For Southern barbeque lovers, ‘Central New York BBQ’ may sound off alarm bells. Those people need to suspend any doubt and head straight to Piggy Pat’s in Washington Mills. A night at Piggy Pat’s promises live music and a delicious barbecue spread in a dining room decked out in more pig-themed decor than you have ever seen in one place. Pat’s serves lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, except for Monday. I would recommend coming here on the earlier side—they smoke all of their meat in the morning, so by the time we got there at 7:45p.m., they were out of smoked turkey, sausage and, tragically, their pulled pork.
Piggy Pat’s traces its origins to the 1990s, when Pat and Brenda Mcann were working as dairy farmers. Facing a difficult market and financial pressure in the dairy farming industry, they converted an outbuilding into a takeout BBQ shack to generate extra revenue. After seven years, in 2001, the smokehouse officially became Piggy Pat’s. In 2017, the restaurant was purchased by Jim Fitzgerald, who Hamilton students may know as the cousin of beloved campus figure and Hamilton facilities employee Kevin Mojave.
The restaurant is expansive, with two dining rooms, a bar and an outdoor patio. Everywhere you look, the walls are adorned with a pig-related piece of decor. The most memorable has to be the mural in the second room, displaying a pastoral scene with cherubic baby pigs frolicking in the water and around the farm while adult pigs tend to the animals and the laundry. The entertainment isn’t just painted onto the walls—on Fridays and Saturdays, Piggy Pats has live music, with a rotating lineup of bands. Make sure to check out their social media for updates on other events, such as trivia nights and alerts for new specials, including mac and cheese balls with pulled pork.
The menu here is extensive, and every option, from the appetizers to the sandwiches to the burgers, sound unbelievably appetizing. If you don’t know where to start, look at the sandwiches—the Three-Little-Piggies lets you try three different meats on sliders, along with a side. When in doubt at a BBQ restaurant, try the pulled pork and brisket, and load up on the sides. Make sure to add on plenty of sauces—with seven options that all have different flavor profiles, you’ve got to try them all. There’s a full roll of paper towels on each table, so prepare to get messy.
The highlight of my meal had to be the brisket. It was done Texas-style, cooked low and slow, so the meat was tender without becoming too soft. The rub was simple, with just salt and pepper insuring the flavor of the meat was the star of every bite. Once I slathered it with the Texas BBQ sauce, a sweet and slightly spicy sauce with a smoky flavor, I was already planning the next time I could be back. The Texas sauce was by far my favorite: while the Carolina sauce brought a punch of vinegar, it was so thin that it practically ran right off the meat as I poured it on. The Kansas City Hot had a good kick from habanero, but the tomato-base was too chunky and sweet for my taste.
Don’t miss out on the appetizers either—the fried green tomatoes were divine. The slices of tomato were thin, and coated in a sweet cornmeal-like breading. The green chili aioli brought a spicy creaminess to each bite, and the six large slices of tomato are more than enough for a table. I will certainly be back to Piggy Pat’s to watch some live music and share a big platter of pulled pork, brisket and sides with some friends.
