CLE Takeout Guide: The Proper Pig Smokehouse

Even if you aren’t lucky enough to have a smoker in your backyard, you can still get the region’s best barbecue dropped right at your door. The Proper Pig Smokehouse serves its tangy, Central Texas-style beef brisket, pulled pork, ribs, smoked turkey and classic barbecue sides to a steady stream of diners in its cozy Lakewood storefront. But this foodie favorite actually does about 70% of its business in takeout and delivery.

Co-owners Shane Vidovic and Ted Dupaski cut their teeth on fast, mobile food delivery in their Proper Pig food truck, which trekked across Ohio for two years before they opened in Lakewood. “We’re used to being able to serve some-one fast, getting it ready to go and making an impression in 30 seconds,” says Vidovic.

Perhaps best known for its beef brisket, which is dry rubbed in salt, pepper, paprika and garlic, the Proper Pig’s sandwiches are its most popular to-go orders, arriving with your choice of side (we like the Stadium Mustard-studded Cleveland potato salad), sliced white onion rounds and tart dill pickles.Though the Proper Pig’s meats are designed to be flavorful enough on their own, the house-made, vinegar-based barbecue sauce found on every table in the storefront comes in its own small container in takeout orders too.

Try This: Feed a whole picnic with the Family Pack ($49), which comes with a pound of pulled pork, a pound of beef brisket, a quart of smokehouse baked beans, a quart of coleslaw, 12 slider buns, onions and pickles.

How To Order: By Phone, Online, Uber Eats

17100 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 440-665-3768, properpigsmokehouse.com