If I may contradict Littleman, Williamson Bros. is nowhere close to as good as they used to be, and I'd strongly advise against a visit. It was the subject of a pretty lengthy thread here:
http://www.roadfood.com/F...60&high=williamson There are many other very good BBQ places here in Cobb, including Wallace (my favorite), Thompson Bros. and Big Shanty Smokehouse. I'll agree that Rib Ranch is pretty good. It's actually the closest BBQ to my house and not a thing wrong with it, but I almost always drive a little further for better.
I haven't stopped there in years, but there is a place in the Dallas/Hiram area called Briar Patch BBQ. I remember being disappointed in the canned veggies, but the pork was good. It seems to have avoided the blogger radar, but they have a website here:
http://www.briarpatchrestaurant.com/ Another idea is Doug's Place, which I tried for the first time Saturday and loved. This is a quintessential side-of-the-road southern meat-n-three in Emerson, which is just your side of Cartersville off I-75 exit 283. The building's been there since 1890-odd, and even though most of the staff are much younger, they know how to fry up some fine food, from excellent chicken livers to green tomatoes. All Roadfood regulars would love this place.
