Podnah's Pit BBQ

NOTE: Despite our rule that only reviews written within 24 hours of a restaurant visit can go up here, I'm grandfathering in a slightly edited review I wrote yesterday after lunch at Podnah's Pit. If you have a problem with that, well, suck it...

[Yesterdayday I had lunch with JLowe] at Podnah's Pit (previously discussed here by Betsy, and reviewed in depth here by the FoodDude).

Now, to give you context, I claimed that Big Daddy's BBQ was Portland's best in 2006. My love for Big Daddy's ranged back to my initial blogging days, and it sustained me for a long, long time.
Sometime last fall or winter, I decided Big Daddy's was no longer on my list, though. They've slipped substantially since their Hawthorne start-up. And in the last year I've found that if I want consistently good BBQ, I always end up at Cannon's on 33rd and Killingsworth.

I noted FoodDude's review of Podnah's with interest about a month and a half ago, and have been planning to make an excursion there at some point. Scheduling, kids, spouses, finances and life-in-general all schemed against me, but I broke free for a lunch today yesterday.

Now, the lunch menu there is limited. An iceberg wedge salad, pulled pork or brisket sandwich, pork ribs or chicken. Sides of pinto beans, potato salad, cole slaw, or corn bread. At night, the menu is far more robust, and I have a feeling I'll like the place better with a dinner in my belly.

But let me say this: based on just the lunch (I had pork ribs with pinto beans), I'm ready to say that Podnah's is in the Portland pantheon. They're not on part with Cannon's yet in my mind (I currently rate Cannon's the best Portland BBQ to which I'm privy), but I usually use brisket or other beef products to really gauge the winner. As far as I'm concerned, it's hard to find a bad pork rib.

Try Podnah's for dinner (I'm at least a couple of weeks out) and give me your feedback. Or don't, and give me your feedback anyway. Where's the best BBQ in Portland?