Review: Whole Foods - Pulled Pork Sandwich

One of my local Whole Foods has a smoker and does barbecue ribs, briskets, and pulled pork. Along with smoked barbecue meats by the pound, they offer brisket and pulled pork sandwiches.

They were having a special on the day I was there where a Pulled Pork Sandwich was $5.99 instead of the usual $6.99.

I don't believe most Whole Foods have a smoker in store (at least not most of the ones I've seen), but maybe they should because the pork was tender, flavorful, and deliciously smoky. They don't skimp on the pork either. It was also pretty greasy though so you might want to ask for one of the leaner pieces, if that's a concern. There's also a good amount of salt and char on the surface pieces.

The service counter guy grabbed a good-sized hunk of smoked pork and chopped it up before placing it between two slices of toasted (he asked whether I wanted it toasted or not)  baked-in-store ciabatta bread. The sandwich probably measured a good 5.5" to 6" by 3" or so

The bread was excellent; crusty with varied air pockets and just a slight chew. Judging by the looks of it, I think they might have grilled rather than toasted it. It absorbs quite a bit of grease if you leave it to sit though, as I found out when I ate the other half of the sandwich later in the day.

Barbecue sauce was included (mixed with the pork or separate by request) but it's largely unnecessary. It looks like they just have one sauce to go with any of their barbecue meats and it veers more towards a honeyed molasses-y flavor rather than the tangy stuff you probably want with pulled pork.

Overall, Whole Foods' Pulled Pork Sandwich was top-notch especially in my area where decent barbecue usually takes a bit of a drive. For $6 or $7, with what you get, it's a pretty good value (more so because it's Whole Foods AKA "Whole Paycheck" we're talking about here).