Three Pigs BBQ, Chain Bridge Road in McLean - Closed

[goodeats]

I have found the pork to be a little dry for my tastes, and not a lot of flavor. Not horrible, just not something I would go out of my way for.

Three Pigs is crap. Dry, bland, and chewy are three adjectives that come to mind.

Well, I guess the fact that it just closed probably confirms these assessments, I'm afraid. Viva Tyson's Corner magazine writes that the owners of the McLean Family Restaurant will take over this location, with a new American restaurant, whatever that means.

[DonRocks]

While I was picking up my de-lish case of 2008 Guillon Bourgogne Rouge (Cecile's Wine Cellar, $21.98 by the case - buy this wine!), I saw two new restaurants under construction in downtown McLean, right next to each other, in the same shopping center as Marvelous Market.

In the old Blockbuster space (did anyone, twenty years ago, imagine Blockbuster would ever shut down?), there will be McLean Tavern. I noticed this under construction a long time ago, and it really doesn't look like they've done much.

But I was surprised to see the demise of the decrepit Three Pigs Barbecue which had been there seemingly forever - in its place will be opening McLean 1910. According to a thread I found on Chowhound, this will be owned by the same folks as McLean Family Restaurant, a little place not far from Cecile's. (Trivia: McLean Family Restaurant is owned by relatives of Pete Sampras. Trivia: Pete Sampras was born, to the day, Ten Years After.)

Cheers,

Rocks.

I first went to Three Pigs in the early 90s, and have never cared for it. But I did a bit of research, and a gentleman named Roger Kennedy opened it - possibly in 1964 which would have made it one of the Oldest Restaurants in the Area (which it surely was) - and some old-timers are saying it was great back then.

[Joe H]

I first went to Three Pigs in the early 90s, and have never cared for it. But I did a bit of research, and a gentleman named Roger Kennedy opened it - possibly in 1964 which would have made it one of the Oldest Restaurants in the Area (which it surely was) - and some old-timers are saying it was great back then.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/three-pigs-barbeque,1096186/critic-review.html#reviewNum1

There was a place on West Montgomery in Rockville that I first went to in the mid to late '60's called Little Pigs of America. I have driven by the McLean Three Pigs countless times and always thought they were related although I never stopped in. Off the internet:

"The Brief Story of Little Pigs of America: The Little Pigs barbecue restaurants in Columbia, Greenville, and Asheville are remnants of the old Little Pigs of America, which sought to be an American barbecue empire. In the early 1960s, the Memphis-based company began selling franchises for barbecue restaurants nationwide. For a $6,000 up-front investment, Little Pigs promised franchisees a net return of $18,000 per year with no prior barbecue experience required. The company trained franchisees at their Memphis headquarters and helped them engineer the brick pits for their restaurants. A typical Little Pigs of America franchise sold a pork basket for 59 cents, a pork plate for 69 cents, and a rib platter for $1.59. The company announced a bold goal of opening 1,000 total restaurants, and by 1965 some 200 units had opened in the United States and Canada. Despite its rapid initial growth, the company turned a profit in only one year, 1963, and it filed for bankruptcy before the end of the decade, ending the brief run of what was America's largest barbecue chain. Many individual franchisees kept the Little Pigs name on their restaurants long after the parent company was but a faint memory."

[DrXmus]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/three-pigs-barbeque,1096186/critic-review.html#reviewNum1

There was a place on West Montgomery in Rockville that I first went to in the mid to late '60's called Little Pigs of America. I have driven by the McLean Three Pigs countless times and always thought they were related although I never stopped in. Off the internet:

"The Brief Story of Little Pigs of America: The Little Pigs barbecue restaurants in Columbia, Greenville, and Asheville are remnants of the old Little Pigs of America, which sought to be an American barbecue empire.

Thanks for that information, Joe. There was a Little Pigs in Greenville when I was growing up and it was my dad and my fave restaurant when we were in town. We always got the sandwich with cole slaw. Great memories. I wish I'd known there was a local shop that may have been similar.