You Need To Eat This: Bar-B-Cone

This is a game changer for BBQ lovers.

Once again, the food you love is enhanced by a cone. Could the cone be the next cupcake? We shall see ...

Southside BBQ Co. has the Bar-B-Cone and it's a delicious, savory, mess of a faux ice cream cone.

I feel like I've been (mentally) chasing around the Southside BBQ Co. food truck for months trying to track down this cone of greatness. However, the stars aligned this week when they were featured on Pittsburgh Today Live, so they literally came to me and parked 20 feet from my desk.

Here's the breakdown of the Bar-B-Cone: it's your familiar ice cream store waffle cone, filled with creamy mac-n-cheese, topped with smoky pulled pork, a drizzle of barbeque sauce and topped with a sprinkling of some sweet coleslaw.

It's, in a word, perfect.

It's a bit messy to eat at first, but the coleslaw lends just a touch of sweetness and a lot of crunch to contrast with the tender pulled pork and spicy BBQ sauce. They drizzle just enough sauce to give a punch of flavor, but without creating a pile of mushy meat. It has a little bit of a kick to it, but shouldn't be overwhelming for people sensitive to spice (myself included).

The cone also fills up with more mac and cheese than it seems like, leaving you with a good meat-to side ratio. This mac and cheese is made with firm noodles that aren't too soggy or overly cheesy. It's a good supporting dish to the flavorful pork, with just the faintest spice from pepperjack cheese. Again, it sounds really spicy, but it's more flavorful than hot.

You can eat yours with a fork, as I did, or just jump right in sans utensil. Either way, a little bit of waffle cone leaves each bite nice and crispy.

The owners say the waffle cone inspiration was born out of the need to find something easy to serve food in and not create a big mess. It works out well for many reasons, including that it cuts down on waste, but it also gives you just the right amount of food to feel satisfied without having a heavy stomach.

They originally wanted a pretzel cone, but haven't found the right one yet. So stay tuned, there may be other incarnations of the Bar-B-Cone in the future.

What do you think? Would you give the Bar-B-Cone a try?

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If you love food too, be sure to follow Sarah on Twitter: @SarahtheKovash