Dolan’s BBQ, Statesboro, Georgia: The 2025 Georgia Tour

After the 9:00 am start of my Georgia Barbecue Tour at Brinson’s, Keith McLendon and I drove over to Statesboro and Dolan’s BBQ near the center of town at 239 South Main Street.

Dolan’s was a big change from Brinson’s. It’s much newer and much “nicer,” and geared to a community that includes over 17,000 college students at Georgia Southern. It’s run by two women, Mary Brown, the pitmaster and head of the barbecue side, and Lazar Brown Oglesby who sells cheesecakes and other baked delights as Honey Cheesecakes.

How many barbecue. places offer whole cheesecakes? This definitely is a first for me.

Being in a college town, Dolan’s has a full bar, here photographed as through a customer’s eyes.

Perhaps I’m reflecting my own college experience, which was unfortunate in so many ways. Meanwhile, Keith ascertained that neither proprietor– Keith knows everyone — was present, so we went up to the counter where we were greeted with smiles and hospitality.

We each had a pork sandwich and a side of Brunswick stew, and the food came out hot and preceded by a lovely aroma.

Here’s a nice shot of the pork.

Isn’t that pork pretty? It was cooked exclusively with wood in an offset smoker, and its flavor was a rich combination of pork and smoke. Very nice indeed. They have a mustard sauce, which wasn’t really necessary, but I’ve become very interested in mustard sauces so I tried some. I thought it could use some more assertiveness, so I got a tiny plastic cup of sauce and mixed in some pepper vinegar and a little Texas Pete to make it just to my taste. As I said, it didn’t need any sauce, but I like to play with my food.

The Brunswick stew was delicious, and very meaty. There were a few vegetables, and it was closer to Brinson’s hash than to most North Carolina versions of Brunswick stew, only with much more tomato. Robert Moss had a very interesting piece about Georgia barbecue, and reported that the combination of pork and Brunswick stew is a common denominator. Within that compass, however, the variety of sauces and of Brunswick stew recipes approaches infinity. If you want the pure traditional Brunswick stew recipe, see here. Trying the variety of sauces and stews is fun, and it’s helped me hone my understanding and appreciation of both.

Dolan’s certainly should be on your Georgia to-eat list. They have a good choice of sides and a variety of appetizers to go with the pork, ribs, chicken, and burgers, along with Tuesday and Wednesday food specials and Thursday-Saturday drinks specials, if you’re staying over. And cheesecake! You can have a great meal for not much — $8 for a pork sandwich and $3 for the stew. Good food, friendly and efficient service, and a nice place to eat — Dolan’s is well worth a visit.

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