Fresh Air BBQ

not to be confused with Fresh Air Barbecue

Fresh Air BBQ
1110 Hull Road
Athens, GA 30601
706-546-6060
website

There is also a location in Bogart, off of the Atlanta highway.

A day of three mistakes:

Ambiance

On Saturday, during the second half of the GA game, we decided to run down to Fresh Air BBQ, a place recommended by my stepdad. It was close, and he said that it was good, so we decided to try it out. The restaurant is sparsely furnished inside, perhaps to allow for wide bodies to pass comfortably between the tables. I compare this to Fat Matt’s, which has very little room between the tables. It was like the space was designed for SUV drivers: strange to me, since I’m a sedan man. There was a TV in the corner, tuned to fox news. That was our first mistake. I assumed that since we were right outside of Athens, the joint would have the GA game either playing on the radio or on a TV, thus we would only miss the part of the game that coincided with our walk from the car to the front door. We ended up missing 3-4 minutes of game action because of this blunder, which hurried us and may have contributed to our next two mistakes.

Food

The food was reasonably priced. As we were in a hurry, we didn’t take a full look at the menu but just ordered 3 pulled pork plates, with Brunswick stew and coleslaw or chips. They were reasonably priced at ~$6, and I think you can just order pulled pork sandwiches for a few bucks if you don’t care for the stew. Or, if you were smart, you could order one of the specials, either the “tailgate” or “family,” which give you a bunch more bang for your buck. You would end up getting a bunch more of everything. This was our second mistake. We became aware of that option too late to change our order. We also discovered that a gallon of their sweet tea costs $4, which seems a good price, since a cup costs $1.30. That was our third mistake, since we already picked up 2 sweet teas and one unsweet (Callie is really a yankee in places she doesn’t like to talk about at parties). Normally we’d just drink mine, but I’m on a tea-making hiatus until my house closes.

All in all, the food was very good. The pork was tender. I’m not a BBQ master critic or anything, but I’ve eaten my share and probably yours in the last few years. I like sauce that isn’t too thick or sweet, and meat that really sings. The stew had good flavor, if a little sweet. Make sure you ask for extra sauce, as they skimped on that.

We liked the food, we liked the serving speed (as stated, we only missed 3-4 minutes of game action), and the price was reasonable. We'll go back any time we're in the area and hungry. The establishment was a little too clean and updated for a “true” southern BBQ experience, but not overly so, and there was no fakery, as in a Sonny’s. Fresh Air BBQ supposedly began in Jackson, GA, and makes mention of that on their website, but the website for Fresh Air Barbecue in Jackson does not mention the restaurants in Bogart and Hull. Lee supposes a family feud is the reason.

7 out of 10 mouth feels