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Meathead's Award Winning
Meat Temperature Magnet

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GrillGrates Take You To
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The Smokenator:
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Digital Thermometer: Stop Guessing!

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Hot Stuff Barbecue & Grilling AwardA good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight and pay for itself in a hurry. And it is inexpensive. Click for more about thermometers.

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One Nation Under Sauce: A Guide to America's Barbecue

"Drive around the building. If there's no wood pile, move along." Meathead

By Meathead

Here's the massive concept: As I travel, I like to hit the local pitstops, tuck in a napkin, take a few pictures, and meet the pitmasters. In this section I plan to post my experiences and I invite you to do the same. Sooner or later I will set it up as a searchable database where you can rate the restaurants. This is a big expensive project, so forgive me if it takes a while. Meanwhile, I have included some external links to sites that have come recommended by users. I can't vouch for the quality of the meal or the accuracy of the info below, so check around and call ahead. At this time I haven't even posted all my faves, and the listings are in no special order. If you stop in, tell the Meathead sent you!

The web has a lot of great restaurant guides. If you're looking for a place just around town or when you're on the road, there are a lot of handy resources to tip you off on where to go, and where not to go. I have included some of them below. You should also check out the popular food message boards. They usually have sections devoted to restaurant discussions. And they're often up to date on who got cited by the health board and who lost their chef. Here are the restaurant guides I use.

