Gwinnett > Restaurant Reviews > Scoops Fill Up Station

The Unnamed Fiancé and I consider ourselves something of barbeque aficionados – we’ve been to Memphis for their world-renowned recipe, Texas for the beef version (I maintain that real barbeque is always pork), enjoyed the North Carolina mustard-based concoction, and everywhere else in between. When I was told that the owner of Lenny Mac’s Barbeque was from New Orleans and served daily specials such as crawfish bisque and jambalaya that reflect this heritage, I became intrigued. New Orleans is known for many things – Ragin’ Cajuns, Mardi Gras, hurricanes, the Sugar Bowl – but I had not heard about its barbeque.

A good friend once made the observation that there is nothing better than good barbeque – but on the other hand nothing easier to mess up. With that thought in mind, we ventured into Lenny Mac’s on an early spring Monday night. I am of the opinion that barbeque should always be enjoyed with a large glass of sweet tea, but since The Unnamed Fiancé and I gave that up for Lent, we made due with beer (a fine second choice).

As I perused the menu, there were a few stand outs—“shut up dogs” were featured as a Cajun alternative to hush puppies and sweet potato fries as another option to the common French fries. We enjoyed our appetizer of deliciously messy barbeque nachos ($6.00) while watching college basketball on one of the many televisions around the dining area. The SEC college logos painted along the distressed wood walls give it the look and feel of a good, Southern barbeque restaurant.

Our meal arrived quickly, delivered by the actual chef. I chose the sweet sauce from the table condiment collection to enhance my pulled pork sandwich ($5.00) (again – real barbeque is made from pork, although Lenny Mac’s servesbeef and chicken versions as well for the non-purists) and ketchup for my tasty sweet potato fries ($2.00), but found that they needed absolutely nothing added. The Unnamed Fiancé had a massive plate of St. Louis ribs ($19.00) that practically fell off the bone, accompanied by a unique, tomato-based Brunswick stew and traditional fried okra. As badly as we wanted to save room for dessert, we just couldn’t, which is a shame since they have my all-time favorite banana pudding ($3.00) and a cobbler-of-the-day option ($4.00).

The new kid on the block, Lenny Mac’s Barbeque is located in the Kroger shopping center on Sugarloaf, chiefly positioned across the street from the Gwinnett Arena. Putting an original spin on a Southern classic, Lenny Mac’s is a great choice for a spring night in Gwinnett.