It’s nice to have preconceptions shattered. As someone who should really enter every dining experience with an open mind, I often find myself rolling my eyes or snickering at a particular restaurant or a person’s recommendation to me. It was on this very site, after a scathing review of Steel Pig BBQ, that it was suggested I visit Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ. Sure, this is another Northwest, Seattle-fied barbeque joint and while I haven’t presented a written review of all the barbeque I’ve eaten since moving to Seattle, I have eaten at nearly every ‘que joint I could find - with a few exceptions. Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ was one of the exceptions.

Not much to look at and somewhat hidden on NW 65th Street, just North and East of the main Ballard business district, I likely never would have found outpost to smoky meats had it not been for the suggestion. From the outside the building looks like most any other store front but it’s when you actually pull into their small parking lot and exit your vehicle that you realize that there’s something more to this place. That something more is the faint tinge of wood smoke in the air. Once inside, though not powerful enough to infuse one’s clothing, you are hit with a generous nose-full of the same smokiness. The dining room is large but you walk up to the counter (The cash register more specifically) and place your order off a laminated menu that sits on the counter. As you peruse the offerings you can also look into two glass cases filled with salads, sides and, most importantly, slow smoked meats. “But which of the tempting looking offerings should I get,” I asked myself.

I went the simple route, a time tested item that should be easy to get right, the Slow Joe Pork Sandwich ($6.95). The menu described it coming on a hoagie roll but I thought it was more like a section of French loaf. Whatever it was exactly it had been grilled, not griddled, but grilled so it had slightly bitter, smoky char lines running across the width of the inside of the two halves. This grilling gave the bread a good crunch that held up to the moist, smoke perfumed chopped pork that lounged in the bread’s embrace. Unlike some barbeque, pulled pork sandwiches being specifically what I have in mind here, the meat was minimally sauced, which is how it should be. You should be able to taste the meat and see the reddish pink tinting that is imparted from long, low smoke cooking. The two options of sauce are original and hot, I opted for hot. The sauce was a tomato-y sauce based on chili powder but had enough kick to make my tongue jump but not so much that my eyes were watering. It’s good to not that there are also squeeze bottles of sauce on the table from more original and hot sauces, to a sweet/spicy Thai sauce and, my favorite, a Carolina sour sauce which is a near perfect replication of North Carolina vinegar based sauce. Each bite of my sandwich was tender, meaty and moist from the falling apart chunks of pork, a bit of the fat and collagen from the cooking speckling the plate as it dripped from the sandwich to my hands and then the plate. Be sure to pick up napkins before sitting down as you will get messy. In a little cup, as a side, came crunchy, cool coleslaw. While it was drier than many people will like; I preferred the minimal application of dressing on this slaw, there was just enough to moisten the shredded salad and remind me that I wasn’t just eating raw cabbage. And this was a great topping to the smoky, meatiness of the pork inside the sandwich.

While Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ may not be 100% true Southern barbeque it is close enough to it that I can add another restaurant to my list of ‘que craving quellers. An added plus is the price. For under $10 a person can get a sandwich, side and a drink for lunch. While there are many fast food restaurants where you can get food cheaper for a midday repast, it’s unlikely you’ll find any as good.