20 Best Barbecue Cities in America

[sthomasaz]

Did anyone see this list? They have some interesting calculations in there algorithm. Who's up for a road trip to Cincinnati lol

Kansas City, Missouri // 60.14
Chicago, Illinois // 46.46
Houston, Texas // 37.51
Cincinnati, Ohio // 35.88
Memphis, Tennessee // 34.08
Louisville, Kentucky // 31.47
St. Louis, Missouri // 29.86
New York, New York // 29.22
Minneapolis, Minnesota // 28.61
Overland Park, Kansas // 27.26
Washington, D.C. // 27.07
Richmond, Virginia // 26.47
Denver, Colorado // 25.33
Los Angeles, California // 25.30
Omaha, Nebraska // 25.22
Atlanta, Georgia // 25.08
Grand Rapids, Michigan // 24.64
Austin, Texas // 23.04
Elk Grove, California // 23.03
Raleigh, North Carolina // 22.87

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/647908/best-barbecue-cities-in-america

[Huskee]

I've eaten at a great BBQ place in Grand Rapids, MI but I would hardly consider that city to be one of the 20 best. Interesting indeed. These compilation lists are always very subjective and fluid.

[Mr. Bones]

Hmmm, interestin list...ain't clicked th list, mebbe later, when I'm more Comfortably Numb...
Mebbe...

Thanks fer postin, Amigo!

[bbqLuv]

Is that for dine-in or take-out?

[Panhead John]

Here we go again…Denver, Grand Rapids and Omaha? Ahead of Austin, Tex.

[LA Pork Butt]

I remember when (I think this was in Major League Baseball) allowed fans to cast votes for the all stars. They had to stop it because some team’s fans were casting an excessive number of votes for their players. I wonder if this list smacks of some of that.

[ofelles]

Why is Brentwood, CA not on that list?
Wait, now I remember!

[Draznnl]

I live in the suburbs of #2 on that list and can't wait until I can get back to Austin, TX for a barbecue weekend.

[Mr. Bones]

Just another's belly-button...everybody has one, same as arseholes...

Some jus feel compelled to share theirs...or, mayhaps, it's they jobs...

[Troutman]

Yea who comes up with these lists and what the hell do those ratings consist of? Well, at least they got Houston right ..... yea Htown !!!!

[Panhead John]

Houston #3? Not sure about that one. We definitely should be ahead of Chicago.

[Troutman]

Here's the criteria from the article;

"The ranking system is based on 14 weighted factors, including the number of barbecue and smokehouse restaurants, number of top-rated barbecue and smokehouse restaurants, number of barbecue festivals and competitions, consumer restaurant ratings, number of top-ranked cooking teams, and more."

OK I'm good with KC, or Memphis but Austin at the bottom? So St. Louis (no offense to my SL friends) has more bbq joints than Austin? Or top-rated, or number of festivals (anyone ever heard of South By Southwest (SXSW)?) or sheer reputation? I'm completely dumbfounded. And I'm not just picking on SL. Take any of them other than the two I mentioned.

Troutman's list.....

1) Memphis - KC - Austin .... Tied
2) Houston
3) Lockhart, Texas
4) Taylor, Texas
5-20) Pick 'em

[Mr. Bones]

I'll readily concede that KC belongs somewhere, at least, in th mix...

Love yer Tie #1, though! , Brother! I'll buy that fer a dollar!!!!, an we can all Eat, Drink, an call Mary... oops...

[Troutman]

OK here's the complete metric on how they derived this;

Access
BBQ Restaurants per 100,000 Residents (Quantity as a factor? If I have more McDonald's am I the best burger city?)
Number of Top-Rated BBQ Restaurants (By whom and by what criteria?)
Smokehouses per 100,000 Residents (Same as the first comment)
Number of Top-Rated Smokehouses (They keep repeating themselves)

Quality
Number of NBBQA Excellence Award Winners (Sauce, Rub, and/or Food Categories) in Past 5 Years (That's based on individual awards for comp pitmaster who happen to live in a certain city? That makes that city a bbq capital? huh?)
Number of Cooking Teams Ranking in Top 25% of Past 3 American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational Contests (same comment)
Number of Cooking Teams Ranking in Top 26-50% of Past 3 American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational Contests (again with the cooking teams)
Number of Cooking Teams Ranking in Top 25% of Past 3 American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Contests
(gawd these guys love cooking teams, not cities)
Number of Cooking Teams Ranking in Top 26-50% of Past 3 American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Contests
(OK now I'm getting board)
Median Consumer Rating for BBQ Restaurants (I see so I love my bbq joint and have never tried any others in any other cities so that makes mine the best)
Median Consumer Rating for Smokehouses (same comment)

Events
Hosts KCBS-Sanctioned National/Global Barbecue Competition
Hosted KCBS-Sanctioned Masters Series BBQ Competition(s) in Past 3 Years
Number of BBQ Festivals
(same comment for all three. If I hold KCBS comps that means the above pitmasters are going to come from their city to that city to hold a contest. I can understand that makes for a great bbq destination but again how does that make for a great bbq city from a restaurant/food perspective?)

So let's sum it up. Access - If a large city opens more bbq joints then another then they are ranked higher. Bad assumption.
Quality - Except for the last two criteria, it's all about how many bbq comp pitmasters are in any given city. How is that a criteria of quality in that city?
Events - Oh so you draw more comp events so that makes your bbq better? I'll buy that to some degree but still a weak criteria.

Seems like this whole thing was rigged up as a popularity contest for the KCBS and comp teams in general to describe their favorite places to have festivals. Why not just name it that?

Alright I'm done. Dinner's on the table and there's a cold one is in the box. What do you guys think? How about you there PeeWee?

[Murdy]

If number of top-rated bbq restaurants and smokehouses is not adjusted per capita (and some of the other criteria as well), a large city is going to have an advantage over a smaller one just by virtue of its size. It's not surprising there are more bbq restaurants in New York or Chicago than Omaha.

[Donw]

Make up your own ranking system, that sounds scientific, and write about it. I’m presently working on the theory that rain and snow in a county in Missouri is the cause of pedestrians being killed by trains. Results look promising.

[RonB]

I live just outside of Richmond VA. Ou son lives in Austin TX. I just don't believe that Richmond ranks higher than Austin.

[AdequateEatin]

Huh, I live about 45 minutes away from number 19. I have never heard anyone rave about the BBQ joints there. Maybe I will have to head over this weekend and see if Mental Floss knows anything.