What's The Best BBQ You Ever Had?

Best Ribs: Dreamland, Huntsville, Al.

Best Chicken: Big Bob Gibsons, Decatur, Al.

Best Pulled Pork: My house, Toronto, On.; Corky's, Memphis, Tn and Jack Daniels, Lynchburg, Tn.

Yes, Mr. Jack has a bbq lunch on Fridays on a hill overlooking the hollow. If you ever get the chance, do it. $20, all you can eat. Fabulous pork, beans, slaw and Lynchburg Special Pie.
No Jack though, it's a dry county.

DT

In my experience the best barbecue I've ever had in my life is usually the one I'm just walking out the door of, provided it's one of the following (in alphabetical order, since my preferences change):

Black's, Lockhart, TX (I've read on eGullet that Edgar Black has announced his retirement; his son, a CPA, will be taking over. This doesn't bode well for Black's, I'm afraid).
City Market, Luling, TX
Kreutz - Lockhart
Louie Mueller - Taylor
Williams Smokehouse - Houston

Aside from my own, and not in precise order:

• Nina's, Union City, TN
• Li'l Porky's, Covington, TN
• Curly & Lynn's, Brownsville, TN
• Grayson's, Clarence (near Natchitoches), LA
• The Public Eye, Memphis, TN
• The Rendezvous, Memphis, TN
• Brookshire's, Natchitoches, LA
• Louie Mueller's, Taylor, TX

I see GA pig come up quite a bit. I passed by there and thought about eating there, but remembered other Roadfooders' comments about blatant racism by the GA Pig's staff. I decided not to eat there. Now who knows how many eating establishments share this type of ignorance, but if I know about it, I'll pass. The big city Texas locations never struck me as too good-- Angelo's, Sonny Bryan's, Williams, etc. Maybe something to do with not enough room. Big city Q that I put in the upper echelon are Arthur Bryant's in KC and a few places in Memphis. Maybe because they don't need big smokers. Better Texas barbecue has always been found in the smaller towns. This is just my opinion. Don't want to appear snotty and diss people's individual tastes. I'm not a bbq expert. I just love the stuff.

My favorite BBQ places in order are: Wilber's - Goldsboro NC Starlight Inn - Ayden NC (to watch the meat being chopped and the sound is worth a trip not to mention the flat crispy cornbread)!
Rosedale BBQ - KC
Arthur Bryants KC (best fries as well as sliced pork sandwich)
Jack Stack KC
Little Jakes KC (not sure of name but near Plaza; best sweet potato fries ever!)

Well, I've never been east of the Mississippi, so I can't weigh in on "eastern" barbecue, but the best I've had is Arthur Bryant's in KC -- the burnt ends, the brisket...the fries. I keep a bottle of sauce in my fridge to eat on steak, ham sandwiches, leftover turkey...
But the most interesting barbecue was in Little Rock, I THINK the name was something like L&M Barbecue, hidden in a mostly residential neighborhood between the capitol building and the University hospital. Pork ribs in a thin sauce, hacked up with a cleaver (watch the bones!), some really great beans, and despite being a Sunday, the guy behind the counter tried to interest me in some of their "special lemonade" with a little something extra added. I had a Coke instead. That was 6 years ago, and I can't find any signs of their existence anymore. I guess it was one of those special finds when you get off on the wrong highway exit.

O'So Good Bar-B-Que. US Hwy 231 Oneonta,Al.The best ribs and sauce.

I also vote for Kreuz with a #2 vote for Texas Pride outside San Antonio

Hay's Smokehouse in Lexington, TN. If you're driving along I-40 it will be well worth your time to make the 20-minute side trip.

The best I've ever had is Mama's Coal Pot in St. Louis, MO. I recently found the Roadfood.com site and am thrilled to find people of like mind, so I tried to submit my fave bbq place, but am having some trouble publishing my review. The point is...this is some damn good food. Pork steaks, and ribs, and chicken, and my stomach has started growling from the thought that I'm now 952 miles away.

Man - Oh - Man, never forget The Salt Lick in Dripping Springs, TX -just south of Austin!

I do not travel much anymore but I went up to visit my nephew in Rye, N.H. and he took me to a place called "Muddy River Smokehouse" in Portsmith. It was outstanding. Whenever I do go back, a trip to Muddy River is a must.

