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

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

Some other good resources

America's Best BBQ by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk

bbq book by davis and kirk This wholly wonderful book is meant as a cookbook, as described in the subtitle "100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants". But it is much more. Davis and Kirk probably have visited more barbecue joints than anyone I know, and they know the good stuff from the bad. For this book they have picked some of the best barbecue restaurants, describe them, and share a recipe. Davis and Kirk are not professional photographers, but their snapshots do a fine job of conveying the ambiance of the restaurants, the personalities of the people, and the taste of the food. I have used it more than once as a reference when I hit the road, and they have never steered me wrong.

The narrative is folksy and personal. Here they are discussing pig snoot sandwiches: "Ardie hasn't made it through a whole snoot sandwich yet, even after downing a shot of Pig's Nose Scotch first. Paul downs them with gusto reminiscent of a New Yorker eating clams or oysters on the half shellArdie says they taste like bacon fat with barnyard rub. When he gets to the whiskers, he stops and orders a tenderloin sandwich or a cheeseburger." Yes, they offer a recipe that even Ardie will eat.

Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses by Robb Walsh

Legends of Texas Barbecue This book is a wonderful piece of scholarly research that is also a great read. Walsh has delved into the history and lore of Texas barbecue, it origins, its ingredients, its personalities, and its tall tales. He recommends the best places to eat when in the Lone Star State, what to eat, and provides recipes from pitmasters to help you replicate the real thing at home. Even the photos are fascinating.

A quote: "The majority of Texas barbecue joints now serve a little bit of everything. You'll always find some kind of beef offered, and usually German-style sausage along with Southern-style pork with barbecue sauce, Mexican tortillas, West Texas beans, and sides from all over the place. Not to mention banana pudding, coconut cake, and sweet potato pie. Some places try to maintain a degree of stylistic purity, but few succeed. That's why when you say "Texas barbecue," no one can ever be sure about what you are talking about... The best way to preserve our tradition is to constantly disagree about what Texas barbecue really is."

Barbecue: A Texas Love Story

Barbecue Texas Love Story A 46 minute DVD narrated by the late former Governor Ann Richards and directed by Chris Elley. This clever 2005 documentary features some of the characters and culture of Texas barbecue including the Sowpremes (women who dress like hogs and root for barbecue), and Kinky Friedman (novelist, humorist, former candidate for governor, songwriter, and leader of the band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys). "Jesus loved barbecue. That's well known," asserts Friedman.

A word about Yelp

I am not a fan of Yelp, the popular crowdsourced restaurant guide. I frequently read ignorant and uniformed reviews from people who clearly know nothing about food, and others that I suspect are planted by employees or competitors.

Worse, there have been numerous complaints by restaurateurs that if they do not buy ads from Yelp, positive reviews will be hidden. Just Google Yelp Complaints. What's good for the goose is good for the Google.

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

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AmazingRibs.com is all about the science of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and tips on technique. Learn how to set up your grills and smokers properly, the thermodynamics of what happens when heat hits meat, as well as hundreds of excellent tested recipes including all the classics: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, steaks, barbecue sauces, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, and accessories, all edited by Meathead.

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