Praise the Lard BBQ

I have been in the hospital and all I could think about was having a brisket Sandwich and Mac n cheese from Praise the Lard but when I called to inquire if they delivered I was told they do for catering. After explaining the situation to Cindy she said if I would give her my address she would see what she could do. Would you believe after working her shift she brought me brisket, Mac n cheese and a chocolate milk. Bless your heart and eat often at «Praise The Lard» they know how to treat people and serve the best food in town.

My 9 year old daughter, Frances, is somewhat of a barbeque connoisseur. This is where she gets her fix on lazy Sunday afternoon. Plenty of sauces. Great selection of sides to choose from too.

My hubby brought home take out and we enjoyed it very much. He says the staff is very friendly. I liked the mac n cheese a lot and the sauces were yummy and there was no restriction on amount. Cool merch in the store! :-)

There’s a lot of BBQ places to eat around this area, but hands down Praise the Lard has the best meats and sauces.
Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, all amazing. No clue how they prepare it, but it’s stupid good. Tray any of the sauces and you’re eating a slice of heaven.
For the sides, I generally stick with the Smoked Mac and Cheese and the Sweet Potatoes. Nothing fancy about this place, just awesome food and good friendly service.

Just avoid the ribs and you can’t go wrong. If you want ribs go elsewhere because they’re not baby backs and they’re not St. Louis ribs they are something in between. Excellent chopped barbecue and the carrot soufflé is so delicious you will be wanting to take some home or figure out how to make it yourself.

The staff was friendly and knowledgeable about bbq and answered some questions from our party. Out of the group almost the whole menu was sampled. I had brisket which was moist but I was a huge fan of the rub used. The mac and cheese was cold and clumpy. They have a number of sauces and I tries them all and they were ok but would say the ones supposed to hot were not hot. 3 stars because some of the group really liked the bbq but about half did not.

**5 Star rating based on food and general service. You order at counter and they bring it to your table and you service your own beverage.
I generally eat barbecue 2 – 3 times a month and I have eaten it all the BBQ hot spots in Atlanta. My top three have been Community barbecue, Fox brothers and Heirloom.
PTL, just took over the top spot! I tried a little of everything since it was my first time.
Turkey and the ribs are not to be missed. From there, in descending order, I would say Burnt ends, brisket, pulled pork, and chicken. As for sides, the mac-​n-​cheese and carrot soufflé stand out. Baked beans and grit cakes are excellent as well. They also have many more sides to offer.

My boyfriend found this place on Unilocal as we were driving through Georgia en route to the NC mountains. I was sold as soon as I heard the name.
Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by a bubbly young lady at the front counter, who offered helpful recommendations about the menu and their sauce options (the sriracha BBQ sauce is a must… and there are tons of other great options at the sauce bar).
I ordered the Brunswick Stew and deviled eggs. The bf ordered pulled pork and green beans. The stew was the perfect consistency. Not too thick, not too thin… and loaded with chicken. So delicious. The eggs were simple, but well-​executed. My boyfriend enjoyed the pork. And several days later, he’s still talking about how good the green beans were. Shocking to me, since he’s not typically a fan of vegetables. But they had a unique flavor. Lard, perhaps? Who knows? But they were great.
Other great highlights here: clean bathrooms, clean dining area, a fun pro wrestling theme and close proximity to a major highway. When taking a road trip, it’s (literally) such a relief to find a good, cheap restaurant with clean tables and bathrooms.
I’d come here again!

When how have traveled the country experiencing the different styles of bbq it is hard to see all bbq on a level playing field. Texas, Saint Louis continue to amaze me with the way they prepare their meat and the options for sauce. Until you had had true bbq there everything else is just brushing the surface.
Came here for a late lunch and was happy to explore the combo with my wife after being offered two extra sides. We went with the Mac and cheese two times which was very tasty and had a unique hint of pepper in them we enjoyed, collard greens which were very favorable and the coleslaw which was a total loss, but we did not waste time thinking about the sides…
The first taste went to ribs which were a totally win. Very full of flavor and and what tasted like a fresh cut and while they were dryish and needed some sauce the options for bbq sauce were great and I would come here just for ribs. Not 5, but 4.5 in my book. Pulled chicken and pork were as expected and while not bad were nothing spectacular. The brisket was by the best item on the plate. It was seasoned to perfection and while tasted the best was the smallest portion on the combo. Burnt Ends were not as good as I have had before, but we’re not bad. They were more like pulled pork with some crispy areas added. Turkey slices were good, but slightly dry. All in all this place was pretty good, but not the best I have had. The service was good and the location was comfortable, but four stars in my books.

