I found a small hole in the wall place in Snellville Ga. Blackstocks.
Certainly not fancy but if you like the eastern NC style this place is for you
the chopped plate is 5.00, you get a half pound of chopped pork, basket of hamburger buns and two sides, and unlimited tea.


Certainly not a candidate for best in the US but very good IMO

God will certainly smite you down if you put into BBQ sauce....

Cats-sup
Sugar
Molasses
Cane Syrup
Corn Syrup
Sweetener of any sort.

For those unable to survive without sticky, a little tomato paste may be added, but not until after reciting several sincere Acts of Contrition.

Really top notch brisket, 12-15 hours @ no more than 200F, darkly crusted outside, but with the telltale bright red stripe just inside, needs no sauce at all, simply sliced onions, pickles, peppers and light bread.

"Real" traditional BBQ sauce is meat drippings and seasoning, mostly chiles.

Vinegars and Mustards are permitted with pork to keep the pig juicy.

There are very few things in which I am a religious conservative. You, however, have spoken to true word. :)

RailHead Fort Worth, TX. Just off I-30 at Montgomery! Absolutely the best. If you are lucky you will get there on pork sandwich day.

clearly, the answer to this question is Dreamland in Tuscaloosa, AL. :D

Kudos
 

I have been to Fiorella's. It's quite good. This thread illustrates differences between Canadians and Americans however. Up here, we speak of BBQ ing and grilling as being the same process (which I prefer) unlike the slow cooking method of traditional BBQing in the US with the billions of sauces created.

I guess everyone has their preferences. :)

Of those that you've listed below (and a few others), my ranking would be:

Kreuz (the fatty brisket is awesome -- if you must, go to the park and crack out your sauce)

Louie Mueller (if i recall, i really liked the pork ribs -- last time i went, they were sold out of food)

Rudy's (particularly the original location that you've listed)

Salt Lick (i like it a lot, but admit that atmosphere plays a role in this rank)

Black's (only went b/c Kreuz was closed...it was good, but didn't wow)

Ironworks (maybe the best bet in Austin city limits?)

Cooper's (didn't really impress that much -- maybe i didn't enjoy the cabrito or the motorcycle rally crowd -- can't recall)

Haven't been but want to try...
Smitty's
City Market

Don't believe the hype...
County Line (what's the big deal?)

Alex's in Avila Beach, CA
 

Located about midway between LA and SF right off of Highway 101. Excellent !

Just had Texas Chicken & Grill in NYC, it was good, but not as good as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (three in NY).

Lucille's!
 

Lucille's! They have some of the tastiest ribs around SoCal.
I've been to the ones in Brea and Long Beach. Now I hear there's gonna be a new one just a block down the street from me in Tustin! Yessss.... :D
http://www.lucillesbbq.com/

A close second for tri-tip is Wood Ranch BBQ in Anaheim Hills and Lakewood.
http://www.woodranch.com/
They don't slice up the tri-tip, but serve it in a big steak and it is tender and juicy!



Steve :p

It would be interesting to know if they have any connection to Lucille's Bad To The Bone BBQ chain in Florida.

The first requirement for a barbeque joint is that they have some sort of wood stacked up outside and a real pit running. By definition, barbeque can't be made ovens.

In general, barbeque is not made in big cities. The lifestyle is just too fast to do it right. Most of these places are tourist traps. If it's been on the Food Network, it's too commercial.

The best barbeque on the planet is to be found at Pete Jones Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC. It's about 2.5 hours from RDU, and is worth the trip from anywhere in the world. Words cannot describe how good this place is. It's the only Q joint I've ever eaten in and concluded that I couldn't make better Q at home.

As they say in NC, you can criticize a man's wife and his dog, but if you criticize his barbeque get ready for a fight.

I had the Memphis Style Smoked Ribs at Ruby Tuesday

YUCK!!!

What an abomination :td:

What? You don't like boiled ribs?

My backyard in NJ!!!

My new favorite BBQ is Brother's BBQ in Denver.

You can smell the restaurant a block away.

Good God man, you live in freaking Texas. Well, El Paso, but still, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ;)

I am stuck in Port Huron, Michigan

We were discussing ribs at work, and I was telling them about the Charles Vergos' Rendevous ribs and then I see those in the menu, and I thought, what a wonderful coincidence.

Big mistake

I can't believe that no one has mentioned T.J.'s Ribs in Baton Rouge (near the LSU Campus)! St. Louis Baby Backs that LITERALLY fall off the bone! (They really do! On my last trip I turned over the bone, and the meat really fell off!)

I usta go there on a number of occasions when I was married to my first wife, who's from that area. Since we've been divorced I've pretty much avoided that part of the country.

But just recently went through that area a few months ago (first time since 1991). And the ribs are just as good as ever!!!!

Best ribs in the U.S.A.!!! However, I'll be going to Memphis in a couple weeks, so I'll post if I find anything better (though I doubt it!).

