BluPig, Moab, Utah

Moab is the gateway to massive red rock formations in the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, which feature mesas and buttes carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers. The art also features Native American rock art, and dinosaur tracks can be found at sites like Bull Canyon Overlook and Copper Ridge.

It’s a truly magical area to visit, so naturally Senior Correspondent Darryl Morin and his family, less Nathaniel who is on duty with the United States Air Force overseas, went to Moab. Darryl asked me for restaurant advice, and for once I was stuck. Nothing had impressed me when I was there briefly in the 90s, so I challenged Darryl to create some good advice. Challenge Darryl Morin to do something, and it gets done. Here’s the result, adding to Darryl’s reports from Inverness (Scotland), Estes Park, Kansas City, Birmingham, Nashville, and probably other places I don’t recall.

Darry chose BluPig is a “barbecue and blues joint” at 811 South Main Street in Moab.

The “Blu” part of the name is apparent at night.

Take it away, Darryl!

I am honored to be a guest contributor to the John Tanner’s Barbecue Page & Blog. If you like good food and travel, I definitely suggest following his page.

As we were spending Spring Break in Moab, Utah, of course I had to sample some barbecue! My family and I ate at the Blupig Barbecue & Blues Joint. It is a barbecue restaurant with a separate room that features a bar

and live blues music.

I admit that I am always nervous about trying barbecue in a town that caters primarily to visitors and not locals, but my wife, son and I were interested to give it a try.

The Food:

Appetizer –

We started with wings and selected their KC-style barbecue sauce which is sweet.

My son prefers ranch with his wings and my wife and I blue cheese, so the server was kind enough to bring us both, although we had to remind her to do so. I was surprised by how meaty the wings were and that they were not deep-fried but smoked — and boy did the flavor come through.

Entrees –

My son had the pulled pork sandwich and asked for coleslaw as his side.

The pulled pork was tender, moist, flavorful and had a good, smoky flavor. The BluPig puts coleslaw on the sandwich of which he is not a big fan but that is a matter of personal preference. The coleslaw was flavorful and didn’t suffer from too much vinegar which I have been finding far too often these days.

My wife had the crispy chicken cobb salad which was excellent.

The greens were good, tomatoes, egg, onion, were all very tasty as well as the abundance of deep-fried crispy chicken. [Ed. That’s a lot of chicken!]

I ordered the three-meat combination. I asked for brisket and tri-tip slices as well as 4 pork ribs. I ordered coleslaw and baked beans as my sides.

The tri-tip slices were flavorful and moist as were the ribs. I wish the ribs were not quite so tender as I like a light tear when I am pulling the meat off the bone. Everything was moving along well and then I got to the brisket. While both had a beautiful smoke ring and a good flavor, it was tough and dry. As we were eating during dinner time, I would have expected the brisket to be moist and tender. If it had been after 9pm, then I could accept a dryer, tougher slice of brisket, but not during peak dining hours. My baked beans were good but unfortunately, my serving of coleslaw, while it had a great flavor, was more soup or sauce then, coleslaw.

Service:

While we were attended to regularly, we had to remind the server of our requests on two occasions. This being said, she did come by several times as well as the manager to make sure everything was to our liking.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for barbecue in Moab, you will have a decent meal at BluPig and then when you are done eating, you can enjoy some good music in the bar. That being said, the BluPig has potential and just needs a little more attention to detail to move from decent to very good. #BuenProvecho

There you have it, another great report from the road! Moab is a wonderful place to visit, as is most of Southern Utah, all the way through Monument Valley to Bryce and Zion. Your really should pack up the kids and head to Moab. Create some lifetime memories. And stop by BluPig — let us know about your experience.

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