Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse, Mayfair - Pitmasters Jim and Brooke Higgins on 7500 State Road

[monavano]

I've wanted to try Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse for some time now, and it did not disappoint.

Outside, there is plenty of off street parking. Lucy's catering truck marks the spot, and is surrounded by hickory wood. Your olfactory affirms this as you get out of your car and the smoky air wafts up your nose.

The restaurant, an old warehouse space, is light and airy with a touch of kitsch. The large windows allow plenty of warm light in and are augmented with hanging wash basin "chandeliers". There are tables and wooden booths which are spaced comfortably.

Entering Lucy's, we were faced with several signs displaying the menu and specials. After ordering at the counter, we filled our soft drinks and found a booth. In under 10 minutes our name was called and Mr. MV brought our orders ,in styrofoam containers, to the table. For under $6, you can get a sandwich and 2 sides. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and coleslaw. Mr. MV got a pulled brisket sandwich with mac and cheese, corn bread and collards. We split an order of 4 ribs (for investigative purposes and to be thorough, of course )

The moist pulled pork was a combination of shredded and chunky meat (including a couple burnt ends). The beans were absolutely delicious because they mingle with a generous amount of smoky pork. The coleslaw was fresh, crisp and creamy while not being too sweet. The corn bread was moist and tasty, with a bit of crunch from corn meal.

The brisket, also moist, retained an assertive beef flavor. I'd skip the mac and cheese as it was flabby and not cheesy enough. The collards were quite good, but could have been sent into greatness if they were cooked with a ham hock, which I did not detect. Instead, the collards have a nice tang and heat from crushed red pepper flakes.

A special note is the brioche-type buns which the sandwiches are served on. Lucy's could have easily skimped on the bun and used the ubiquitous kaiser roll found in Philly.

The meats come dressed with their Texas style bbq sauce and you can help yourself to more of the same, or Carolina style vinegar sauce. I found that adding the vinegar sauce (also with red pepper) cut the slight sweetness of the Texas sauce nicely. There are pickles, pepperoncini and sliced cherry peppers also available at the condiment table.
Here are some pics on flickr.

http://flickr.com/photos/11055869@N02/sets...309242867/show/

Note: Sweet Lucy's is about 10 minutes north of Center City, on I-95. Take the Cottman Ave. exit and make a right at the first light onto State Rd. Sweet Lucy's is 2 blocks up on the left side.

[monavano]

I posted about this in the What Are You Eating Right Now thread, but I might as well crosspost it here. I recently stumbled upon an excellent pizza place called Gaetano's on the edge of the city (Delaware County, Clifton Heights). When I wrote the original post, I had just finished off the last of the pizza, which I hauled all the way back to DC, since I hadn't eaten the whole pizza and didn't want to throw any out.

In the same spirit as Pat's post, I enjoyed take-out pulled pork with bbq sauce from Sweet Lucy's in Philadelphia. My husband had stopped there for lunch on his way back to VA, and got a pound of it to take home. I heated some and had it over a slice of good old white bread.

I believe I mentioned Sweet Lucy's before here, but it bears repeating that if you're in the Philly area and want to try them for ribs and pulled pork (especially), I highly recommend that you take a short drive north on I-95 to the Cottman Ave. exit. Sweet Lucy's Smoke House is no more than 1/2 mile west on State Rd.