Tastes vary, but in a barbeque contest you'd get marked down for that. The perfect rib will be tender, with a little bit of chew. It should come off the bone easily, but not fall off. Taking a bite should leave the rest of the meat on the bone. Pressing on the meat will not produce any grease, yet it will still be moist. A pink smoke ring should be evident, but the smoke taste should not be overwhelming.

A rib that falls off the bone when you turn it over can indicate that it's been sitting in a steam table for a long time.

Barbeque "experts" are as picky about Q as some people get about wine.

I <3 BBQ, so I'll add my 2 pennies:

Texas Pit in Saginaw, TX. Right down the street from my house. The meat is fantastic, but the potato salad sucks. Their fries are made from scratch and incredible, though.

Mike Anderson's, in Dallas off Harry Hines.

Golden Rule, Birmingham, AL. Best pulled pork I've ever had.

Elmer's in Tulsa, OK, which unfortunately closed a couple years ago. They had a "sandwich" they called the Bad-Wich, which was a serving of all the meats on a bun (including a rib).

Dickey's, IMO, is the most consistent chain in Texas. Will never be as good as most independents, but reliable. I've eaten at many of them, and have never had bad 'Q.

Burbank's in Cincinnati, OH, was quite good many years ago, but quality seems to have fallen off beginning in the late 90's. I personally believe it was probably due to mismanagement and trying to aggressively grow the brand and open more restaurants too fast. All but the original have closed.

Finally, people seem to rave about Cousin's in Fort Worth, but I don't think it is all that.

Somehow double posted????

Elmer's is definitely still open (It's on Peoria). The best in Tulsa, and one of the best in the US IMHO.

I make no claim to have read all the posts here so sorry if some one else has mentioned this. I make no claims that these are the best but they are good. In the CLT airport the BBQ place in the main atrium is very good. Also approx 4 miles from the airport on Wilkenson Blvd(going toward town) is the Smokehouse BBQ. It will be on the left.
P.S. Smokehouse has a great breakfast & great service.

Anyone have any opinion on BBQ in Florida? (Esp. Tampa, Orlando, SW Coast?)

Sonny's?

Sonny Bryan's in Dallas; Salt Lick near Austin and Memphis Championship in Vegas are my favorites.

^^^^^I did not read all 16 pages in this thread but I will say Salt Lick just west of Austin is the best. Hands down. We are done here. :D

Having been to Salt Lick a few times, as well as several of the others on the list I can only say, nah ;)

No worries. More room for the coolers of beer. :D

Interesting. Was it ever closed? I heard a report from my former co-workers shortly after I left that job in 2004 that when they went to TUL and wanted to make the semi-annual pilgrimage to Elmer's that it was closed...

Now there are approximately 2 dozen BBQs joints in Richmond.:)

Having lived in the area for decades and having been a patron of Salt Lick many times, I vote for their BBQ. But...thank goodness we all have different favorites.

I went last Tuesday to Chili's to had their Memphis Style and Kentucky style ribs

Man, what a disaster, the Memphis ribs rub had no flavor whatsoever, and the Kentucky was also dissappointing. The only good thing was the sauce that they served with the ribs, which was tasty

I am better off smoking my own ribs

I have a hard time with the politics of the owner..but Maurice's in Columbia, SC for SC style mustard-based sauce on pulled-pork.

Don't feel like you're stuck in Columbia. For great meat, better sauce, and less politics, head a little west to Wise's in Jalapa, SC, near I-26 (open Fri. & Sat. only AFAIK). See my post #32 above for more info.

[BEGIN TRIVIA] From the discussions I've had with long-time families of the area, I understand that the use of mustard as a base for sauce originated in the Newberry area and then spread to other areas, starting with Columbia and Greenville, and then further. Even here in Colorado, several BBQ restaurants offer some sort of "Carolina" mustard-based sauce, but most of those sauces are much sweeter than the traditional sauces. The original recipes which I have seen for the mustard sauces used almost no sugar or honey. [END TRIVIA]

Again, here is the link to thread in the South forum on the same subject: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309405

Anyone have any success with a BBQ restaurant in Florida, hopefully south to central but anywhere really!

We recently visited South Florida and stumbled upon Oaks BBQ in Sarasota (on Tamiami Trail). It was pretty good. Small place, very inexpensive, but definitely worth it, especially since we didn't really find anyplace else.

The BBQ was vinegary and mustardy, maybe a little like what I would think of as "Georgia BBQ" (the mustard part especially). I like this flavor, but some on here may not

Here's a web article I found about this place:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb.../1486/NEWS0101

Our other BBQ attempt in Florida was Sonny's BBQ (the chain) in Tampa on Dale Mabry. I have to say that was dissapointing, the brisket was chopped not sliced, and dry. Sides and sauce were good. Serves me right for getting brisket too far east of Texas!

I had Corky's last night for the first time. It was good, but not great. I still prefer Brother's in Denver.

Dixie Pig- Blytheville, AR. The best in the USA!
I would drive from MEM to get some.

Stutts House of BBQ in Tulsa is absolutely delish. Right down the highway from TUL and CHEAP!!! Try the sweet tea and buttermilk pie..