LITTLE ROCK — Digging into a pile of good barbecue is like enjoying a little slice of heaven, but no plate would be complete without the necessary sides to prop it up - baked beans and potato salad. As such, we decided to put these classic 'cue companions to the test, ordering out a pint (unless otherwise noted) from local places that had to both specialize in barbecue and not be a national chain.

Some of these barbecue joints have more than one location, and for the sake of full disclosure, we ordered our sides from the ones listed below.

We tested out 19 different varieties in a blind taste test that spanned two days, inviting both Sync staff and co-workers in our department at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to participate. Here's what we found:

Bare Bones Pit BBQ

5501 Ranch Drive, Little Rock

(501) 868-7427

Price: Beans $3.75, potato salad $3.50

Comments: With lots of meat piled in, these beans got rated from "pretty good" to "perfect," with the addition that they were "[like a] high class version of an old standby." The light, creamy mayo-based salad also got good marks, prompting one taster to say, "I'd go to this joint for the side items alone."

Rating: Beans 8.5, potato salad 8.1

Capitol Smokehouse

915 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock

(501) 372-4227

Price:

Comments: Looking "soupy" to our tasters, these beans also got a mixed reaction. Some said they liked the smoky flavor, others said there was little flavor at all or that they were "sweet [but] not much else." The potato salad, another rare mayo-based mix, won almost all positive marks, with comments like: "Absolutely delicious - yum," and "Great! Mayo is perfect and chunky!"

Rating: Beans 6, potato salad 8.2

Catfish City and BBQ Grill

1817 S. University Ave., Little Rock

(501) 663-7224

Price: Beans $4.29, potato salad $4.29

Comments: Without being stirred, these sugary-sweet beans were said to "look nasty in a sea of grease but [taste] very very good," with lots of sweet and a "smoky bacon hint." The potato salad was "dry in taste - good other than that," or said to be "just okay."

Rating: Beans 7.6, potato salad 6

Jo-Jo's Barbecue

117 Country Club Road, Sherwood

(501) 834-9696

Price: Beans $3.95, potato salad $3.95

Comments: Darker with a lot of additions (but not much visible meat), these beans were thought to be "smoky," sweet (even "too sweet"), and "vinegary." The creamy mustard potato salad, dotted with pepper, was said to be the "center of a deviled egg in taste and appearance."

Rating: Beans 5.7, potato salad 7.2

Three Sam's Barbeque Joint

10508 Mann Road, Mabelvale

(501) 407-0345

Price: Beans $3.75, potato salad $3.75

Comments: Thick and sweet, though "with a little kick," our tasters thought these beans were very good. The mayo-based potato salad, however, was deemed overly eggy and in need of salt. Said one taster: "Good egg salad, p.s. not so much."

Rating: Beans 8.5, potato salad 3

Fat Boys Barbeque

14611 Arch St. Little Rock

(501) 888-4998

Price: Beans $4.15, potato salad $4.15

Comments: Thick and looking like canned beans to our tasters, these beans were sweet - "almost too much" and had "a weird twang." The mustard potato salad was thought to look like yellow mashed potatoes, and said to be very creamy, even too smooth.

Rating: Beans 4.3, potato salad 6.3

BBQ Shack

10308 Chicot Road, Little Rock

(501) 562-3555

Price: Beans $3.89, potato salad $3.89

Comments: Described as "like eating smoke," these beans were said to leave a "bad" aftertaste, or to "taste like eating a smokehouse." The mustard potato salad was praised for being colorful and sweet and was said to have a strong pickle taste.

Rating: Beans 4.2, potato salad 5

The Mean Pig

3096 Bill Foster Memorial Highway, Cabot

(501) 941-5489

Price: Beans $2.50, potato salad $2.50

Comments: The sweet, light brown beans earned praise for the smoky meat mixed in, but were thought by one taster to be "not good at all" and "too much like Van De Kamp's in texture" by another. Though praised for its healthy potato chunks, some of the tasters said the salad didn't seem quite done, and overall said this mustard-based concoction tasted bland.

*Rating: Beans 4.4, potato salad 3.5

Burge's Hickory Smoked Turkeys

5620 R St., Little Rock

(501) 666-1660

Price: Beans, $3.69, potato salad, $3.69

Comments: Described as looking "soupy" and "ordinary," these beans got comments like "sweet [with] brown sugar flavor but not much else" or "sweet but uninteresting." The white-ish mustard potato salad impressed our tasters visually, but some though it "tastes store-bought."

