SNEAKY'S BBQ IS (MOSTLY) GOOD FOR YOU

**SO THIS PLACE IS MORE OF A POP-UP NOW. CLICK TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE GOING TO BE. NICE TO SEE THEY ARE STILL HANGING IN THERE**

I think it was Saturday and I had the day to myself so I thought I would trudge over to Hayes Valley and try out Sneaky's BBQ, one of those pop-up restaurants inside Rebel Bar on Market Street in San Francisco.  Being from the South I'm all about pork barbecue and trying to find a decent equivalent of the kind I remember from home.  And when one of the places here purports to specialize in Carolina pulled-porkness I have to try it.

The place itself was very bar basic--bar on the left--big room with scattered tables--a place for the dj--walls painted black--some flies banging their heads against the front window.  But to be honest, I'm not about ambiance in places, if it's there that's fine, if not, it won't stop me from eating there, especially if the food is good, which is why I like diners so much.  Anyway, turns out it was 2 for 1 happy hour so I bellied up to the window bar, got a nice amber ale and decided to hone in on the pulled pork platter and the two sides I chose were coleslaw and collard greens.  The cornbread was considered a side so I decided to splurge and just order it additional.

Now before I get to the food I will tell you that sometimes I get stuck in comparing what I get to what I've had back home and let's face it, places the offer sort of the same types of food are no match for your food and memories of home.  Thus I think in this instance I needed to step back and judge the food on its own merits and not how it compares to what I know and remember.

The pulled pork was good but it's not Carolina style, I'd say it's more Memphis mixed with a little Texas style and I say that because there is sauce on the pork--slightly spicy tomato based sauce.  Carolina style is just vinegar and spices, this one had the red tomato tint you see in the picture, but it was still good.  The pork was tender and not dry and had a distinct smoke flavor to it (which is also different from Carolina style) but it doesn't detract from the meat.  Though I do wish they would have gone a little lighter on the sauce---chef's choice.

For the sides--the collard greens were well-cooked and tender but they weren't seasoned at all--probably could have used a little fatback or possibly bacon to enliven the greens.  I added some vinegar, salt and pepper and that helped a lot.  The slaw was good but different than I'm used to and was a good mix of cabbage, green peppers and purple onions with a light vinegar coating and probably just a whiff of mayo and it paired relatively well with the pork.  The cornbread was okay--I'm going to say it was too cake-like for me.  As you can see the slice I got was huge (portions of all food are quite generous--a good thing) but wasn't warm and the butter couldn't melt and possibly add some saltiness to the sweet tasting cornbread.  Me personally I like my cornbread denser and skillet baked---which helps soak up juices and sauces.

As for dessert, they do have a selection of pies and stuff from Hot Mess Baking but between all the beer and the large portions I was just too full.

I'd be willing to give this place a try again and go for some of their other meat plates and some of their other sides like the shells and cheese or baked beans, though would probably skip the cornbread and try dessert instead.  And considering the amount of food you get the prices as you can see on the menu are quite comparable.  All in all, while it's not like home, it was still worth a trip across town.