Piggy Blue’s Bar-B-Que

Ribs for one is always what I get here. Tender ribs and a great variety of bbq sauces to fit anyone’s preference of taste.

Within the last couple of years, Minnesota Monthly named Piggy Blue’s a top 10 location in the state.
Frankly, I’m not sure if this speaks more to the quality of barbecue in Minnesota, or simply poor reviewing by Minnesota Monthly.
While not bad, Piggy Blue’s isn’t really good.
The interior is cheesy and tacky, in an effort to seem southern (I guess), but it comes off as a flea market sale of signs simply intended to compete with each other to see which is the most gaudy.
One interesting thing about the place is that they have their own beer. Unfortunately, it’s one of the more disappointing things about the restaurant, including the décor. Despite this, there is a decent selection of tap beers.
I ordered the two meat combo, with pulled pork and ribs, with coleslaw and baked beans for the sides.
The coleslaw seemed to have only two characteristics about it, mayonnaise and cabbage. (Yes, they are ingredients, but in this case, they’re also the only thing notable about an otherwise plain and sad combination.)
The beans weren’t bad, but I hope they didn’t spend time creating them, when generic baked beans from a shelf at the local Hy-​Vee are comparable, if not better.
The cornbread was good.
The ribs just left me feeling sad. Lacking any distinctive flavor, they also lacked any indication that they had been smoked for a reasonable time. They also were chewy. They weren’t chewy due to being undercooked, but almost overcooked, with uneven heating (which is odd for sure). The meat had a great relationship with bone, as it pulled away quite beautifully. However, despite the inner 1/​10′ being excellent, the rest was disappointing.
The pulled pork wasn’t remarkable, but was still good. It wasn’t flavored, or even rubbed before cooking, and had some characteristics that made me think it could have just as easily been put into a slow-​cooker for eight hours. However, it was a great balance of meat, with some melted fattiness. On top of this, it was a huge serving of moist and well pulled meat.
One of the saving graces has to be the sauces, which is always depressing to type out, but certainly helped the meal. They all had a great flavor and paired incredibly well with the pork. I think, had I gotten merely pulled pork and enjoyed it with sauce, it would have been much better (though still certainly not near top ten).
The service was very good, and the parking was near and plenty, but not even these perks would warrant a stop here in the future.

Great BBQ, friendly staff… best bourbon BBQ sauce I’ve ever had. Will definitely bring friends. Highly recommend.

I wish I had the experience every one else has. Had a pork po’ boy (to go) that took nearly 15 min to put together — which the cashier had to apologize for. The bread was great, but the sandwich was a soggy mess, slathered with slaw that buried the thin layer of mostly tasteless pork. For me it tasted like a Subway tuna sandwich, which I like, but not when it’s supposed to bbq. A very strange experience, felt like something went wrong in the kitchen or was missing.

Good food, great eclectic decore. Blues music playing. PO Boy for lunch and tried the deep fried pickles. Mmmm good. Check it out. Quick service and quick food delivery. Fresh in house made food that Rocks. Great service!

I would love to give this restaurant a five star review, but unfortunately the food is overpriced and really not that tasty. When I go to a BBQ place I go for one reason — RIBS. Piggy’s ribs are dry and lacking that big flavor you want in your ribs. Piggy Blue’s does have two things going for it the Pig Pen Po Boy sandwich is pretty decent although overpriced like everything else at this restaurant. They also have a killer homemade rootbeer. I would much rather drive a half hour and go to Famous Dave’s.

Best BBQ in Austin, MN
Been here many times and always left happy and full.
Nice staff,
BBQ joint setting and atmosphere

Yum! I am not a huge meat eater, but was with someone who loves meat so decided to try this place as we passed through town. I was impressed by all the choices on the menu, the friendly service and hometown feel. I don’t give out 5 stars very often; it takes a lot to impress me. I’m giving them a 5! Definitely a meat lovers gem.

Server was friendly and helpful. Brisket was awesome. Sauces were good. If you are in Austin, MN I would say check them out. Beer by the quart? To much for me, but I know others that would have been right up their alley!
Try corn puffs! With syrup

This place has become a traditional stop for my family for the past five to six years. The portions are perfect, the food is done very well, and the variety of sauces available make customizing your food a breeze.
The occasional jazz music adds to the atmosphere of the restaurant perfectly.
If you need some good BBQ, or are craving a big po-​boy, stop by Piggy Blues.

