Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint

The long-awaited opening of Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint came to fruition Friday. Ever since folks got word that the Tennessee restaurant was building a branch in Morgantown, BBQ-lovers' tastebuds waited in anticipation of the first authentic pulled pork sandwich  to come to this town.

Martin's has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for their pulled pork sandwich and "Redneck Taco." And with no local BBQ restaurants, Morgantown warmly welcomed the popular restaurant. And hounded them via Twitter about the official date. When I called, they said the official open is Saturday at 11 a.m. Luckily, I got word that a soft opening was happening Friday and got a quick meal before the weekend rush.

Located in the Suncrest Towne Centre, the new restaurant isn't large by any means, but it does have ample parking and enough room for a pit. The restaurant boasts making everything from scratch daily - and no freezers or microwaves are to be found. They smoke the hog for 22 hours. Unfortunately, this means they cook a certain amount and run out (which I experienced later on).

The restaurant is counter-service, so we got in line and looked over the menu briefly before deciding on an item - sandwiches, brisket, chicken, pulled pork, ribs, mmmm. Since it was Friday and not many people knew about the soft opening, the line was short and fast-moving. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a side of cole slaw. The server: "You know cole slaw comes on the sandwich, right?" "Oh, okay, then can I have a side of cornbread?" I also got a drink. They have some old-school pops, which are pretty cool.

We sat down and waited until they called our number, and then our food was delivered to our table. They had tons of people standing around to collect refills or help. Too many people, but that was only because it was the very first night. The tables contain buckets with paper towels and other condiments. My food was delivered on a large metal tray that kind of dwarfed the sandwich.

The sandwich was so tasty. It's so nice to have a great BBQ option in Morgantown. It came with the Sweet Dixie sauce - a slightly sweet but tangy sauce. I wish I could've drenched this sandwich in the sauce. Next time, I'm going to ask for a sample of all the sauces. It was still really, really good. The pork is really tender, the bun is slightly buttered and steamed. The quality of the meat is just unrivaled. They forgot the cole slaw on mine, but I feel like that would be the perfect cool addition to the hot, saucy pork. The cornbread was a little dry - it seems like it could be an awesome based for meat or soup, but alone, not too much going on.

I loved my sandwich SO MUCH, I tried to come back Saturday. Unfortunately, we were met at the door with two women who told us they ran out of food. Oh well. I'll definitely be back soon. And won't forget dessert this time.

They're open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and are supposed to open their drive-thru in the next week or so!You can also like them on Facebook for a chance to be a shameless promoter.

Grade: A