I decided to try this place out since everyone on Unilocal was raving about this place… But I guess I must have ordered the wrong thing because it was pretty terrible. I ordered a half rack of ribs with a side of Mac n cheese & carrot soufflé. The ribs were the part that was just awful! They were so dry and I had to continue to pick through it to remove the non edible parts (and I’m not referring to the bones). It was so burnt and dry that it could have passed for jerky. And for $ 20 a half rack, they should have done better. I mean, ribs are the first thing you think of when you think of BBQ.
The sides were good, but again, for BBQ– it should have been all about the meat.
I feel tricked, and will not come here again

Excellent, the Carrot Soufflé is to die for!!! Easy to find and the owners are very gracious and friendly. Homey place.

I love this place the people are nice the service is a little slow the food is good and the message they send is outstanding they are active in the community and support The local school I will continue to trade with them as much as possible thank you for being in our community and God bless

This place is the REAL DEAL.
Their BBQ is top notch. I was a little bit wary about a BBQ joint in a strip mall, but they really smoke their meats in house. They offer at least 12 (maybe more) homemade sauces, ranging from traditional BBQ to vinegar based BBQ to honey Sriracha sauce (my fav), and every single one is good. They even have some crazy hot sauces for you pepper-​heads.
And those side dishes… OH MY GOD… those side dishes… mmmmm (shivers)! The sides are out of this world. The carrot soufflé is absolutely amazing and is borderline dessert. Oh and the desserts are pretty darn good to boot.
Update 8÷1÷2015 — I’ve eaten at PTL about 10 times now and I can honestly say that I love everything on the menu. Everyone MUST try the «burnt ends» before they die. It’s made from brisket, then sauced and cooked a little bit more. Something magical happens during this process because the fatty parts in the brisket now melt in your mount.

Praise the Lard!!!

It’s my fourth visit as of today.
On the first visit, it was great, possibly the best I had in Georgia. On my second visit, they messed up the brisket but it was still good. On my third visit, they were out of ribs and gave us rib tips instead which was tough. Ehh not so good. Then I met the owner. He was very interested in how to make it better and started asking questions on how the food was. My wife and I was very impressed with how genuinely the owner was caring for the business. At that time, we were talking about how the restaurant can become better and hope to see the day it becomes one of the spots to go to.
Well today, I am very saddened to say that hope has became null. When I walked in, and ordered my big platter with medium wet brisket, all I got was a tough pieces of meats. The brisket was cut wrong on all of our orders. It was cut along the grain. Really? Same mistake again. The ribs were dry and tough, the burnt ends are just a brisket cubes in a sauce. I don’t know what happened here. I couldn’t find the owner in the restaurant, though I’ve seen the manager? walking around. If today was my first visit, I’ll probably rate the restaurant 1 star, but I have been coming here for few times and know this place can become a LOT better than what it is right now.
The server/​staff is friendly as always, but consistency is the key. They really really have to work like when they first opened. They are missing the enthusiasm and passion, as well as missing the mark for the third time I’ve been in here. Perhaps one last try in near future, and I hope the owners pay attention to the orders that’s going out.

This place is really good. I ordered a couple pounds of the pulled pork and sliced brisket for a party and everyone was really impressed! The brisket was tender and delicious and the pulled pork was excellent. We also ordered a ton of cole slaw and that was really good as well. It didn’t have too much mayo and was nicely seasoned.
The restaurant is really cute and the employees were very friendly. When I arrived to pick-​up my order, they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about but managed to get everything for me in a few minutes. So, I guess I would advise caution when placing orders a few days in advance. They had enough of everything I ordered, but I would call the day before the «remind» them of your order if you really want to be on the safe side.