Rating: Beans 4.5, potato salad 5.1

Cross-eyed Pig BBQ

1701 Rebsamen Park Road, Little Rock

(501) 265-0000

Price: Beans $3.75, potato salad $3.75

Comments: "Tastes just like pork and beans with sugar added," wrote one taster. "School lunch?" mused another. "This potato salad gets around town," said one taster of this rare mayo-based mix, which looked very similar to others. Taste-wise, some felt it was creamy or tangy, but others said it "would be better with less mayo."

Rating: Beans 4.8, potato salad 7.5

Whole Hog Cafe

2516 Cantrell Road, Little Rock

(501) 664-5025

Price: Beans $3.99, potato salad $3.99

Comments: Universally deemed "soupy," the beans were generally disliked, getting comments like "nasty - whatever spice was added," "flavor is awful!" and "tastes like it has cologne in it." The mayo-based salad, on the other hand, won high praise: "My chunks, my chunks, my lovely potato chunks."

Rating: Beans 3.3, potato salad 8

Jordan's BBQ

8912 Stagecoach Road, Little Rock

(501) 455-2800

Price: Beans, $3.25, potato salad, $3.25

Comments: With lots of meat visible, these beans had an "interesting" flavor that was "spicy - not in a hot way though." Some wondered if they included cinnamon. The chunky potato salad was criticized for being "bland" and "weak" with a "strange egg situation - tasted like boiled egg whites."

*Rating: Beans 6.1, potato salad 3.9

Dixie Pig

910 W. 35th St., North Little Rock

(501) 753-9650

Price: Beans $2.49, potato salad $2.59

Comments: Having "a really weird sweet/spicy mix," these beans were hit or miss. Some gave them high marks for it, others said they didn't like it. The "runny" potato salad also got mixed reviews: some liked its creaminess, others said it was too much, or thought it had "lots of eggs! Yuck!"

Rating: Beans 4.8, potato salad 5.1

Lindsey's Hospitality House

203 Curtis Sykes, North Little Rock

(501) 374-5901

Price:

Comments: Somewhere in between soupy and thick, these beans were spicy, with pepper standing out, but still managed to be sweet, too. "Spicy and sweet. Neat," said one taster. The creamy potato salad was said to be sweet with a flavor that was either "good" or "yawn," depending on whom you ask.

Rating: Beans 5.9, potato salad 4.3

White Pig Inn

5231 E. Broadway, North Little Rock

(501) 945-5551

Price: Beans $2.75, potato salad $2.75

Comments: These thick beans of "moderate consistency" were said to be "not 'atypical,'" and got reactions from "good flavor, not too sweet" to "bland - very weak and little taste." The mustard potato salad offered little color for variety and was described as "dry," "bland," and "sweet." Mixed reviews, indeed.

Rating: Beans 4.4, potato salad 4.6

Sim's Bar-B-Que

2415 Broadway, Suite B, Little Rock

(501) 372-6868

Price: Beans $3.50, potato salad $3.50

Comments: Dark and thick, these beans looked overcooked to one taster. The "spicy chili flavor" was enjoyed by some, but others just said "yuck." The mustard potato salad was lighter than others, and got praise for the visual variety, but the taste was only rated as average, from "not impressive" to "institutional - out of a store like Wal-Mart or Kroger."

Rating: Beans 4.5, potato salad 4.5

HB's Drive In

6010 Lancaster Road, Little Rock

(501) 565-1930

Price: Beans $1.85, potato salad $1.85 (sold by the cup)

Comments: Very dark and loaded with large beans, some thought this mix tasted like chili. Others said it was overdone, commenting "too much chili powder" or, less descriptively, "ick." The "very yellow" potato salad was tangy but "nothing special," our tasters said.

Rating: Beans 3, potato salad 4.5

Aisha's Fish, Chicken and Barbecue

2900 S. University Ave., Little Rock

(501) 562-4555

Price: Beans $2.79, potato salad $2.79

Comments: Described as dark and soupy, tasters said these beans "look tastier than they are," being bland and dry. The creamy "yella" potato salad was said to "leave a coating in my mouth," and was generally liked for its texture, but not the taste.

Rating: Beans 1.8, potato salad 3.3

Pig 'N Chik

7824 Hwy 107, Sherwood

(501) 834-5456

Price: Beans $3.50, potato salad $3.50

Comments: One taster wrote of the beans: "Reminds me of those fake red hot dogs. I'm afraid of this one." And other tasters said they were right to stay away, describing the taste as "like a big ol' bottle of ketchup" and "too sweet" - or just plain "nasty" or "grody." Though the potato salad was thought to look better (by some, at least), its marks were low, too: "needs flavor," "what's the flavor," and "disgusting flavor that I can't quite identify."

Rating: Beans 1.4, potato salad 1.4

*Owing to logistics, these sides had to be purchased a day before tasting and may have lost points due to a relative lack of freshness.