Indy Porkopolis BBQ

Ate at the food truck. Order was prepared quick and employees friendly, but I'd probably only order the fries again. They were tasty!I got the brisket sandwich which was just OK. It came on an el.cheapo white bun like I was getting a chicken patty at my elementary school cafeteria. And maybe it's common but the brisket was thick slabs with a lot of fat. Usually I've had brisket that seemed more tender or was sliced differently. And the sandwich really needed a little bit of flare like a pickle slice, some onions or a spicier BBQ sauce option.Maybe I picked the wrong meat to try but for the price, quantity, quality I'll probably try a different meat next time and if that doesn't excite me, I will probably give up.

It's Thursday. This means another Statehouse Market review for me. In case I haven't explained this well enough, Statehouse Market is a weekly farmer's market type setting held each Thursday from late May through early October at the Indiana Government Center complex. It typically includes several food trucks along with a variety of vendors. While it's nearly always a bit expensive, state employees always love it because the food is without question better than anything offered in our building. Today, I was running late due to a lunch webinar. However, I managed to get to Indy Porkopolis BBQ. Porkopolis has a physical setting inside a Marathon station across from Southern Plaza. However, I'm obviously reviewing their food truck (which is really more of a trailer). Porkopolis has a variety of meal options along with sandwich options that include a side. Given pork is in the name, you can expect things like ribs, burnt ends, rib tips, pulled pork, chicken, and more. I'd spied their menu before visiting and had decided to try their tenderloin sandwich if I had time. I chose a side of fries, though they do have some healthier options. For $13, I got a nice sized tenderloin sandwich and fries. The tenderloin was not a fritter, somewhat surprisingly, though I'd imagine it was pounded a bit thinner than Yelper Rick G. (who writes a tenderloin blog) would like it. The fries were also surprisingly good and seasoned quite well. Since I got there in the last 15 minutes of today's market, I was pleasantly surprised with how good this meal tasted. Employees were super friendly and helpful. I always kind of feel bad when I arrive at the end of the dead, however, they didn't flinch at all. This was a good meal priced comparably to most food trucks. I thought the meal size was actually somewhat generous. The employees were friendly and the food was quite good. Food truck tenderloin is difficult to pull off - Porkopolis does it quite nicely, especially for those who prefer a thinner tenderloin. I won't hesitate to return when I see this truck again and would easily stop in when I'm near Southern Plaza. While I won't call it a 5-star experience, I have no problem calling it a solid 4-star experience and it really hit the spot today.

You will find the restaurant co-located with the Marathon gas station across from the Kroger. It s not well marked and they do not have a permanent sign up yet. It still has the "southern Cuisine" sign still up from the last restaurant that was there. There are a few parking spots available here. I did not have any trouble finding a spot right out front.They have a small but adequate dining area with classic soul music playing throughout. They offer dine and and carry out, but all meals are packaged to-go. They have your barbecue favorites that includes ribs, burnt ends, rib tips, pulled pork, and chicken wings. They also have some desserts in a cup. I did not see any drinks however, So I ended up getting on at the convenience store that it is colocated with. I opted to go with the 2 meat platter and I got burnet ends and smoked wings. I wanted ribs, but they were out. I got baked beans and collard greens as my sides. It took about 7 minutes for me to get my food and they brought it out to me at my table. At first glance, I thought that it was a little bit of food, especial the sides that came in little cups. However, it was very filling and I could not eat all of it. The burnt ends were real good, very tasty and flavorful. They were very tender, more so than my usual burnt ends, but that was ok. The wings were also fresh, hot, flavorful, tasty and well seasoned. I had a little barbecue sauce, but I wish I had more. I liked the collards. They were well seasoned and had a lot of flavor. There was a lot of meat in it. The baked beans were ok. I have had better. There were not as tasty as everything else. I would probably get something else next time. The staff there was amazing. They were very friendly, courteous, and attentive. They checked in on my often. This is a nice new joint that is in a location that has not been very favorable to restaurants past. I highly recommend checking them out. They have some really good Q and top notch service.

So this is located inside a gas station. However, their area is nicely decorated. The staff are super friendly and greet you immediately as well as ask if you have any questions about the menu. I had the wing dinner as well as the burnt ends dinner. Both came with one very small side. The wings had a good flavor on them. They were smoked, then flashed fried. The wings, although they had a good flavor, were overcooked. The burnt ends were very tender and fatty as they should be, but LACKED flavor smh. I was hoping to like this spot, especially since they're the only one in the area that have burnt ends. I guess that's a reason they are overpriced. I'm not sure if I'd return. The flavor vs. price and quantity just don't make sense for me.

The place is decent. Food tastes good enough and that's the only reason they're receiving 2 stars. Price and portions, is the reason they would only receive 1. The sort of price is expected with BBQ, but compared to the portions received did not equate to what I would want to spend. Like most establishments sides are much larger and capable of being eaten by multiple people, but they come in small cups meant for an individual. Ordered a 3 meat 2 sides platter for $25 and the amount of meat received would make me believe I ordered a single meat. Was okay once, but maybe not again.

I had high hopes for this place. I'm not too hard to please when it comes to BBQ, but this was very disappointing. The price was what I would expect, $52 for 2 meat combo + 2 sides ( pulled pork and brisket, Mac & cheese and coleslaw), burnt ends with 1 side (baked beans), and 1 order of chicken tenders with side ( 3 tenders with fries). The pulled pork was decent, a bit more fatty than I like usually. The kids enjoyed the chicken tenders and fries. The sides were average, too much sauce in the Mac & cheese. The brisket was the biggest disappointment! As you can see from the picture this doesn't even look like brisket; not tender at all, I couldn't even pull it apart with my fingers. The burnt ends looked like nice chunks of steak rather than traditional burnt ends, they weren't tender either. Overall it's edible but I don't think I would shell out $50 again for this food, especially since half of it wasn't even eaten.

Very disappointed. The burnt ends were nothing but pieces of FAT..The Mac cheese and slaw was good but mad I didn't have any meat to eat with it. Giving two stars for the sides.