Myron Mixon BBQ Company In Gatlinburg: An Honest Review

A Georgia BBQ legend has joined the fray in the battle for smoked meat supremacy in the mountains

It takes a certain level of chutzpah to bring your BBQ game to an area with a well-established identity. And when I learned Myron Mixon was bringing a BBQ concept to Gatlinburg to replace Crawdaddy’s – a Cajun place and oyster bar – I was somewhat skeptical.

There is a lot of good barbecue in the mountains. Some of it is excellent. Did we really need another place slinging pulled pork, ribs and brisket?

But as someone who frequently worships on the altar of smoked meat, I ultimately came around to the idea that you can never have too much of a good thing. And Myron Mixon’s smoked meat is absolutely a good thing.

Who the heck is Myron Mixon?

When I first heard Myron Mixon was partnering with the wildly eclectic East Tennessee restaurant group Kennedy Concepts, I thought Mixon had played backup linebacker for the great Steelers teams of the late 70s and early 80s. That is NOT the case. This Mixon is a barbecue legend out of Georgia and something of a celebrity chef thanks to a variety of reality TV shows and competitions.

Mixon apparently got into the BBQ game to promote his family’s signature sauce and along the way became a five-time World Champion. Now, to be fair, I don’t follow the BBQ competition game so I don’t know if the World Champion thing is legit or if it’s like travel baseball and every four-team tournament you play is called “The World Series.”

But, I will say it seems pretty legit. After all, he is “widely known as the Winningest Man in Barbeque, having 200 Grand Championships, 1,800+ BBQ trophies, 11 national titles, and 5 world championships.” He is also in the Barbecue Hall of Fame, which is apparently a thing in Kansas City.

I think we can safely say that he’s an honest-to-goodness BBQ deity. You can read more about him on their website.

What does the internet say about Myron Mixon’s Barbeque Co.?

I don’t know that I’ve seen a wider review variance from site to site than the one that exists for Myron Mixon. Some of that is due – I assume – to its relative newness as the restaurant just opened in late May. Still, the internet does not concur when it comes to this Georgian’s BBQ.

Google is fondest of the place. With more than 1,500 reviews it has a 4.6 rating, which puts it right there with some of the best spots in town including the Peddler and the Greenbrier at solidly four and a half stars. It’s closest competition, Calhoun’s has a 4.1 rating that is just too low.

But, if we go to Yelp!, the Myron Mixon reviews are less stellar. Yelp! has it rated with a 3.7 after 79 reviews, 3.5 stars. TripAdvisor is the harshest as it all but threatens to go down to Georgia and challenge Mixon to a duel. It has a rating of 3.5 starts but only on 15 reviews.

What accounts for this wide discrepancy?

I think a few things. First, a lot of people consider themselves BBQ experts. Like a football fan who plays a lot of Madden and thinks they know more than the defensive coordinator of their favorite team. They probably have a smoker and feel like the only think keeping them from opening restaurants and winning competitions is financial backing.

Secondly, it appears that like many restaurants in the region, Mixon’s is battling a service issue. There are many comments about excellent service but also several mentions of guests being seated and then ignored. This happened to us for long enough that we noticed it. I didn’t time how long it took for someone to check on us. But it was more than a few minutes. We were talking and were not in any way bothered about it – I tend to be very easy going with restaurant service.

But, a hostess stopped and asked if anyone had checked on us. When we said no, she got a little more concerned than necessary. A manager came by to speak with us, apologize and got a waiter to help us. It wasn’t a very big deal and I was surprised there was so many apologies, they even comped out with an appetizer. Once I got on the internet and saw there were more than a couple of complaints, I understood.

Was the service that slow?

I will say we’ve eaten at a couple of other places in the area recently where the service was pretty slow. Certainly slower than at Myron’s. I’m seeing a lot of restaurants with “we’re hiring” signs. I suspect the issue goes a lot deeper than at MM’s. Of course, a lot of people are not willing to accept excuses for poor services. However, once our waiter engaged, he was attentive and did a good job. When it comes to the service industry, I’m going to be as patient as possible. If you’re someone who is irritated by such things, it’s probably worth considering before visiting.

Third, as I said, it’s a crowded game. In addition, to the classic restaurant style BBQ, there are some great mom and pops doing it well. When the owner/pitmaster is the one on sight every day, handling the quality control and the work, that’s hard to compete with.

What would celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey say?

British chef Gordon Ramsey – of his own cooking show fame – would find a lot to like about this place. The menu isn’t wild; it’s mostly smoked meat and traditional BBQ sides. We were prepared for Ainsley – out picky eater who hasn’t ever gotten into BBQ – to survive on sides. But she went pulled chicken, quarter chicken and the mac and cheese with fries. Did she like it? I think so. She declared it her second happy place behind Disney.

I expect Chef Ramsey – known for his temper – wouldn’t be quite as pleased as Ainsley. But I don’t think he’d be screaming at the chef either. The service issues wouldn’t make him happy. Also, the frequent complaints online about cold food – none of ours was cold except the potato salad which was supposed to be – would have him blowing his top.

Ultimately, I think he might have some suggestions for the menu. He likes simple – and might push the bacon-wrapped meatloaf a little higher up the menu. But overall, I think he’d be pleased.

What does thesmokies.com say?

We’re quite positive on the experience. The pulled chicken and the quartered chicken were moist and had a nice smoky flavor. The pulled pork also captured the smoky wood flavor nicely. We tried the brisket chili, which was also good but had more of a sweet flavor than expected. A little kick of hot sauce might have driven it up from a 4 to a 5, we’ll say.

The Jalapeno Cheddar sausage was excellent, with just the right amount of kick. The Smoked Bologna was fine – I would have liked a little more flavor in the meat itself but was really elevated when placed on Texas toast and given a hit of the barbecue sauce.

The beef brisket was moist and smoky. I was given the choice between fatty and lean – went with the 50/50 split – which I think was the right call.

The best of the sides was the beans with bacon and peaches. The sauce was nice and spicy – not hot but flavorful. I might prefer a bowl of beans to the chili on a cold day. But again, the chili was good, it’s just that the beans were better. I would have liked a little more zip on the okra but it was good and I enjoyed the loaded potato salad.

What would we do next time around?

The Mac and cheese was good, not great but good. Made a couple of mistakes not ordering the cole slaw – I always like cole slaw with pulled pork – and the house made cornbread with jalapeno honey butter. We did order the Tumbleweed Onions – a large pile of frizzled onions with chipotle ranch dipping sauce. But we really didn’t get to give them a fair consideration as we ordered our meal at the same time as the app and the food came out right after. The Baby Back Mac Bites and the Pig & Grits are on the agenda for our next visit.

Ultimately, I feel like if Mixon can survive this first year, it has a chance to be the best of the Kennedy Concept restaurants – Loco Burro, Puckers Sports Grill and Johnny Rockets – in Gatlinburg. Mixon is located at 762 Parkway #5 in Gatlinburg.

Have you tried Myron Mixon BBQ? Let us know what you think in the comments and on the socials!