Review: Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus

Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus at 10406 118 Avenue.

Last weekend Mike and I went to try Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus (10406 118 Avenue) with friends Denise & Tony. I’ve been wanting to try Sloppy Hoggs for months – pretty much since they tweeted me when I mentioned being in the 118th Avenue area (kudos to them for keeping an eye on social media chatter and taking advantage of opportunities to reach out to potential customers!)

Sloppy Hoggs is a small, smokehouse, barbecue restaurant right by NAIT. I wish it had been around when Mike and I were at NAIT! We’d have gone for their Hogg Slopp poutine all the time!!! But let’s not get ahead of the review…

Inside Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus.

When I say Sloppy Hoggs is small, I mean it. We counted about 40 seats – including seats at the bar. We were just planning on showing up on a Saturday night but then Denise took a browse on Urbanspoon and found a bunch of people recommending reservations. This was on a Friday. When I called to reserve a table for four at 6:30 p.m. for Saturday – they said they were already fully booked! Talk about demand.

You must reserve on weekends!!! Even at the bar.

We were going to just show up and be hopeful we’d get a seat but then Sloppy Hoggs tweeted me that you can also reserve bar seats. Not ideal but better than nothing – so we were able to reserve four seats at the bar for Saturday night. None of us were particularly thrilled about having to sit at the bar. The bar seats are not comfortable and it’s not the best set up for the four of us to have a nice conversation.

Funny work uniforms at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus.

But we actually found sitting at the bar to be quite a lovely experience. We were basically facing our server every time she came back to grab drinks/etc. for her other tables, so there was always constant interaction and check-ups on how we were doing. We also got a nice view of all the funny Sloppy Hoggs ‘uniforms’/T-Shirts the servers were wearing – which included phrases like ‘Come and rub my brisket,’ ‘let us be your meat fairy,’ and ‘bacon is meat candy.’ Cheeky. ;) Like the names of their dishes!

Give Me The Hogg Slopp at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus – fries topped with pulled pork, gravy, smoke house aged cheddar, green onions, bacon crumble and waffle sauce. ($7.75)

Mike and I started off with the ‘Give Me The Hogg Slopp’ poutine – fries topped with pulled pork, gravy, smoke house aged cheddar, green onions, bacon crumble and waffle sauce ($7.75). This was my favourite dish of the night. The combination of the gravy and waffle sauce with pulled pork, cheese and bacon crumble made for one of the tastiest poutines I’ve ever had – and at a GREAT price! We devoured this plate in an instant. Delicious.

1/2 slab Sloppy Hoggs ribs at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus – with pit beans, cornbread fries and Sloppy Hoggs sauce. ($19)

My main dish was a 1/2 slab Sloppy Hoggs ribs which came with pit beans, cornbread fries and Sloppy Hoggs sauce ($19). My first thought when this dish came out was, holy cow – this is a HALF slab?? Unbelievable portion size. The ribs were very good, smoky and surprisingly spicy, which I liked – though they weren’t the best ribs I’ve had. I didn’t really use the Sloppy Hoggs sauce – it came in a small side cup and was easily forgotten but also was too sweet for my tastes. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the pit beans (none of us were) and the cut of fries isn’t the kind that I’m typically a fan of (big and thick. I prefer skinny and crispy – it wasn’t a big problem in the poutine though because it was drenched in gravy and sauce lol).

Briskets & Gravy at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus – House baked corn bread, thinly sliced slow smoked brisket with fries, gravy and pit beans. ($16)

Denise got the Briskets & Gravy – which came with house baked corn bread, thinly-sliced slow smoked brisket with fries, gravy and pit beans ($16). I would say I liked Denise’s brisket more than the ribs! They were so tender, so tasty, and so drenched in gravy – made it even tastier. When I return, I will likely order the brisket!

‘My Ridiculous Fat Ass’ at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus – Housed baked waffle bun, mustard BBQ sauce, 8 oz. beef brisket, bacon, smoked cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onion rings, beef burger, mozza, waffle sauce, BBQ pit beans and fries. ($19.50)

Mike ordered the ‘My Ridiculously Fat Ass’ burger – which includes a house-baked waffle bun, mustard BBQ sauce, 8 oz. beef brisket, bacon, smoked cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onion rings, beef burger, mozza, waffle sauce + pit beans and fries ($19.50). Giant. Burger. He was able to eat half and then opted to take the other half home so as to avoid overeating. The only complaint about his dish was the house-baked waffle bun. He just thought the waffle taste didn’t mix well with the rest of the burger.

Tony’s dish is not pictured because it was similar to Mike’s but also included chicken and smoked pork butt (yum! Meat lover’s dream). Tony did not take Mike’s approach to saving half for next day lunch. He powered through and ate everything – got meat sweaty and as the night progressed we saw his movements slow down, lol. But he loved it all.

Mississippi Mud Pie at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus – chocolate ganache, peanut butter, caramel, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, pecans, chocolate brownie, whipped cream. ($8)

For dessert we all decided to share the Mississippi Mud Pie – chocolate ganache, peanut butter, caramel, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, pecans, chocolate brownie and whipped cream ($8). It wasn’t my first choice – since I don’t really like desserts or chocolate. My first choice was their Pecan Peach Pie – the ‘loads of peaches’ description caught my eye, but I was outvoted for the mud pie, lol. It was very rich… too much peanut butter and too much chocolate in my opinion (but maybe chocolate lovers will love). I stuck with the vanilla and chocolate brownie bits with whipped cream and found that was very tasty.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Sloppy Hoggs! I have very little experience with smokehouse BBQ joints (perhaps none? Beyond Sloppy Hoggs) so coming from a newbie stand point, this was great! Tony said the portion sizes and the price points were bang on and the food was packed with tons of flavour. Denise described her brisket as ‘melt in your mouth goodness’ but thought in the future she may ask for gravy on the side she can dip instead of having it all soaked up (I loved it all soaked up though). Except for the waffle bun and uncomfortable bar seating, Mike said everything was great and the portion sizes worked for the prices. The food is greasy and this is not a place you would go to often (if you don’t want to gain a ton of weight anyway), but it’s a welcome addition to the neighbourhood and personally I could see ourselves coming back just for the Hogg Slopp poutine alone. I can see them making a killing off of NAIT students stopping by for that poutine. Soo good. Again touching on portion sizes – you get a LOT for what you pay for. Guaranteed lunch the next day (unless you’re ambitious or want to go into a meat coma). And the different meat options really is perfect for your inner carnivore. Just remember to call ahead and reserve!

So have you been to Sloppy Hoggs? What did you think?!

Linda