St Louis: Lunch Cue at Pappy's Smokehouse

When I found out I was going to St Louis for a conference, the only thing that came to mind was B.B.Q. At first I thought I'd do a BBQ marathon, but by chance I was having dinner with Chowhounder noshtp, who just happened to have grown up in St Louis. There's only one place for barbecue, he tells me, and that is Pappy's Smokehouse. So to Pappy's Smokehouse I go for my first STL lunch.

The wide streets of St Louis during the day were pretty empty and street parking aplenty. Until you get near Pappy's that is. Located next to two small universities, Pappy's back parking lot was completely full.Pappy's opens at 11 and stays open until 8 PM or when they run out. And they do run out. During lunch there is always a line.

On my first visit I got the rib combo - half rack of ribs, brisket, and 2 sides: cole slaw and fried corn.

The deep fried corn was ... interesting.
I usually love corn, especially corn on the cob. But since this one was deep fried, it ended up really sticking to your teeth and quite a hassle to eat. Plus it isn't as sweet/juicy as roasted corn ..

Three sauces are provided at each table: Sweet Baby Jane, Pappy's Original, and Holly's Hot.
It was hard to decide which sauce I liked best, depending on the mood perhaps, if you'd like something sweeter. I liked the Sweet Baby Jane with my brisket (brisket was ok - not much to say there) but decided on Pappy's Original for my ribs.

St. Louis style ribs are trimmed by removing the brisket bone and skirt meat. The ribs at Pappy's are dry-rubbed and then slow-smoked.
Because of the way it is trimmed, the St Louis ribs are thin and you're munching on the meat right by the bone (the best part!).

Pappy's ribs aren't the tender, fall-off the bone type. Having been slow-smoked, these ribs are tender but more like a tender jerky with a nice smoked flavor.
Flavorful dry rub, and don't forget the bbq sauce! A very satisfying lunch, indeed.

I came back for lunch again the next day and got the other things I didn't get a chance to the day before, like the Frito Pie!
It's not really a "pie" per se. Beans, pulled pork, cheese, sour cream, and fritos. Hearty and impossible to finish even with two people, this also gives a taste of how good their pulled pork was.

But I got my own order of pulled pork coming up.

Pappy's lunch special is quite a deal. $5.99 gets you a pulled sandwich, a side, and a drink. Naturally I went for the pulled pork sandwich!
The pulled pork is decidedly one of Pappy's best offerings, and a darn good one at that. Perhaps the best pulled pork in recent memory. It was so tender and moist/juicy! Sauce it to taste yourself with one of the three bbq sauces on the table and build your sandwich with the soft burger buns. This was a lunch I still remember to this day.

Man, that was some good pulled pork.


Pappy's Smokehouse
3106 Olive St
St Louis, MO 63103
(314) 535-4340