Arthur Bryants KC
The Rendezvous, Memphis, TN

Clark's in Tioga Texas - Brisket, brisket and more brisket followed by cream pies.
Locally, Uncle Bub's in Westmont Illinois - Friday for the applewood smoked pork lion.

Biffle's in Concordia, MO.

Can't stand the local place here...way too greasy...(BBQ Pit Stop in Marshall, MO)

Spent six months in Memphis,TN last year.Family there was bringing home Pig and Whistle in Religh it was a staple.It was in the neighbourhood.Pulled pork and coleslaw nothing better.In Alameda,Ca now{The Island}.A co-worker brought some BBQ sandwitchs from the local pit.IT WAS VERY GOOD TASTING and had been smoked.Nice slices of pork on a white bread roll with big containers of hot and mild sause,side of potato salad,tomato slices and a dill pickle.
Memphis is BBQ.You know you are there when you can see the smoke from the pits at sunrise.That was then.You can take the mouth outta the South except whent it comes to BBQ.

I am not nearly as well travelled as some of you and I certainly don't consider myself to be an expert on bbq - but having said that, I will mention the outstanding places that I have visited.

Fiorella's Jack Stack in Overland Park, Kansas (metro Kansas City)

Dreamland in Tuscaloosa (it took us an hour to find the places, so I was very hungry when we did get to eat)

Sam & Dave's BBQ 1 in Marietta, Georgia (metro Atlanta)

I am not rejecting any of the other places listed by others, because I have not yet been able to experience the bbq. This thread is greatly increasing the size of my already very long short list.

Slightly OT...has anybody ordered from Kreuz's online store? I'm wondering how the mail order product compares to eating there.

nobody heh? guess i'll put it on my "to buy" list and give it a shot. dont see myslef getting down to texas anytime soon unless they decide to dome in the entire state and turn the A/C on high.

Chicken Comer's in Phenix City, Alabama. Think it's gone now, and if the sauce is also gone, that's a loss of Biblical propotions. Lexington BBQ #1 in Lexington never disappoints.

Al-the-Mayor likes Moonlite in Owensboro, but as a former resident of that fair burg, my favorite is Old Hickory in that same town. I wonder if any of the rest of you who have gone to the trough (as the Moonlite is known locally) have ever tried it. I love it! Mutton is the best.

Also in Kentucky but down farther west at the dam that makes Lake Barkley is Knoth's BBQ. As they say there, Best BBQ in the Whole Dam Area. Specializes in pork shoulders.

Way off the beaten path, near Fort Campbell, is Knockem Hill BBQ. Really good chicken.

The first time I ate at Lexington #1 in 1999, I thought it was very good, but not anything special. Then I ate there again last November and had the best barbecue of my life. Typically, when I go back to a place I haven't been to in a long time, it rarely lives up to my memory's expectations. But this time it was much better than I remembered.

Others that I have particularly enjoyed:

Cozy Corner in Memphis
Abe's in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Sweatman's in Holly Hill, South Carolina
Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas
The Ridgewood in Bluff City, Tennessee

Thye call it bbq but it's a push. RO's in Gastonia, NC.

I thought about the question and took it to another level...if I could have but one more meal of bbq what would it be...RO's!!!

Two regular sandwiches, an order of crisp fries and since it's my last meal, a cheery Sundrop. Don't forget to drown the sandwiches w/ Texas Pete at the table.

ITs got to be Dale Hollow BBQ in Celina Tn. Near Dale Hollow Lake.
The ribs are to die for, and the shoulder mmm good!!

quote:

Originally posted by Larry - RibRater - Jay

nobody heh? guess i'll put it on my "to buy" list and give it a shot. dont see myslef getting down to texas anytime soon unless they decide to dome in the entire state and turn the A/C on high.

Sorry I didn't see this before. I've never ordered but have frequently brought home boxes of the sausage rings from there and Black's. They keep well, can be frozen and reheated easily and are very good. I'd be less sure about reheating the brisket or ribs and have never tried.

It's been cooler here than in many other parts of the country this year . Come on down! Or wait until the autumn or spring, or for that matter, winter. Those fires in the pit room at Kreutz probably feel really good in January!

