Pork-a-thon: BT's Smokehouse
I love a good surprise. In a rare occurrence I found myself meandering outside a strip mall near the junction of I-84 and the Mass Pike, looking for an iced coffee. As I'm rounding the corner of one parking lot and headed into another, i roll past this:
With no kids in tow, and it being Father's Day, I figured I needed to check BT's out: It must be fate. I walk into this hole in the wall on the butt end of a shopping complex otherwise housing a liquor store and redemption center. Interesting location... but I'm filled with anticipation as it's feeling insanely authentic. This place just has to be good. (I later find out the bigger restaurant is just down the street where they smoke the meat, and this is simply the outpost.) I'm welcomed by a lovely woman behind the counter, and an even more lovely blast of smoked, meat-filled air. I quickly order up a pulled pork sandwich. They served it up in a neat paper liner that cradles the pork, kind of along the lines of a frito-pie wrapper... a stroke of genius I have not yet seen. They had a selection of sauces to choose from (i chose mustard), and a bench outside on which I quickly sat to dive in. I was in heaven, in a parking lot.
Onto the review after a few shots of the sandwich:
Price: $7 (i think... It was 8.50 total with a can of root beer)
Appearance: Perfect. I defy any meat-eating individual who could hold back when looking at this thing.
Pork solo: Really, really good stuff. Served up with a great assortment of bark, large chunks, and shreds of pork with an honest, real smoked flavor. I'd guess its applewood smoked, but waiting for confirmation on that front.
Bun: A sort of Kaiser or present day "hard-roll" ...basically absent from the equation, but that's not an issue with such an outstanding pork stuffed in the middle.
Cole Slaw: None! I actually didn't ask if they had it, and only realized it was missing when i was half way done stuffing it into my mouth. So apparently its not needed.
Sauce: 1 word, options; they had no less than 4 options on the counter. I normally go for a tomato/vinegar type sauce, but the lady behind the counter suggested mustard/vinegar as her favorite and it did not disappoint. Very flavorful, so i was glad i went light with it so as to not kill the flavor of the pork. Solid though, for sure. When i ran out half-way through my sandwich (perhaps the only downside to serving the sandwich in that bag) i went back inside for another few shakes.
Total package: Really great. One of the more truly smoked pulled sandwiches I've had. Very moist. The bark was maybe a touch salty, and it was a shame there was no slaw, but that's me getting really picky. This was an outstandingly delicious sandwich. You should find them as soon as possible. I don't live anywhere near Sturbridge, but I took a menu because I have to go back. Now thats saying sonething! Come to think of it... BT's is enroute from Boston to NYC which we do at least once a year. Yeah, I'll definitely be back.
