I tried to buy some Q from Heirloom a few weeks ago but when I arrived, the parking lot was empty, I knew the bad news…sold out. The paper bag on the front door confirmed my fear. Today was different since I arrived mid-afternoon, there were both cars and motorcycles in the lot and a few people were gathered in front of the door.

You enter the market, grab a menu and work your way to the order/register. I ordered a 2-meat platter with two sides and chose the brisket and pulled pork for the meats, baked beans and Brunswick stew for the sides, and an order of the Korean sauce. All was placed in a Styrofoam clamshell along with some sliced pickles and a buttered and grilled bun.

Pulled Pork – This was the best of the order. They give a good mound of meat. I loved the texture, almost soft and delicate with great smokiness. When you added some of the special Korean sauce it was an international explosion of flavor on the palate.

Brisket – There were probably 4 nice slices in the order. I really wanted to love the brisket but it fell flat. While the meat absorbed a good deal of smokiness, the rub disappeared in the cooking process, I could see it, but it was almost non-present on first bite. The meat was greatly enhanced by the sauce, but without the sauce, it was not to my liking.

Make your own sandwich – I halved the roll and tried with the pork/sauce/pickle on one half and substituted the brisket on the other. The combination was really good with the spiciness of the sauce and the tanginess that the pickle complemented the other participants.

Brunswick Stew – I was skeptical when I ordered it, but it was excellent. Full of great flavors and chunks of meat.

Baked beans – A little too sweet for my taste, plus with a ton of meat scraps all over the kitchen, I would have preferred some chopped meats in the beans.

Overall, I was expecting a lot more from this acclaimed BBQ joint. While the pulled pork was outstanding and even better with the Korean sauce, the others fell a little flat. Given the proximity to B’s Cracklin, the stakes are higher for this part of Atlanta.