My wife and I were meeting my parents from Rochester in Austin to take a trip to the Spam Museum, so I Unilocaled restaurants in Austin and Piggy came up.
When you walk in I noticed a cool beer bottle koozy they have on sale by the door with their logo on it, thinking back, I probably should have gotten it.
The walls are lined with old style signs that give the place a very cool atmosphere. They are pretty funny, such as various cultures’ hangover cures.
I ordered a big Piggy’s brew, which is actually a Schell’s Amber Bock, quite tasty, and it comes in a great 32 oz mason jar and was priced at $ 5.50. Yes please!
My parents showed up and we ordered. I got the two meat platter with baked beans and a dinner salad. They were out of peel and eat shrimp, so my wife got some turkey and corn bread. My dad got the brisket platter with the sweet corn deal and my mom got a great sandwich with the sweet corn poppers.
I ordered another beer, a big Shock Top, which was nice, because all the other taps were crummy light beers. A nice respite to have the wit beer, even if it is a Coors product.
Our dinner salads came out and they were a good size, the dressings were pretty lame, but for $ 3, what do you want. Lots of veggies on top though did a fantastic job as an appetizer.
I got the pulled pork and chicken as my two meats. Just perfect! So moist and tender, then a made a concoction of sauce on my plate to dip it into, the Jackass sauce, and the hot sauce. Perfect amount of spiciest to kick up the perfect shredded meat! My wife gave me about half of her turkey meat, and I actually thought that was the best of three, if that was even possible.
She loved her cornbread and liked it because it wasn’t greasy, like a lot of the skillet corn breads we come across.
The baked beans were a pretty small serving, but every bite was lovely. Smokey and thick. Not too much fatty meat in it.
Our server was fantastic and super nice. Lots of soda refills for the women and quick with the check when we asked for it.
This is a definite must try while in Austin!
Very reasonable prices for fantastic BBQ and great service = 5 stars!

Absolutely delicious baby back rib special for $ 7.99 with yummy pit potatoes and fab coleslaw. Loved the Jackass sauce the best of the 9 choices. Friendly and helpful staff rounds it out for 5 stars! We will be back!

The food was good, but we waited 45 minutes to get it. When we walked in there were four empty tables. The waitress took out order and then we waited… and waited. I got the smoked pork and hubs got the two choice platter with beef and pork. The meat was awesome. The potato chips were homemade but not crispy… too greasy. If our wait was about 15 minutes, I would give this 4.5 stars.

Loved this restaurant. We were driving from South Dakota back to Illinois and decided to stop for dinner. Neither my partner nor I wanted wanted the typical fast food so I decided to check out Unilocal and see what all of you suggested. Am I glad we did? This restaurant was delicious! We had the brisket and ribs. They were the best ribs I’ve ever had, so meaty and tender. The corn puffs were delicious as was the cornbread with the honey butter. Everything was perfect. I will say the service was a bit slow which is why this is a 4 star but please go, you won’t be disappointed!

The corn puffs were incredible! The pulled pork was good; my mother and I both thought that the house bbq sauce was excellent, though neither of us are barbeque connoisseurs. The cole slaw, baked beans, and cornbread were all very good, and the chocolate/​peanut butter gelato was wonderful.

Superb, well worth a visit when you stop at the Spam Museum.
Their brisket was particularly outstanding.

One of the best locally owned restaurants in Austin! All of the meats are amazing, but the turkey is the best! Prices are very reasonable, and the service is usually good. They also have wonderful sides to go along with their dinners. The environment is also very unique. There are many humorous signs posted throughout the restaurant. I definitely recommend this venue to catch a wonderfully priced and tasty meal!

Award winning sauce and they deserve all the recognition! If you are in to bbq make a stop on main street because Hormel is not the only place in Austin doing amazing things with pork products! Make sure to try the corn bites; like a cheese curd but with creammed corn instead. Hard to explain but easy to enjoy! Hope you enjoy!

It has been hard to find decent BBQ in the Upper Midwest.
This place is a good place to visit for anyone coming through Austin.
I had the beef brisket platter with cole slaw and okra. The beef was lean and had a nice mellow smokey flavor. The breading on the okra had a nice seasoning and it was not greasy at all.
I would like to try more of their dishes and hopefully will get a chance to visit again.

Delicious!
You don’t normally associate good BBQ with a small town in southern Minnesota, but this place is delicious and has a great vibe. A diverse menu and nearly a dozen different sauces will keep you coming back for more (favorites include the Bourbon, Jackass, Gold, and Carolina — be sure to ask your server for them, as they only stock two or three varieties on each table; the Jackass has won several awards).
Piggy Blues is super thrifty considering the large portions! The ribs are consistently delicious and fall off the bone, just the way they should. You can’t go wrong by choosing the Kansas City Plate or the Smokin BBQ Platter — both feature amazing meats (we recommend the pork, of course, but the beef brisket and chicken are also outstanding), along with pit potatoes (I am hopelessly addicted), and toast… the Platter also includes a side: the best one we’ve discovered so far are the famous sweet corn puffs. You WON’T be disappointed.
The dining room is small but welcoming and and they even feature occasional entertainment on the weekends.
So let’s be honest — you couldn’t possibly visit SPAMtown without having some BBQ pork now, could you? :-)
PS. This isn’t a tourist trap, the locals swear by this place and they do a lot of catering. Mmmmm