Canton Ohio's Angry BBQ brings the attitude and effort

There is no doubt that Angry BBQ in Canton, Ohio has enough attitude to back up its name. The first thing you see when walking in is a large snarling pig looking back at you through the window.

The face of the restaurant, part of the company's logo, also appears on the walls inside and is accompanied by a couple dozen snarky signs that will make you think.

For example, this question had never occurred to me -- "Can fat people go skinny dipping?"

According to new executive manager William Boyd, the "angry" concept may be going away soon, in favor of something more down home. But we hope that he doesn't change his approach to the food too much. During a recent visit to Canton, we twice visited Angry BBQ, located in strip mall at 4640 Belden Village St., NW.

BBQ Fried Baked Chicken with Kennebec fries

While there are limits to what results you can get from a Southern Pride smoker, we found the pulled pork to be moist and flavorful. The chicken could have used more of a smoke ring, but it had nice taste. We did not try the barbecued ribs.

I tried something unique, the "BBQ Fried Baked Chicken." They place the chicken in the smoker for about 40 minutes, then cut it into pieces and batter fry it. 

The food is sauced near the end, but can be requested on the side. Appropriately, the place offers three sauces – “Sweet,” “Angry” and “Mad as Hell,” which offer a range of spiciness. 

One area where Angry Barbecue excels is the sides. The baked beans had an unexpected spicy kick along with molasses and some pork cooked in. The slaw was creamy and the macaroni and cheese was genuinely cheesy. 

Pulled pork and baked beans

The fresh cut French fries also were a cut above. Boyd told me that he uses Kennebec potatoes, which have become a fashionable spud at many finer restaurants.

You’ll rarely see Kennebec potatoes in grocery stores. The light tan, thin-skinned has a minimal water quantity, which enables restaurateurs to provide a firm, french fry that browns beautifully and retains more of a potato flavor. Thankfully for me, I got an entire basket with my meal. 

Also on the menu are wings, a catfish fillet served on top of jambalaya and the “Devil Dog” hot dog.

Within the last month, Angry BBQ went through an ownership change and Boyd, who has more than 20 years of cooking and management experience, previously was director of food service for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

According to a new release, the Canton native previously was at The Tangier in nearby Akron, Flip Side, an upscale burger place in Columbus and GuckenheimerFood Services’ Nourish Café. He has often featured fresh and unprocessed foods.

Chicken and cole slaw

“We are confident William will lead Angry Barbeque in a manner that meets with our expectations,” Rob Johnston, partner of Angry Barbeque, said in the release. “We are in the process of a facelift for the in-house experience, while at the same time increasing our focus on catering.”

Boyd is expected to retain popular recipes from Angry BBQ, while adding new menu items which complement the new concept. 

Canton features more than a half dozen reputable barbecue joints, During our next visit, we hope to try TwoFat Guys Barbecue, Hog Heaven, Flamin’ Pigs and Old Carolina Barbecue Company. If you haven’t seen it, please look at my recent blog post about Kennedy’s BBQ.

Competition is good. It makes everyone get better or out of the way. It will be interesting to see where Boyd takes Angry BBQ next.

Location we visited:

Angry BBQ

4640 Belden Village St., NW.

Canton, Ohio

Kennedy's Bar-B-Que, "serving Canton, Ohio since 1922"

Sitting on the edge of Canton's Memorial Park and a short distance from the final resting place of the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, is a diminutive building that has been serving bean soup and sandwiches since 1922.

Over the years, the surrounding neighborhood has changed and today is decidedly blue collar. People long ago stopped getting off the train to visit the park developed around McKinley's mausoleum. Local blogger Sean Posey unfortunately describes an area that today has to be "heavily policed after dark."

On the Saturday mid-afternoon when I visited Kennedy's Bar-B-Que, a steady flow of customers came for the pork, ham, turkey and beef sandwiches as well as its famous bean soup made with the same recipe passed down from when the place was known as Spiker's.

Jack Kennedy bought the place located at 1420 7th St. NW in 1960 and ran it until his death 49 years later. Ernie Schott, proprietor of another Canton landmark, Taggart's Ice Cream Parlor, bought Kennedy's in September of 2009 and reportedly made no other changes except to expand the lunch hours.

My sampler platter of Kennedy's sliders

“We’re keeping the recipes, the menu, everything the same,” Ernie Schott told the local newspaper, The Repository, after he bought it. “It worked all these years, so why change it?” 

Like the menu, Kennedy's is small and simple. I can imagine that the eight stools at the counter, the three tables and four booths get much more of a workout during the week.

You won't find hamburgers on the menu. All of the pork shoulders, pork butts, turkeys, beef roasts and Sugardale hams (Canton's own) are turned on mechanical spits over a gas fire in an eight-foot-by-15-foot smokehouse next to the restaurant.