US Barbecue Pitstops

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
    • Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock
    • McClard's Bar-B-Q, 505 Albert Pike, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901, 501-623-9665, 866-622-5273
    • Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, (James Beard award winner) 219 West Louisiana St., Marianna, AR Owners: James and Betty Jones
    • Roadside BBQ, Proctor
  • California
    • Mo's, San Luis Obispo
    • Ribs & Rods, Sacramento
    • Everett and Jones, Oakland since 1973
    Beachwood Barbecue, Seal Beach
    • Uncle Frank's Barbecue, Mountain View
    • Great American Barbecue, 2009 Hight St, Alameda CA 94501
    • BBQ Smokehouse, Sebastapol, Larry Vito, owner.
  • Colorado
    Big Hoss BBQ
    Brothers BBQ
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
    • Wholly Smokes. 6803 N Armenia Ave, Tampa, 33604, 813-935-5879
    • Alligator Alley, 1321 E. Commercial Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, 954-771-2220, closed Tue, Chef Iggy, Carl Pissolo.
    • Georgia Pig, 1285 S. State Road 7, Davie, FL 33317, 954-587-4420
    • Jenkins Quality Bar-B-Que, 4 locations in Jacksonville
    • Tom Jenkins 1236 S Federal Hwy, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
    • Tom's Place, West Palm Beach, FL
    • Big John's Alabama Bar-B-Que in Tampa
    Jax House of Ribs, 5401 Powerline Rd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 954-776-4994.
    • Skebo's Kitchen, Club Lexx, 12001 NW 27th Ave.; 5 p.m.-5 a.m. daily; 786-443-7306.
    • Mama Lucy's All Pro Ribs, 2201 NW 119th St.; 1-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, noon-10 p.m. Thursday, noon-11:30 p.m. Friday, 1-11:30 p.m. Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday; 305-687-8782.
    • Saint City Coffee Shop, 9302 NW 22nd Ave.; 8:30 a.m. until customers stop coming, daily; 305-693-3877.
    • House of Prayer Church & Restaurant, 2445 NW 62nd St.; 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday; 305-691-5577.
    • VII Sports Club, 5994 NW 22nd Ave.; noon-midnight Friday-Saturday; 305-638-9616.
    • Bulldog BBQ
    • Big Momma's Smokehouse BBQ, Palm Beach, Boca Raton, others
    • Shorty's BBQ, multiple locations
    • Texas Hold 'Em BBQ, Fort Lauderdale
    Florida Barbecue Association.
  • Georgia
    • Col. Poole's, East Elijay, GA, Hill of Pigs Col Oscar Poole Dougless GA has "Nat BBQ Championships"
    • Wall's, 515 E. York Lane, Savannah, GA. Between York St. and Oglethorpe Ave (Historic District) 912-232-9754.
    • Fatt Matt's Rib Shack, Atlanta, has live music
    • Barbecue Kitchen, College Park
    • Harold's Barbecue, Atlanta
    • Pig-N-Chik, Atlanta
    • The Swallow At The Hollow, Roswell
    • Williamson Brothers, Douglasville
    • Hudson's Hickory House, Douglasville
    Atlanta Restaurants.
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
    Smoque, 3800 North Pulaski Road, , Chicago 773-545-7427, Barry Sorkin owner
    Rub BBQ Company, 2407 West Lunt Avenue, Chicago, IL 60645. Rogers Park neighborhood
    Honky Tonk Barbeque, 1213 W. 18th St., , Chicago, 312-226-7427, Willie Wagner, owner
    Pork Shoppe, Chicago, Avondale neighborhood
    • Smokey’s BBQ
    • The Piggery
    • Chicago Q, Chicago, Lee Ann Whippen owner
    Smokey Bear’s BBQ House
    Carsons, Chicago
    Uncle John’s BBQ, 339 East 69th Street, Chicago 773-892-1233
    Fat Willy’s, 2416 West Schubert Avenue, Chicago, 773-782-1800
    Barbara Ann’s, 7617 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago 773-0651-5300
    • The Barbeque Zone, 3309 E 106th St (at Buffalo Ave), Chicago, IL 60617
    • Lem's, 5914 South State St., Chicago, 773-684-5007
    Honey 1, Chicago, Robert Adams owner
    Lillie’s Q, 1856 North Avenue, Chicago, 773-772-5500
    Smoke Daddy
    Gale Street Inn
    Sweet Baby Ray's, Elk Grove and Wood Dale
    • Hecky's, Evanston
    • Exsenator's Bar-B-Que, 3349 West 159th Street, Markham, 708-333-1211
    • The Original Just Turkey Restaurant, http://www.originaljustturkey.com 1746 W 127th St, Calumet Park (I-57 & 127th)
    • Three J's BBQ Pit, 1713 E 75th St Chicago, IL 60649 , Casrib, also has a small food truck
    17th Street Bar & Grill, Murphysboro, Marion, O'Fallon, Sparta, all downstate
    LTH Forum. Chicago-centric, this very lively and active board knows where all the best restaurants are, especially the little neighborhood joints. They also discuss other cities as well as cooking.
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
    Check out the road trip by Rob Baas
    • Starnes in Paducah
    • Moonlight Diner
    • Smokey Pig in Bowling Green
    • The Smoke Shack in Scottsville
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
    • The Red Line Grill, 6912 Fourth St. NW, 202-291-9464. Metro: Takoma stop.
  • Massachusetts
    Pigtrip. Barbecue joints in Boston.
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
    • Pig Out Inn, Natches. Est 1955
    • Memphis Barbecue Co., 709 Desoto Cove, Horn Lake, MS 38637. Just a few miles south of Memphis. 662.536.3763, Melissa Cookston and John Wheeler, owners
  • Missouri
    • Check out my quick notes on a visit to Kansas City with links to a lot of photos (expanded section coming)
    Super Smokers, 601 Stockell Drive, Eureka MO, 636-938-9742, 11-8
    • Bill Arnold's Blues Hog Cafe, 116 E Main St, Perry, MO. 573-565-3040
    Jack Stack's, 101 W 22nd St, KC, 816-472-7427
    • KC Masterpiece
    Hawgeyes BBQ, 1313 S.W. Ordnance Road. Ankeny, Iowa 50021, 515-963-4397. Mike Tucker.
    Hickory Park BBQ, 1404 S. Duff, Ames, IA, 535-232-8940, 10:30-9, about 25 miles north of Des Moines.
    • Smoki O's, Kansas City, Otis & Earlene Walker
