In The Bible (Bucky Ray 4:20-22), it sayeth, “And there shalt be four Trailheads required to make a hike official. If there are not four, thou shalt suffer unofficial status and walk in the void. Dems the breaks, babes. Life be a bitch. Verily we roll along, roll along, roll along.”
And thus, it came to pass Guy, Roy, Steve, and Patrick did gather and hike the mighty Powers Island Trail. George was on an extended road trip to Bend, OR, and Brad/Elvis prepped for a client meeting.
Fio missed her loving Elvis and worked overtime shepherding the motley crew of meandering two-legged dolts.
It was a good hike, with topics ranging from politics to science fiction (pretty much the same thing these days). We rustled up some grub from Heirloom Market Barbecue for our post-hike reward. HMB is our most frequented smoked meats and fixings connection, and is located on Akers Mill Rd., just inside the perimeter.
Heirloom Market is a Southern-Korean Barbecue joint. Not North Korea. Not South Korea. Southern- Korea.
“What in holy hell is Southern-Korean Barbecue?” you ask. Hold your horses, and I’ll tell you.
It’s is all about the spices and sauces. We’re talking Gochujang marinated ribs, pulled pork and chicken, miso injected brisket, kimchi slaw, collard greens made with Korean miso and turkey breast–– you get the drift, it’s Southern low and slow barbecue with an Asian flair.
The back of the Heirloom Market tee-shirt explains this culinary concept with illustrations: Texas + Korea + Georgia = a pig with steer horns.
Heirloom Market is a mainstay on the best of Atlanta barbecue lists for a good reason. So, what did Trailheads think?
We’re big fans of the pulled pork. It’s tender, smoky, and dressed in one of the Korean spice sauces, a wake-up call to bored taste buds. Eating the sides was a challenge since only one of us got an eating utensil.
Patrick received a spoon for his Brunswick Stew––a solid stew of substance and a savory flavor and in the top tier of Atlanta’s finest. He also sampled Heirloom’s brisket for the first time. It was excellent: tender, lean, but lacking in smokey flavor. That was a moot point once the brisket wore a coat of delicious, sweet heat Korean BBQ sauce.
Roy used a plastic container lid as an eating utensil for his collard greens. Trailheads are like Miles Davis, we know how to improvise. He liked them but said they didn’t make the grade in his “best of” opinion. Roy’s a collard greens aficionado (AKA snob).
Steve and Guy used their plastic lids to eat some of the regular coleslaw (not the kimchi-spiked version). They liked it fine.
The star of the show was the pulled pork sandwich. Heirloom Market toasts their bun, and that makes a big difference in flavor. It gives the bun some armor in protection against sogginess and a nice flavor that compliments the smoked meat and makes it blush. Dress that thing with a Korean sauce, and you are in pig with steer horns heaven.
Guy had ordered Korean Barbecue Chips as a side but unfortunately didn’t get them. This outing proved a valuable lesson to Trailheads–– check your order at the restaurant when picking up takeaway food. Make sure you have everything, including eating utensils.
Lesson learned.
Rating: Four Ribs*
Heirloom Market BBQ
2243 Akers Mill RD Atlanta GA 30339
heirloommarketbbq.com
*About Our Barbecue Rating System
Trailheads do not claim to be food experts, epicureans, or sophisticated palettes. We are hungry hikers who attack a selected barbecue venue and ravage our way through whatever smoked fare and fixings they’re dishing.
Our reviews feature what we believe are the highlights of the menu we sampled. So our intent is not to trash talk the saintly folks who tend to smoldering smokers on hot, humid summer days. They are sacrificing themselves in the noble art of smoking meats and feeding the drooling masses. Many are independent entrepreneurs who are the backbone of this humming American economy.
Now that you know our standards, you may wonder why every barbecue place gets a four ribs rating. The answer is easy: we have acclaimed designers in our group, and they think the ribs graphic looks cool.
Who are we to argue? Enjoy.