Chester's Barbecue

I'm not exactly what one would call a barbecue aficionado. I've had my fair share living here in Georgia, some of which has been good, others not so much. I personally prefer the more sweet, syrupy style sauces that are more common in the Kansas City area. Here in Georgia its a bit of a mix of the vinegary North Carolina style and the Mississippi / Alabama mustard sauce. I don't particularly care for mustard in any form, but that being said when Sofi and some friends of mine were in Columbus (about 100 miles south of Atlanta) we decided to give it a shot. I wasn't disappointed.

First off, I loved their idea of not only ventilating the place, but getting some people in the doors. They had massive fans blowing the smoke off the smoker directed towards the road. Smart marketing; you get one whiff of the stuff and you're bound to pull in. Once we got inside, I could not believe how cheap the place was. Just to put it in perspective, here was the order we had:

Jeffrey- Two BBQ sandwiches, two orders of mac and cheese, a large sweet tea, a bag of chips and a corn muffin (don't judge, I was hungry as it gets).
Sofi- Two BBQ sandwiches, bag of chips, large sweet tea, and a slice of pecan pie.
Brett- BBQ sandwich, chili dog, bag of chips and a lemonade.
Raluca- BBQ sandwich, baked beans, bag of chips and a large sweet tea.
Total: $23
Try to get this amount of food and for it to be that good anywhere. Totally could not believe it.

As for the taste of the food, the sauce on the "chipped rib" sandwich was absolutely to die for. Tangy with a bit of that heat from the mustard. Very unique honestly, certainly unlike anything I've ever had before. The mac and cheese was also excellent, although a little bit on the dry side. This is probably because it was kept warm on a steam table. The general consensus from the crowd was that all the food was awesome. I enjoyed the bite of Sofi's pecan pie I had. I also appreciated that the cornbread muffin was sweet, something hard to find in the South.

So then, is this place worth the drive from Atlanta just to get barbecue? I say yes, so long as you're doing something else in Columbus. I recommend ice skating at the Civic Center. One of the nicest public rinks I've seen anywhere. Once done burning off those calories, make sure to stop by Chester's to get them right back up again. Easy on the wallet and excellent for the taste-buds!