Country Boys BBQ, Suffolk, Virginia

What? I just posted a review of Country Boys in Louisa, Virginia, up in the Piedmont. This is an entirely unrelated Country Boys down in Southside/Hampton Roads, and the name causes some problems. Let’s say someone in Louisa or Suffolk wants a lot of barbecue, so they go online and call Country Boys, order food for, say, a big graduation party, and arrange a pickup time. The customer shows up at Louisa at the appointed hour, and the barbecue is sitting down in Suffolk, or vice versa. That happens once and from then on you double and triple check with the customer.

The name confusion wasn’t a problem for me. My problem was I relied on the internet and thought it was open on Tuesday. I drove down after my Tuesday lunch at Allman’s and found Country Boys closed. It did give me a chance to check out the cookers and confirm the absence of any gas or electric connections.

Then I drove over to Two Drummers.

On Wednesday I drove up from my large and magnificent meal at B’s and found Country Boys, still there at 1601 Bridge Road (US 17), just south of the Hazelwood Bridge. I re-verified that they cooked with wood only, and went on in, got a pork sandwich, went outside (no indoor seating … and no rest room), and chose a seat with an inspiring view.

You can see that pulled and roughly chopped pork. Here’s a closer view.

It’s perhaps unfair to try a barbecue place right after you’ve eaten at B’s, which is one of the greats. When obit into Country Boys’ sandwich, however, I was impressed. The tender, moist, and smoky pork had been lightly tossed with a Southside-style sauce containing vinegar, tomato, sugar, and pepper as well as other spices. I liked the sauce. It balanced the richness of the pork and accented the flavor without disguising it. Well done. But there’s more — the bun.

Now that’s an odd view, but take a look. Country Boys cooks the buns daily, so they are perfectly fresh. Each bun also is brushed generously with butter and sprinkled with roughly-ground salt. These are really dinner rolls, and they taste oh, so good. I’ve never come across a better roll for a big barbecue sandwich. All in all, this is one of the best pork sandwiches in Virginia.

The presiding genius is Heather, a lovely person who right now probably wishes I’d taken another photo when her eyes were open.  

But Heather is charming and may forgive me. She ran a catering business for years and knows how to cook barbecue and rolls and probably everything else on the menu. I presented the Campaign for Real Barbecue window sticker, and earned myself a taste of brisket.

The brisket tasted very tender and had a good meaty flavor with a kiss of smoke. It was very moist, as if it had been held in some broth, which I understand is a competition trick. I enjoyed it, and you will, too, but the pork was a star.

There’s a lot to do in Hampton Roads, and in Suffolk, the home of Planter’s Peanuts (see the statue of Mr. Peanut). Go down and take a drive down US 17 and when you see this sign,

don’t honk. Pull in and get some pork sandwiches.

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