I visited this place last Sunday. It’s the type of restaurant where you order at the front and seat yourself. They’ll bring out the food for you. The drinks and sauces are also self-​serve.
I ordered the burnt ends with Mac and cheese and deviled eggs as my sides. The Mac and cheese was very creamy and delish! The deviled eggs tasted normal, but I like my deviled eggs with a little more mustard. The burnt ends tasted very good. They were juicy and saucy and tender.
I had a taste of the carrot soufflé, and it was sooo good! Tasted like sweet potatoes but less starchy.
Wish I had tried out a dessert, but that can be saved for next time I visit.

Wow. Good stuff. I didn’t really peruse the menu because my eye landed on a hand-​drawn sign that said «rib tips: all you can eat.» I’m glad I made that decision and I totally chowed down on the delicious stuff. The grit cakes and the carrot soufflé are clear winners among the sides. But the thing that really made me happy was the wide array of barbecue sauces, apparently all made in house.
The «average customer» (whatever that is) is bound to love the Praise The Lard sauce, which was a semi-​sweet & spicy conction. There was also a mustard sauce, and varying degrees of hot barbecue sauce options that went up to something called «Nuclear.»
So I tried the «Nuclear.» And it was not hot enough on my delicious rib tips. That’s right. Nuclear. Not hot enough.
So I went back to the counter, and I said, «Nuclear has a burn, but it’s not blowing my socks off.»
And the very nice lady said, «Did you see the ‘stupid’ sauce over there on the side?»
No, I had not. There, in all its red-​hot glory, was a big bottle of the Stupid Sauce, right next to a bottle of a Honey-​Sriracha concoction. In that moment, life became complete. I took a healthy dose of each, and each one made me stupidly happy.
That, plus the Dusty Rhodes’ picture which identified our table, that is.
I’ll happily return. Holler if you’re coming with.

After driving by and laughing at the name for almost a year, my boyfriend and I finally tried Praise the Lard last Friday. We arrived right as they opened– 11am– and were the first ones in the door.
The staff was friendly and cheerful. The restaurant itself was very clean and open. It’s the suburbs, so parking is easy, of course.
As far as the food goes– I worked at a BBQ joint for a year, and so I’m something of a snob about it. But this place was FANTASTIC. I got the pulled pork plate and wow– not a bit of gristle or hard bits, just tender, amazingly cooked pork BBQ. Boyfriend got the chicken and it was also excellent– not quite as good as the pork, but I think that was only by virtue of it being chicken.
We tried almost all the sauces, and loved the house blend and the Carolina best. For sides, we got the carrot soufflé, cole slaw, and black eyes peas. All were great; the carrot soufflé was really good, but it’s very much a dessert disguised as a vegetable.
We also got an actual dessert– the banana pudding– which was the only let down of the meal. The pudding itself was pretty good, but I wasn’t a fan of the fake whipped cream (pretty sure it was Cool Whip) on top. It seemed weird– this is a place that’s all about home cooking and from-​scratch ingredients, but then… Cool Whip? If there’d been real whipped cream on the banana pudding, it would have been so much better.

This is what Barbeque us meant to be, a plate full of divine smoky flavor served with a smile and cooked by people that obviously care a lot about the food they are serving.
Everything here is made fresh and it shows. They have five or six sauces and all the ones I tried were different but also very good. The meat was super fresh, tender and perfectly cooked. I really liked the sides and the mac-​and-​cheese was homemade and not from any sort of a box. I commented about the grit cakes and they gave me a order NC, Nice! The grit cakes are worth going back for! They have a cheesy grit that they cool overnight and cut into squares (triangles actually), they cook them on the flat top in some butter and serve them nicely browned… fan-f’in-tastic!
In a town that has no shortage of barbeque places from what I saw this one was definitely a great find! Must go back sometime!
KT

Burnt ends were yum, but a little fatty for my taste. A third of the meat was chunks of fat. Boo. More meat please! The macaroni was delicious– it has a smoked flavor, and they don’t scrimp on the cheese! Gooey just like I like it… My favorite part of the meal was the pickled okra. I would have liked to try the grit cakes or the squash, but they were out of quite a few sides. The early crowd must have gobbled it up!
Overall, it was a delicious meal, and I look froward to coming back.