Tough question... I'm from Huntsville, and both were drives from here, but both were worth it.

I've been to Hays in Lexington, TN and I've been to Ridgewood too. Because I love the sauce, I'd HAVE to say Ridgewood, but Hays is definitely a very close second. If this was a meat-only section, Hays would win.

Can't wait to try the new place that yeahyeah101 has opened in Nashville in the Berry Hill district... sounds like the Nashville critics like it.

Surprisely the best BBQ I've had is Colter's . They still have pretty good size ribs and the BBQ sauce is great. I prefer the 2 meat combo myself.

Has anyone ever eaten at Whitt's Barbecue in Nashville, TN. I had a pulled pork sandwich last week and it was the best!!!

I didn't know you could order from Kreuz's online. Been to Lockhart many times over the years,but never ate BBQ there.I have eaten at Tom's Ribs and Harmon's BBq in Cibolo,which is in an old store building.Also have eaten at Texas Pride BBq on Loop 1604 out by St.Hedwig.
In the summer,they have on Fridays a fish fry.Unfortunately my friend from work Nancy doesn't like fish,and I don't think she'd stay to listen to the live music they have those nights.They do this during the summer.Have heard of Salt Lick BBq near Austin,but never been there.I think Rachel Ray while doing Austin went there.Have seen the place on tv before.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Thye call it bbq but it's a push. RO's in Gastonia, NC.

I thought about the question and took it to another level...if I could have but one more meal of bbq what would it be...RO's!!!

Two regular sandwiches, an order of crisp fries and since it's my last meal, a cheery Sundrop. Don't forget to drown the sandwiches w/ Texas Pete at the table.

so what about the famous slaw sauce? Is that on every bbq sandwich?
Is that why you liked it? I saw RO's on Food Network, and a co-worker swears by em. But from what I've heard, it's the "slaw sauce"
that makes the place famous..

The best Bar-B-Q sandwich in Georgia can be found at Dean's in Jonesboro. If your looking for the best Brunswick stew to go with it then you will have to drive south to Piggy Park in Thomaston about 40 miles away. It does not get any better.

i would have to say if you are south of Austin, TX...Rudy's BBQ and the Salt Lick BBQ...in Austin area...Stubbs is the best.

Hunter

I have to vote for the Goode Company in Houston Texas, Off of I-10. They're brisket is pure heaven. There used to be a small shed out by Intercontinental Airport that sold red beans and rice along with a link of Chappel Hill sausage that was great.

quote:

Originally posted by twinwillow

InTexas: No. 2- Louis Mueller, Taylor, Texas.

I can't imagine there's better BBQ sausage to be found anywhere in the world. Amazing stuff.

Sam's in Austin, Texas (2000 E.12th St.)

Here's someone else's review
+++

We are Bar B Q connoisseurs. We have had BBQ from Memphis, Atlanta, Detroit, Puerto Rico, Richmond, Jackson Ms, Cancun, New Orleans, Miami, Pensacola, Orlando, New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, all over Texas... you get the point.

This restaurant's food was so good that she had to find out its name from coworkers. My wife was waxin’ poetic about the best BBQ she’d ever put in her mouth. Before she could get the whole story out, several coworkers said, “Oh! We know! On 12th Street?”

It is the best in the US. We are going tonight to get some. I will never be satisfied with any other BBQ… ever.

Nuff sed.

In 1981, my family and I ate at Stubby's Hickory Pit BBQ in Hot Springs, AR and our lives were forever changed. Before then, brisket was corned beef or pastrami. In addition to the incredible meat was the best (and biggest) pit-cooked baked potato I've ever eaten. We were tempted to drink the sauce in lieu of sweet tea. Thanks to Michael and Jane--it was in their first RoadFood book. Has anyone been there in the recent past? Still good?

I have eaten at literally dozens of BBQ places around the country since mid May of this year. Although this was not an exhaustive survey, I have had a chance to try several different BBQ traditions that I hade not sampled before. Among the places I have eaten are Lockhart, Dallas, Luling, Llano, and Elgin in Texas. In Tennessee I sampled both the eastern TN style as well as the Memphis style. In upstate New York I ate at several of their famous chicken BBQs as well as the famous Dinosaur's in Syracuse.

