Russell Street Bar-B-Que

Russell Street Bar-B-Que, located on NE Russell St. in Portland, Oregon, serves their take on Southern BBQ cuisine.

Somehow, this reminds me a bit of an informal Texas BBQ restaurant
(Not sure why, as I've never been to Texas....)

Woohoo...full bar behind the counter!

Posted inside the restaurant...thought it was worthy of a picture!

On thisvisit, I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a side of cole slaw ($8.50). I asked for their "Killer" sauce, a classic BBQ sauce that adds chipotles and habaneros for extra heat.

Pulled pork sandwich w/side of cole slaw

The sandwich was good, but not mind-blowing. The pulled pork was slow-cooked nicely until tender, with a mild smokiness. The slaw was colorful and very good. Not overly creamy or runny, and a nice sweetness that paired well with the BBQ sauce and pork. Of course, I just had to put some of the slaw on my sandwich for presentation and for texture/flavor contrasts. I would have liked for the bun to be toasted (or at least toasted a bit more).

I was a tad disappointed with the "Killer" sauce. Don't get me wrong, the sauce was good, but I was expecting more heat. To me, it was a very mild BBQ sauce that didn't have as much flavor as others I've enjoyed in the past. Respectable, yes, just not kickass awesome.

I also must note that I arrived promptly at 11 a.m. on Saturday (opening time). There was one other person who had already placed his take-out order. It took several minutes for any employee to take my order. Didn't even get a "I'll be right with you" from any of them. Not the best in terms of customer service.

Pretty much an average experience overall.