Page 29 - Best of the Best 2020

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020
BEST OF THE BEST • 29N
BEST BARBECUE Whole Hog Cafe >>
Consistency is key for barbecue restaurant
It’s been 20 years since Mike “Sarge” Davis, Steve Lucchi and the late Ron Blasingame gave their championship barbecue a home at Whole Hog Cafe, but those recipes still win competitions. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
readers voted the restaurant as Best Barbecue in the newspaper’s annual Best of the Best contest.
“I’m thankful that we’ve got a loyal customer base and for all the great employees that we have here,” Davis said. “It gives you a really great feeling when you can stand in the dining room, and a customer recognizes you as one of the owners, and says ‘Best barbecue I’ve ever had!’”
The three founders first met at the Memphis-in-May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, where Davis was competing and the other founders were judg- ing. They kindled a friendship and formed their own competition barbecue team — the Southern Gentlemen’s Culinary Society.
After traveling to competitions across the country and perfecting their recipes, they opened the Cantrell Road location in Little Rock in 2000. The brand has now grown to 17 locations throughout five states.
Although the restaurant was born of competition, Lucchi said, the most important contest is consistency.
“We’re not competing against other restaurants; we’re
competing against what we did yesterday,” he said. “If we can present a consistent product, then the customers can really judge whether it’s what they’re willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on.”
He added that Whole Hog focuses on the quality of the meat, smoking it daily and serving most dishes without sauce. Barbecue varies by region, he added, and each of the sauces on the tables at Whole Hog reflects an area where the team traveled, allowing customers to tailor their meals to their tastes.
“Little Rock is a melting pot of people coming from all different parts of the United States and the world,” Davis said. “[The variety of sauces] lets them get something close to their region that they’re more accustomed to.”
While Whole Hog continues to expand — the most recent location opened in Yonkers, New York, earlier this month — it maintains the competitive, fun-loving spirit on which it was founded. Kathy Blasingame said one of her husband’s favorite lines was, “This was a hobby that got out of hand.”
“Well, here we are going into our third decade,” Davis added. “Yep, it may have been a hobby that got out of hand, but it’s still something that you can take pride in and have fun with. We’re looking forward to the next 20 years.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
From left, Mike “Sarge” Davis, Kathy Blasingame and Steve Lucchi pose near trophies at Whole Hog Cafe on Cantrell Road in Little Rock. Blasingame holds a photo of her late husband, Ron, who founded the restaurant with Davis and Lucchi.
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