Some highlights were eating at all three BBQs in Lockhart for lunch one day and eating at five different BBQs in Memphis one afternoon while driving from Dallas to Nashville.

My most memorable meals were brisket and sausage at Luling City Market in Luling, TX and a cornish hen at Cozy Corner in Memphis. I would rate these as the two best BBQ meals I have had while eating at all these well known BBQ joints.

Dearfolk,
The best BBQ pork that I can ever remember finding is still available at Spiced Right BBQ on U. S. 29 in Lilburn, Georgia. There's almost no fat on it, and never any gristle. The sides are excellent as well, although their previous number of ten sauces has been trimmed to two: a hot and a mild, both tomato-based, and neither one sweet.
Harold's BBQ on McDonough Blvd., S/E in Atlanta has excellent pork as well.
The late, lamented Melear's BBQ on U. S. 29 in Fairburn, Georgia used to have the best pork I knew of, but they're long out of business. Sniff. C'est la guerre.
I'll post more when time allows; I've been idiotically busy.
Off Cue, Ort.

The BEST BBQ is in Missouri! BUT, you can't get it anymore except during the OZARK FAIR in Springfield, MO! Rudys BBQ is family owned/ran. They've been doing the fair for 54 years! The sauce is a recipe of Rudy's, original owner and father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Rudy used to have a restaraunt in Springfield, but due to health reasons, he had given that up. He kept doing the fair...and that and the sauce is the family tradition!!!

Other than my own 'cue, two barbecue experiences stand out in my mind. The first was Goode Company in Houston - the original location on Kirby - back in the early 1980's. It was so good I can even remember the flavor over 20 years later. I especially liked their ribs and links, as I recall. It stood as the very best BBQ I ever had for almost 2 decades. Then in the late 1990's I ate a sandwich at Arthur Bryant's in KC. It was a beef sandwich served with their famous lard-cooked fries. I think I rank that experience about equal to Goode Company.

Speed Queen bbq in Milwaukee Wisconsin...

Can your first taste of BBQ give you an impossible to match experience? If so, it was Jimmy's Rib Crib in Milwaukee's old Haymarket Square probably 40 years ago. Nearby was The Speed Queen, still in business and serving fine Q. Unlike Chicago, Milwaukee always seemed to have some very good BBQ joints. Sadly most have gone to those great pits in the sky. I could never pick a best but I've sure enjoyed Arthur Bryants, Little Jakes, BB's Lawnside and Gates in KC. The Cozy Corner, Public Eye, Rendevous, Interstate and some little place somewhat near Presleyville that had an outstanding BBQ bologna and BBQ spaghetti whose name I no longer remember; all in Memphis. We spotted smoke and followed it to some little tiny place halfway between Charleston and Savannah that I'd never be able to locate again. The Carolina's served us some vinegar sauces that I've never found elsewhere. Ditto Abe's in Clarkesdale in Mississippi to go along with blocks of great Q served up by church groups and other enterprising locals in Helena Arkasas during the King Biscuit Blues festival every October.
Jim's in Rock Island was outstanding and we recently had some in Rockford Illinois that was called New Orleans or was it the Mardi Gras? My all time favorite is the next one I'll try, as there are so many I haven't tasted yet. So much Q, so many variations, so many not tried yet!

Sorry...But GATES and Arthur Bryants is NOT good sauce!! I know everyone in the K.C.area seem to love it, but I tried it when I first moved in the area..., And ARTHUR BRYANTS is even worse/they give you lots of meat, but the sauce has got to be the worst ever!

quote:

Originally posted by bloos61

Sorry...But GATES and Arthur Bryants is NOT good sauce!! I know everyone in the K.C.area seem to love it, but I tried it when I first moved in the area..., And ARTHUR BRYANTS is even worse/they give you lots of meat, but the sauce has got to be the worst ever!

When you think about it then; it's amazing those places are still in business!

