You get that at the Smokey Bones here. And speaking of that we are having a BBQ DO at the Smokey Bones here Sat eve 13Mar. if any one is around Clt or wants to burn some miles to join us There is a thread posted in the US forum if any one is interested.

The Shed, Ocean Springs, MS
 

Great BBQ and entertainment. Extremely casual (downhome & country) :cool:

I am going for major BBQ tour in Austin this weekend. Salt Lick, Rudy's, Smitty's, Snows even.

I will also bring a vacuum sealer to savor some when I get home. Full review next week.

Yummmmm!

I was very happy to discover that the Salt Lick outside of Austin was not overrated. I had a great experience there and even enjoy their outpost at AUS.

Also, Black's BBQ in Lockhart, TX is really good.

http://www.blacksbbq.com/about_black...o_gallery.aspx

Doesn't it just make you hungry?

I had a very nice dinner with some people in DC tonight and we started talking about BBQ and one of the people lives in Austin and he mentioned Blacks and Salt Lick. I really would like some brisket ;)

Smokey Bones came and went quickly here in Central Texas, also. Aficionados and adicts simply didn't see it's version as BBQ.

A "caveat' re Rudy's, now with a number of roadside locations in Texas. The BBQ's not bad, but comes cloaked in a bit of commercialized gimmickry aimed at the "traveling trade" which sort of takes it off of the traditionalists' dining lists. In emergency, it fits in the "You know what you're getting" category. Certainly, Austin's (make that Dripping Springs) Salt Lick is highly commercialized, packaged in no small part for folks new to the Texas, but for large parties and tourists makes a better choice than some of the "Hole in the Wall" favorites chosen by those who were brung up weaned from the nipple to the brisket.

"Ma, give Junior one of them there chewed rib bones to help him cut his baby teeth!"

"Plates? We don' need no steenkin' plates!" (The cry of the butcher paper set)

I'm partial to Texas style BBQ (particularly brisket) myself and would say that Snow's BBQ (516 Main Street, Lexington, TX 78947, http://www.snowsbbq.com/) is the best I've ever had by a significant margin.

Just back fro Austin. Tried Snow's, Black's, Smitty's, the Salt Lick, and Rudy's.

Snow's was a cool experience, but the brisket I had was pretty dried out around the edges. I checked out the pits and I didn't see any mopping going on, although maybe I hadn't noticed. Great sauce. It was also fun to visit the nearby cattle market.

The Salt Lick was incredible with the open pit. Good smoke ring, great rub, and incredible sauce. I ate a bunch and took some home.

Smitty's and Black's in Lockhart both served really moist cuts that were a little on the fatty side for my taste. Smitty's had no sauce and even no forks!

My cut at Black's was probably a bit too fatty because I requested an end piece.

Finally, we went to one of the Rudy's and were pleasantly surprised. You could get a piece of brisket moist, lean, or "cutter's choice" in the middle. The sauce and rub were fantastic, and the service was great.

Conclusions:

All of the above places were visited by a mix of tourists AND locals. Rudy's seemed to be fantastic and very reliably good. The Salt Lick was my favorite of all.

Barbecue is an art form, and choosing the best one is like asking who is the greatest painter. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If I lived in Austin, I would be regular out in Driftwood for dinner, but I would probably take my lunch breaks at Rudy's.

I was doing a bit of work in San Antonio last year, and had Rudy's for dinner most every night, until my customer turned me on to Texas Pride in Adkins, TX.

Rudy's is good, and I will push for Rudy's over most any other type of cuisine but Texas Pride was really a treat. Hard to find, but worth the search.

Gotta love responding to a six year old post!

I am in what seems to be the minority...my favorite is the Carolinas' style pulled pork with a vinegar based sauce (there are subcategories within this style...Eastern has no tomato involved, while Lexington does, at least in NC). I prefer Eastern. There are lots of places where I have had a very good sandwich, but no one single place stands out. (Then again, I'm from NC, so I admit a bit of bias might creep in!)

Beyond that, I will go with the Texas style...brisket, with a sauce that's not sweet.

I have also enjoyed BBQ at several of the places in KC.

My biggest pet peeve is cloyingly sweet sauces...my favorite non-NC sauce is from Dreamland, although I have only eaten at the one in Norcross, GA, not in Tuscaloosa.

Ribs are OK, but I have to be in the mood for them. I usually get them with a dry rub only - there's enough fat in them to make them finger lickin' without soaking them in sauce.

