Hog Heaven

OHIO: Hog Heaven
2730 Cleveland Ave NW
Canton, OH 44709
330-458-0904
Open Sun 11-8, M-Thur 11-10, F-Sat 11-11
www.hogheaven-bbq.com

This is the second location of a joint that has gained a great biker following in its much larger venue in southeast Ohio. This joint was pretty dead at about 2:30 in the afternoon, and only the bar was operating. The menu is extensive, but we weren't looking beyond the BBQ, that is until we saw "Hog Eggs" on the menu. Hard boiled eggs are battered, deep fried and dusted with a spicy seasoning. While not exactly addictive (how many could you really eat anyway) they were surprisingly enjoyable. We should have stopped there.



In researching BBQ options in Ohio, I have now learned the valuable lesson that just because it's listed on Urbanspoon under the category "Barbecue", and the restaurant advertises that they have BBQ, doesn't mean that there's a smoker in sight. All of the meat here is either grilled or baked. The ribs were both. They lost all of their consistency in an oven, then had all of their flavor masked on a grill after being absolutely drenched in sauce. The feeble meat had no chance of staying on the bone, and the first bite of mush tasted like nothing but sauce. At least the fries were good.



The pulled pork was no better. This monochromatic mound of meat had no bark, fat or flavor. It had to have been baked, but it might as well have been boiled or microwaved. There was just no flavor.



Luckily, for anyone in Canton looking for something that can be classified as BBQ, there's a location of Old Carolina just across the highway.

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