By Stephanie Edwards

When a friend recommended that I do a review on Ott’s Bar-B-Q, he said the food was awesome but the restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall joint.

Well, he was half right. The food was great. But, he was completely wrong about the restaurant being a hole-in-the-wall joint. It was definitely simple, but it was extremely clean and cute.

The folks at Ott’s make it easy for you to order, with a very straightforward menu — ribs, barbeque pork or smoked ham, with just a couple of side dish offerings.

However, everything we did order amazed my husband and me.

At first, I was skeptical of their barbeque sauce. While we waited for our order, I opened the bottle and got a whiff of Ott’s famous sauce.

Expecting the traditional East Tennessee thick, sweet sauce, I was shocked to see and smell the thin, vinegar-based sauce.

I actually made a comment to my husband about the sauce’s tangy smell. An employee who happened to walk by, said, “Well that’s what we’re known for,” in a very matter of fact manner.

I figured that she knew what she was talking about when a large group of Ott’s fans flooded the small building and the adjacent patio dining area.

I could tell by looking at them that they were excited to be there, and this reassured me that the meal would be decent, at the very least.

All of my worries were pushed aside when a server delivered half a rack of ribs, baked beans and a gigantic barbeque pork sandwich to our table.

I dared to put a little dab of the vinegar-based sauce onto the pork sandwich and took a bite.

Ott’s smoked barbeque pork managed to be quite juicy in comparison to that served at other Knoxville barbeque institutions.

The sauce definitely added something to the sandwich, but it would be possible to have too much of a good thing, in this case.

Hints of the sauce can be found in the baked beans, as well, which are also loaded up with bits of shredded pork.

Strangely enough, the ribs are smothered in a more traditional East Tennessee style sauce — sweet, smoky and thick.

They were pretty darn good too. I’d go as far as saying that they ranked as high as Calhoun’s ribs on my list, and that is really saying something.

Call me a stubborn, East Tennessee girl, but I still prefer the sweet, thick and smoky sauce that I have enjoyed my entire life.

Ott’s has definitely earned my respect, and I plan to go there when I am wanting something a little bit different.

I am looking forward to picking up some Ott’s barbeque some time soon and heading to Concord Park for a picnic.

Ott’s Bar-B-Q is on Kingston Pike, just before the Watt Road intersection.

For more information, call (865) 675-OTTS.