Besides the ribs my husband makes at home, lately my favorite has been Big Dave's BBQ in Longview Tx (on 259 No). They make a version of frito pie that is amazing!!!
Lisa

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Tony's Strip Club and parking lot BBQ just outside Atlanta.

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My hand trimmed meat, my rub/marinade/sauce, my Smokey Joe...priceless.

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My thoughts exactly. Didn't seem touristy at all.

But I'd rather do Gates or Jack Stack, unless I had to be in that area (the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and Bryant's makes a nice doubleheader.)

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Shealy's BBQ in Batesburg-Leesville, SC

I love my Smokey Joe! It can do some great smoked chicken breasts without drying the meat. ^

Went to Two Bros. in San Antonio this week, was pretty good and VERY cheap.

Wow, reading this thread makes my mouth water. As a self confessed bbq aholic, some of my favorite BBQ joints include the following.

Kansas City: Oklahoma Joes, Gates, Jack Stack (not a huge fan of Arthur Bryant's)
Lockhart, TX: Krueze Market
Raleigh: The Pit
Birmingham, AL: Full Moon
Denver: KT's
Bentonville, AR: Whole Hog

I could go on and on.....darn, I'm hungry!!

New Orleans - VooDoo BBQ
Los Angeles - Woody's or J.R.'s

If you're comfortable at Kreuz Market, slip over to Luling to City Market, or to Llano's Cooper's, other "butcher paper" venues patronized by wrinkled purists and dedicated followers of classicbarbecue.

Hmm... thought I had already commented in this thread many years ago.

In any case, as a Kansas City native: Arthur Bryant's for the meat, particularly a full slab to share and Gates for the sauce (either the hot or the regular sauce from Gates). The 16th & Brooklyn Bryant's location is relatively convenient en route to MCI, where I've been known to bring full slabs as my carry-on luggage for impromptu dinner parties after landing back East.

Gates will ship cases of sauce, which obviates the need to try to smuggle bottles past the liquid patrols at airport security. I've shipped Gates sauce as far as France before.

There are as many types of BBQ as there are opinions about each but I have two particular favorites...For Carolina style I had to Parker's (Hwy 301 Wilson,NC). Luscious chopped pork, juicy chicken and outstanding cole slaw, among other things. When in Texas I head to one of the several County Line locations, though the original in Austin (Bee Cave Rd. just past 360) is my favorite. Nothing beats sitting outside there on a spring day with a view of Hill Country and big slab of beef ribs!

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The view at County Line is great. For BBQ though try one of the places in Lockhart, or Iron Works or Salt Lick.

LOL, me too, I'm on a diet, but this definitely riles me up.

I will be in Kansas City soon, may be i will check out your choices :)

GadgetFreak: I do also love the Salt Lick. The Lockhart location is very cool(the open pit is one of the few still around) but they also had a little known location at Red Rocks in LV. It regrettably closed a few months ago and I will miss it as I am in LV often and would invariably go there my first night in town. I am heading to Austin next month and will make the original my first stop.

Dreamland in Tuscaloosa, AL is awesome. There's one in BHM as well, but I think Tuscaloosa is the original.

I just had lunch today with a few other FTers at the Ridgewood Barbecue near Tri-Cities TN. It lived up to all the hype I've heard about it. I'd have to say it's as good, if not better, than the good NC BBQ places I've hit.

It's a must!

Ridgewood BBQ
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=446
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=263931238757
900 Elizabethton Highway
Bluff City, TN 37618-4304
(423) 538-7543
Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Closed Sundays.

Fogo de Chão - Dallas. It's great! Almost the same quality of the brazilian restaurants

Fogo de Chao - Dallas and Plataforma Grill-NYC@:-)

I have eaten a lot of good BBQ in my day and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. However, I recently had great ribs at Blues City Cafe in Memphis (we much preferred those to the ones we got at Rendezvous). Also, Cyclone in central TX near Waco.

Virginia Barbeque
 

To me the best bbq hands-down in Virginia Barbeque in Fredricksburg, VA. The pulled pork sandwich is beyond delicious with onion rings, hush puppies and washed down with iced tea. The perfect lunch. And then scoot over to Carl's for some soft serve ice cream and it is the perfect day.

Considering grilled meats, "parilla", to be BBQ is a criminal offense, allowing local law enforcement officers to check your immigration status without any possibility of being accused of profiling.

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You are absolutely correct. ^


You are also braver than I. I could not even address the abomination ;)

Has as much in common with bbq as a toasted marshmallow.

See? Easterners and Westerners can sometimes agree on barbeque.

Getting hungry from reading this thread....