Ray Ray's Hog Pit

 Good Evening!  

     It has been too long since I have been to a restaurant that has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. I was getting incredibly antsy, so I decided to find a new one in my area. Turns out, Ray Ray's Hog Pit is literally in my backyard less than 10 minutes away. Rumor has it that Guy Fieri says it is one of his favorite BBQ joints in the Midwest that he has been to, so I had to check it out. 

    It is in the middle of a parking lot. I'm not kidding. A tiny building smack-dab in the middle of a parking lot for Kroger, Wendy's, and a bank.  Pre-COVID, it looks like there's a little outdoor seating area and a little bit of space inside, but at the moment they are drive-thru and walk-up window only. The drive-thru line was already into the street when we got there. It was pretty cool to see all the signs of the magazines and TV features they have had. It's worth noting that there is more than one Ray Ray's location in Columbus. We visited the Westerville location and Guy went to the Clintonville one.

    As far as pricing, I thought it was pretty typical for BBQ joints. Unfortunately, the burger Guy had tried on his visit is not currently available so I was a little bummed about that. We decided to go all out and order the Meat Sweats so we'd get to try every meat. You get to pick two barbecue sauces with the box, so we got sweet barbecue and jalapeno barbecue. For sides, we ordered the collard greens, mac & cheese, baked beans, and a stout brownie. (You can find their menu here.) 

    I loved the box the Meat Sweats came in. They loaded it up like a BBQ meat work of art. Let me start off by saying every one of the meats in the box was tender. We were off to a good start. I don't usually like pulled pork. Most places give it zero flavor and it's overly fatty or dry for whatever reason making you have to drench it in sauce, so I don't even bother. This pulled pork was the exact opposite. Whatever rub they had on the meat gave it flavor and it was not fatty nor dry whatsoever. Thank you, Ray Ray's for showing me what pulled pork can be. The spare ribs had a nice coating of spice rub on the outside and were smoked perfectly. I liked the smokey flavor it gave the ribs as well. My only slight disappointment was the brisket. I LOVE brisket and it is what I usually order when I want BBQ. The brisket tips had good flavor, but that was it. That was the one thing I had to to dip in the jalapeno barbecue sauce because I couldn't eat it plain. (Disclaimer: I have a favorite brisket at another Triple-D joint in Cleveland, so that was what I was measuring it to.) The chicken was dynamite. It was melt in your mouth tender and oozing with flavor so much you wanted to fall backward every time you took a bite. Which I did. My real love affair was with the sausage. They make it themselves, of course, and it was one of the things I was most curious about. The sausage itself was bursting with flavor and I was having a little pickled red onion with it to give it a slight tang. SO GOOD. My mouth is still watering a day later. 

    As for the sides, they were all really good. The mac & cheese was super creamy, cheesy, and had some surprise little pieces of bacon in it. The collard greens were tender and not super salty like I've had many other places. Those baked beans, though. Wow. They weren't overly sweet, but they have some brown sugar in there. There is another flavor it there that we couldn't pinpoint, but whatever it is took it to another level. I'll sneak in the barbecue sauces real quick. The sweet barbecue got too sweet after a few bites, so we won't do that one again. I could've drank the jalapeno barbecue sauce. It wasn't overly sweet or spicy, just that tip of the tongue spice and lots of flavor. We got the last stout brownie they had left that day, and I'm so glad. We'd go back for that brownie alone. It was super fudgy and you can taste the hint of stout, plus the top has a chocolate ganache that was amazing. 

    I will admit that I am not a person who often craves barbecue, but I will say Ray Ray's Hog Pit is the best barbecue I've had so far. Especially in Ohio. I will 100% be back for that chicken and sausage. They have a grass-fed brisket that they only serve on Sundays, so I may give that a shot as well. I also need to know if they will sell me the jalapeno barbecue sauce in a gallon jug. If nothing else, I know that brownie will be calling me every so often.