyed the ribs.  So maybe will just stick with that next time.  Loved sweet potato casserole and they had corn on the cob.  It's a bit pricey for what it is, maybe around $20, especially considering the shed like atmosphere eating on wooden picnic benches but still definitely a good time.

Recently I had a work trip to the great city of Gulfport, MS.  With that I immediately started my quest for the best food in town and after watching Diners, Driveins and Dives, I knew that The Shed was on my list to try.  So I dragged my coworker 12 miles out from the chain restaurant row to venture out to the woods ffor some bbq.  We got there and we were literally the only people there...no joke.  I was surprised by that as I thought this place was going to be packed!  So I ordered the chicken plate and my coworker got the baby back ribs plate.  We sat down at a table of our choice and was so excited when our styrofoam box arrived at our table.  But to my chagrin, the bbq was not what I envisioned for the last 12 miles.  It was super sticky sweet!  And let me just prefaced this by saying I am southern as they come (raised in the south, went to college at the best college football school (Go NOLES) in the south, and even come from the town where there is actually a Mullet Festival so I have some pedigree when it comes to bbq, okay?).  So when I say it was sweet you know darn tootin' it was make your mouth pucker sweet!  So luckily I got the sauce on the side but the chicken alone was quite sad...very meely and not what I was looking forward to.  I got the mac salad and holy mayo it was goopey.  The beans were pretty good but again, that sweet bbq sauce was still a bit too much.  My coworker did not like her ribs.  She said they were drenched in sauce and since it was so sweet she could barely eat them.  They did fall off the bone but after getting a few cavitities you forget that part.  So I left very disappointed.  We had some great meals in Gulfport but this was not one of them.  The ambiance was unique and we had plenty to look at but the food was not something I would recommend.

It's worth the couple miles drive off the interstate and into Mississippi backroads to check out one of the best BBQ places I've ever eaten. We got the $24 sampler and split it between two people. We were so stuffed, and we didn't finish it all. The mac and cheese didn't impress me at all. The potato salad was some of the best I've ever had at a restaurant!! Sweet potato was excellent. The chicken was so tender it fell off the bone. I could have licked the sauce out of the box. There aren't sauce bottles on the tables, but that's because they give you plenty in the box.

It's not open late, so don't wait till the last minute. Definitely family-friendly and has a great beer selection!

Warning: Do take some antacids, because man... BBQ sauce will give you some heartburn!