Old Plantation BBQ
1515 Dodson Ave
Chattanooga, TN
Old Plantation has all the makings of being a good place for BBQ – an off-the beaten path location, billowing smoke rising from the smoker and a crowd, even on off hours. We stopped at Old Plantation on our way back to Chicago, after breezing through Georgia. Old Plantation is located a bit off the beaten path from the city center of Chattanooga, but the tiny wooden building stands out due to its blue exterior.
Inside, there isn’t much room for more than a counter to order at and a flattop stove. Lucky for us the line wasn’t too long, and neither was the wait. We took the time to peruse the menu, which included Pork or Beef shoulder sandwiches ($6.00) and even Barbecue nachos ($6.00) and hot dogs ($4.00). You could even order the Que by the pound, which speaks to its cult following. M and I shared a shared a pork shoulder platter ($9.00). However the awesome BBQmaster behind the counter gave us two rolls admonishing M to “not let her eat it all.” The platter came with two sides – a tangy housemade cole slaw and a heaping helping of baked beans.
There was no seating available at the picnic tables outside, so we set off on the road, eventually stopping to eat at the UT-Chattanooga campus, which was nicely set up on a hill. We found a bench and dug into our platter. The BBQ was a tangy Memphis-style, with a nice kick of spice. t was thicker and richer than other sauces we had tried, and it was so good we ended up sopping every drop up with our bread. However, we were divided on the chopped pork. When they said chopped pork they meant it -everything comes right along with the meat: fat, cartilage and all. While I know that’s what one should expect from chopped pork, I had been spoiled by the lean pulled pork on the rest of the trip, though M did not seem to mind. One thing we regret though – was missing getting a bottle of BBQ sauce to take home with us.
Eating The World 