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Ridgewood Barbecue

900 Elizabethtown Highway, Bluff City, TN - (423) 538-7543
Posted By chris c on 5/12/2005 9:11:00 AM
This is *hands down* the best BBQ I've had, and I've had a lot. The very thin-sliced (not shredded) pork is incredibly tender, and flavored with just the right amount of smoke. The sauce is amazing, sweet and spicy, without being too hot. The bun is typical, soft white bread, and nothing to rave about, but by not attracting any attention to itself, it enables the taste of the meat to shine through. I get mine as they come standard, with cole-slaw on the sandwich. I'm not a raving cole-slaw maniac, but it's crunchy and creamy, as slaw should be, and adds a nice texture to the sandwich. They don't overdo it with the slaw either, which is nice.

The fries have been rated among the best in the country (according to one of the many magazine profiled posted up on the walls) and while I prefer steak fries or crinkle-cuts to natural fries (think Wendy's diameter but with the skins on), they are awesome. Cooked very well done, these are dark, dark fries.

Because I only get there infrequently, I have never strayed from a straight up pork sandwich, so I also can't comment on anything else on the menu.

BBQ is a regional food, so it can be hard to compare the best Tennessee BBQ to the best Texas BBQ or East Carolina (no tomatoes!) BBQ, but in a face-off, I think this is best-in-breed and best-in-show against anything else.

Atmosphere is hard to describe... It's a BBQ place, so you wouldn't want someone scraping the crumbs off your place setting for you, and of course they don't. Typical fast diner service -- you get the feeling it might be a tad more friendly if you came in often enough for them to know you -- and pretty much the only down-side is that the many, many framed newpaper and magazine articles maybe makes you feel like the place is a little too self-aware of its own importance. But honestly, who cares, because the food is the thing here.

13 out of 13 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

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Scorecard

5 - Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace
Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace
Rate this place
Mostly what you see are French fries -- delicious, hot-from-the-kettle fries -- but beneath them is a heap of smoky pork slices bathed in tongue-tingling sauce.
"Mostly what you see are French fries -- delicious, hot-from-the-kettle fries -- but beneath them is a heap of smoky pork slices bathed in tongue-tingling sauce. "
Michael Stern





Smoky, sweet, and laced with meat, Ridgewood's beans are a must-eat side dish.
"Smoky, sweet, and laced with meat, Ridgewood's beans are a must-eat side dish."
Michael Stern


The sandwiches are huge and definitely sharable. Order one plate of fries for every 2-3 people.
"The sandwiches are huge and definitely sharable. Order one plate of fries for every 2-3 people."
Rae Augenstein


This is the view from a booth near the kitchen: a beef sandwich and a pork plate, just assembled by the cook and ready to be carried to a table -- OUR table, we pray!
"This is the view from a booth near the kitchen: a beef sandwich and a pork plate, just assembled by the cook and ready to be carried to a table -- OUR table, we pray!"
Michael Stern


Just north of the restaurant is this smoky building where hams are slow-smoked over hickory wood for hours.
"Just north of the restaurant is this smoky building where hams are slow-smoked over hickory wood for hours."
Michael Stern


Although it is far off the beaten path, the Ridgwood is almost always crowded. Expect to wait at peak mealtimes.
"Although it is far off the beaten path, the Ridgwood is almost always crowded. Expect to wait at peak mealtimes."
Michael Stern



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