Community Q BBQ, Decatur GA (take two)

Community Q, criminally, had slipped under my radar. Since it opened in 2009, it received lots of attention and writeups from hobbyists and food lovers (Here’s our own report), but I hadn’t eaten there in quite some time – the last was almost two years ago, when Dale, a roadfooding friend from Rhode Island came through town on his way to Birmingham – and found myself curious to visit them again.

David Roberts has been keeping the quality high here. Everything on the menu has its champions, especially their excellent brisket and their celebrated mac and cheese, which plenty of people say is the best in the city. However, I was in the mood for my usual barbecue meal of pork, stew, and slaw, and what Community Q does with these standards is better than the average. This was a completely delicious lunch.

The pork is juicy and just pops with the flavor of smoke. There are a couple of sauces – one tomato-based and one vinegar-based – and neither is really necessary because the meat can stand on its own. The slaw goes light on the mayo in favor of vinegar, and the dark and rich taste of the stew is a favorite, one of the best in town. Normally, I look for a few more words in a take two post, but can’t think of any to add here. This is a really great barbecue restaurant and absolutely worth adding to any traveler’s to-do list when considering barbecue options in Atlanta.

It’s nice that there’s a barbecue restaurant that does so many things so well that guests can swing back and forth between what to order each time and be assured of the quality. About a month after this visit, my son and I were back again, this time in the company of my friends Helen and Vincent. This time, I had the brisket and the mac and cheese. Helen, citing a diet, declined to order this side, but I slid mine over for her to try. She knows better than to pass on my mac and cheese recommendations now.