A couple of years ago, I stumbled on the blog of a guy in Tennessee who was chronicling his journey in starting a BBQ joint.  Now I don’t think there’s a restaurant in my future…ever.  But I thoroughly enjoyed following the story of Martin’s BBQ Joint and pitmaster Pat Martin.  I mentally put his joint on my list of places to visit if the opportunity ever arose.

Martin’s BBQ Joint – Nolensville, TNWell recently I had the opportunity to travel through Nashville on a BBQ related trip of my own.  I’d also had the good fortune to meet Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker at the Business of BBQ class in January.  When Carey found out I was coming through town, we agreed to meet up for lunch.  Carey told me on the phone that “Pat’s is the best place in town”.  It took me a minute to realize that he was talking about Pat Martin.  That sealed the deal, we were headed to Martin’s BBQ to meet Carey for lunch.

The Hog CoffinI’d read about the original joint and frankly forgotten that Pat had moved into a new building.  But when we rolled through Nolensville, TN, there was no mistaking that we were at Martin’s when we spotted the “Hog Coffin” parked out front.  Now that’s a serious BBQ rig.  It’ll cook 6 hogs at once and has a big Ole Hickory pit mounted on it as well.  We took a few minutes to admire the rig while we waited for Carey.

Once inside, do you know how I could tell we were in a BBQ joint?  There’s a freakin’ pit in the middle of the dining area.  I’m talking about a hog cookin’ pit.  Whole hog is Pat’s specialty and they cook them in full view of the diners.  Now I wasn’t there on a day when they were cooking whole hog, so that means I have to get back there another time when they are.

We ordered up a couple of sampler platters and Carey had the brisket tacos.  We had baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork, bbq beans, green beans, and cornbread on the platters.  I’ll just cut to the chase, I loved it all.  The brisket was probably my favorite meat, and the bbq beans were my favorite side dish.  But it was all good!

As we were finishing our lunch Pat came by and we spent some time talking about their pending trip to Memphis in May, the merits of the Backwoods Smoker that I was there to pick up, the Big Apple Block Party, and a variety of other bbq topics.  It was great to have lunch with Carey & Pat, a couple of guys who are definitely living out their bbq dreams.

If you find yourself anywhere near Nashville, TN, then I’d recommend diverting to Nolensville (just southeast of Nashville) and eating at Martin’s BBQ.

Cheers,

Braddog

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