Rudy's in San Antonio.
But the best I've ever eaten were made in a wash tub in a Black neighborhood where I helped deliver milk from a truck as a young man. After all these years I still judge using this man as a standard.I remember getting excited about the Saturday delivery's because I knew lunch was going to be a treat.

quote:

Originally posted by stlouisguy

The best? Hard to say....but I've been around, and really enjoyed

Sonny Bryan's in Dallas
Goode Company in Houston
Anyplace around Austin - Kreuz Market comes to mind
both Bryants and Gates in KC - Bryants gets the nod...
Stameys in Greenboro NC
Corkys, Interstate and Rendevous in Memphis....
Moonlight in Owensboro

Help, I can't decide!

Louie Mueller in Tailor TX for Brisket, Shorty's in Miami for Ribs,
Chicken (take elevated subway to last stop going south).

As for the Northeast, best deal is Mr. W's in Pawling. I find both his chicken and ribs are even better if finished at home by reheating on the gas grille. Mr. W now has brisket, has anyone tried it yet?

quote:

Originally posted by bloos61

Sorry...But GATES and Arthur Bryants is NOT good sauce!! I know everyone in the K.C.area seem to love it, but I tried it when I first moved in the area..., And ARTHUR BRYANTS is even worse/they give you lots of meat, but the sauce has got to be the worst ever!

Wow..........I can still remember going to Arthur Byrant's and how it has stood out in my memory for so many years. I thought it was just terrific..........had a wonderful time there and loved every bite of food.

I once made a roadfood trip in college from Anderson Indiana to KC, for strouds and AB's, best college roadtrip I ever took.

Both places will always stand out in my memory.

Isn't it wonderful how bbq brings out the fangs?

RE: Strouds...yeah, known for their chicken wings...they're good/average, but again AB

Harmon's in Cibolo is very good,and I also like Tom's Ribs on nacodoches Road in San Antonio,but I heard somewhere that it had new owners.
A co-worker went to SaltLick in Driftwood,Tx,up near the AUstin-San Marcos area,and thought it was great.

Miller's Pub in downtown Chicago for Baby Back Ribs. Great Slaw too!

quote:

We spotted smoke and followed it to some little tiny place halfway between Charleston and Savannah that I'd never be able to locate again.

I was just thinking of a particular sandwich that my gf and I enjoyed once a couple years back. We'd been hiking the Francis Beidler, came out to the car, starving, and happened through a little town in that same area that had a Duke's barbecue in it. Now Duke's operates about four or five locations, the most familiar being in Walterboro off I-95. That one isn't bad, mostly buffet. But for some reason this really simple pulled pork sandwich on white Sunbeam with pickles and that really pungent not-mustard-but-not-ketchup sauce was just the bomb. And I can't remember what little town that was to save my life, but the Duke's is on a corner and near a railroad track, and had a whole wedding party waiting for takeout from the window. It was terrific.

Yeah, V960, people get hostile about the 'cue.

Luling, Lex No. 1, Melear's, Wilber's, Parker's in Wilson, N.C. -- and, if you find yourself in Philly, Sweet Lucy's does not disappoint.

Theres a place in my area called[url='http://www.giffysbarbq.com']GIFFYS BBQ[/url] and it is the BEST place i have ever had BBQ from

They have the best Macaroni Salad on thier buffet that i ever had (Besides Pizza Huts) and excellent Hot Baked Beans!! (I think they are BBQ)

quote:

Originally posted by Dude111

Theres a place in my area called[url='http://www.giffysbarbq.com']GIFFYS BBQ[/url] and it is the BEST place i have ever had BBQ from

They have the best Macaroni Salad on thier buffet that i ever had (Besides Pizza Huts) and excellent Hot Baked Beans!! (I think they are BBQ)

Youre profile says you are from Miami, yet Giffys BBQ is in Clifton, NY..
Thats a long hike to be in "your area"...

My own Beef Brisket cooked low & slow in thew Grill, with Smoke, with my wife's Special BBQ Sauce

quote:

Originally posted by bloos61

RE: Strouds...yeah, known for their chicken wings...they're good/average, but again AB

I went to strouds for their fried chicken, and AB's for the que
Yes their are better que places in KC, but when you make a roadtrip on a college budget, the que stands out for a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by bobj143

Man - Oh - Man, never forget The Salt Lick in Dripping Springs, TX -just south of Austin!

Hard to believe....but they are opening a place in a hotel in Las Vegas...
Tried to eat in Dripping at least once a week...the guys I used to ride with we always head out to the hill country that way....loved that smell.