Southern Soul BBQ - St. Simons Island, GA

Do you ever really, really, really look forward to something? A concert, a birthday party, a meal with friends. You start thinking about it, planning it, dreaming about it, obsessing over it. Well, for me that is my annual chow down at Southern Soul BBQ in St. Simons Island while on VaCa with the family.

My whole trip is planned around this fete and yes, it is worth it. The word is out too, so you should expect a line. Relax dude, you are on Jimmy Buffet time, so grab a cold pint and take a long slow breath to savor the lovely meat smoke billowing out of the barrel smoker.

Our good buddies from Jacksonville were heading up to join us for a Southern Soul ho-down, but my exuberance this year demanded a pre-meal, meal.

First, the staff is super cool in the same vein as The Greater Good and Fox Bros. Plus they are very laid back. When I biked in to make my catering order, (yes, biked - when you eat as much BBQ as me I need to be able to button my pants) it was before they opened, but they happily took my order as they were prepping for the day.

Second, the pork is rock solid. They included a couple of burnt ends and it was pulled to perfection.

While I am not a fan of lima beans in my stew, the flavor is right on, so order it. You will like it, beans and all.

The cole slaw with a little southern soul dust on top rounds out this goodness.

One complaint- they were out of the ribs on my first go around so I ordered the brisket. I found the brisket to be underwhelming and a little rubbery. This could be a one off because I have not ordered it before, but it was a disappointment.

The ribs I had later in the week were competition quality fantastic. If I had a Tasty Wilbur blue ribbon, I would have dropped it off.

Other items: The smoked wings. Mmmmm. The fries looked pretty darn good, but the kids refused to share, so not much to say there.

OVERALL: 🕷🕷🕷🕷(excellent)

Pork: 🐷🐷🐷🐷(damn good pig)

Southern Soul BBQ