    • Oklahoma Joe's, Kansas City
    • Pappy's, St. Louis
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
    Danny's Place, 902 South Canal, Carlsbad, NM 88220. Home of Gaulden's glaze (click to see the recipe).
  • New York
    Pete Wells at the NY Times reviews NYC BBQ
    • Painted Pony in Lake Lucerne - has live rodeo twice per week
    • Hog Pit, NYC
    • Brooks, Cooperstown
    • Blue Smoke, NYC
    • Hill Country, NYC, an ode to Kreuz Market in TX, Elizabeth is executive chef
    • Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, NYC, Syracuse, Rochester
  • North Carolina
    • Skylight, Ayden NC, Pete Jones, owner. Only wood cooked whole hog, chopped, with slaw.
    • Ed Mitchell's
    • The Barbecue Joint in Durham NC
    • Bar BQ Center Drive-In, Lexington
    The Pit, Raleigh
    Carolina BBQ Joints. Jim Morgan runs this fan site for Carolina BBQ. The message board has a lot of good info.
    North Carolina Barbecue Society. They have a Barbecue Trail that includes most of the important places to see and taste including a map, address and phone, and background info. It's all here.
    North Carolina Barbecue Joints.
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
    Hot Sauce Williams, Cleveland
  • Oklahoma
    Earl's, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Puerto Rico
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
    • Click here to see my notes on a visit to South Carolina and lots of photos (expanded section coming)
    • Belly's Southern Pride, Tom Shealy, 671 Smith Pond Rd., Lexington SC 29072, 803-356-8284 Rest.
    • Henry's Smokehouse, 240 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609. Other locations: Woodruff Rd in Greenville and Simpsonville.
    • Sweatman's, Holly Hill near Orangeburg
    SCBBQ. A pretty complete list of barbecue joints in South Carolina has grown to include other states.
    Gamecock Central. A big list of barbecue joints in South Carolina has grown to include a number of other states.
    Discover South Carolina. A website with a guide to all sorts of restaurants in SC has a nice list of barbecue joints.
    Barbecue Is A Noun
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
    Here's a fine article about BE Scott's in Lexington TN.
    A&R Bar-B-Que, Memphis
    The Bar-B-Q Shop, Memphis
    Central BBQ, Memphis
    Charley Vergos' Rendezvous, Memphis
    Corky's Ribs & BBQ, multiple locations in Memphis and elsewhere in TN
    Cozy Corner, Memphis
    Germantown Commissary, Memphis
    Interstate Bar-B-Que, Memphis
    Neely's Bar-B-Que, Memphis
    Payne's, Memphis
    Tops Bar-B-Q, Memphis
    City Café, Memphis
    Canale's Grocery, Eads, TN, In an old grocery store
    Bozo's, Mason
  • Texas
    Touring the Texas Barbecue Belt. Meathead's extensive guide to barbecue in and around Austin.
    • Click here to see my detailed tour of The Austin Barbecue Belt with plenty of photos.
    Texas Monthly's definitive guide
    Full Custom Gospel BBQ by the estimable Daniel Vaughn
    • Here's a link to the guide in the Texas BBQ Review
    • Here's a link to The Texas BBQ Trail, a guide paid for the joints in Elgin, Lockhart, Luling, Taylor
    • And while you're at it, why not hit the Texas Wine Trail
    • Burn's, Houston (Roy Burns, owner)
    Willy Ray’s, 145 Interstate 10 N, Beaumont, TX 77707 409.832.7770
    Mikeska’s Barbecue, 4225 Hwy. 59, El Campo, TX 77437, 979.543.8252 (tel.), 800.388.2552 (toll-free)
    • Thelma Bar B Que 3755 Southmore Boulevard, Houston, TX 77004
    • Drexler's
    Luling City Market,
    • Goode Company on Kirby in Houston
    • Vergies BBQ at 5535 Gessner Drive, Houston, TX 77041 (713) 466-6525.
    Sonny Bryans, multiple locations in Dallas, but the original is a must.
    Gonzales Food Market, 800-269-5342
    • Rudy's, multiple locations, my fave is in Round Rock
    New Braunfels Smokehouse, 441 N. Guenther, New Braunfels, TX 78131, 800-537-6932
    Vera's for BBQ cow's heads barbacoa de cabeza, 26th St. and Southmost Road, in Brownsville, TX., since 1955
    • Ja Kiva, Terlingua
    • Clem Mikeska's, Temple
    Cap Ranch Gourmets, 2018 S. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75701, 903.592.3452 (tel.) 800.874.9321 (toll-free)
    Snow's, Lexington
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
    Dan & Barbara & Sandra Gill's Something Different Country Store and Deli in Pine Tree, 45 miles from Richmond.
  • Virgin Islands
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
    • Hocutt's Carolina Barbecue, Moundsville
  • Wisconsin
    • Speed Queen, 1130 West Walnut Street, Milwaukee, WI, 203-237-6660
    • Maxie's, Milwaukee
  • Wyoming

More Links

BBQ Porch.

Dixie Dining.

Epicurious. The Best Eats section is good and the BBQ section is also helpful.

Roadfood. Although Roadfood is ostensibly focused on inexpensive restaurants on the highways and byways, the discussions on this message board often include restaurants in cities as well as recipes. They have a section on BBQ and it contains a lot of great joints. Some good tips. Easy to use.

Friends Eat

MenuPages. Menus and more for NYC restaurants.

Zagat. The Zagat guides are among the most respected in the world. But you've got to pay to see the entire database. There are bits and pieces available for free online, but to get the complete reviews and to add your reviews, fork it over.

Eat My Town. Honest restaurant, bar, pub and hotel reviews in England.

...more to come (to be notified when new recipes and other articles come online, be sure to subscribe to my free, spam free, email newsletter).

This page was revised 5/26/2012

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