Yet another listicle, but I think this one is pretty good: "The Absolute Best BBQ Restaurants In The US"
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4Rivers BBQ in Orlando is famous for being famous. I ate at the original when John Rivers was there in a hands on capacity. Didn't care for it then and now that it's a chain, it isn't much better. I've tried a few times to find something to like but it's just sub par again and again. OK, the brisket is good. That's it. The chicken is bland and the mechanically separated pork is always below average.
I wouldn't eat there again if it was free. But that is pretty much Orlando bbq in a nut shell.-
Potkettleblack Meh sums up the BBQ culture of Orlando. In a city where literally everyone is from a non-bbq part of the country the best we have is a chain. -
This is timely. My son lives in Orlando and we visited a couple of weeks ago. He prides himself in being a pretty good BBQ restaurant critic. He took us to a 4Rivers between him and Blue Springs. He said "there really isn’t good BBQ around here (Orlando)" but he thought I should taste the local fare. It was palatable but not what I would consider great BBQ. He smiled when we were done and said "this is as good as it gets around here". -
When I lived in Jacksonville I ate at 4 Rivers a few times. The first couple times were pretty good and it was kind of the best bbq in the area but after a year or two the quality (and quantity) started going downhill. It was still decent and better than most of the bigger chains but still nowhere near as good as many other places on this list.
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B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge MA. is a 40 minute drive!. Once it warms up a bit I'll be visiting looking for outdoor seating. Now 2 "Q" joints a short drive including Bub's BBQ in Sunderland MA. Thanks for this.Comment
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Four in Austin where our Son lives. We've been to three. The other one goes on our list of places to check out. ZZQ in Richmond is about 40 min from us. It's very good, but crowed every time I've been. I just checked their menu, and brisket is now $30/lb.
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Brisket prices are only up...80% in the last 15 month.
Unsustainable. Beef prices on the hoof are up something like 15%. JHP, one of the largest beef packers (there are only 4, and 2 are privately held, so we have no financials), had their quarterly earnings increast 500% during this time, from $2 billion per quarter (2% net margin) to $10 billion (10% net margin). I'll write a longer post on this next week.
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That website is full of pop-ups and it really clogged up my machine's RAM, warning (edit: in case you don't have an ad blocker or it's off as mine was)
Moving on: Interesting list, it doesn't skip the lesser-knows nor does it skip the well-knowns like lists of this sort seem to do, but gives them all equal exposure.
I second Lewis in Charleston. Their brisket was simply excellent, and while the ribs were the perfect doneness & smoke flavor I just personally wasn't a big fan of his rib rub. I swear I tasted cinnamon or similar in the mix.
I regret that when I was in St Louis Pappy's was just closing so we couldn't enjoy it. We instead opted for another in StL that, well, I'm sure won't earn a spot on a list like this.
I will give a shout out to one I don't see mentioned ever- "Straight From Texas BBQ" in Richmond, KY. Their brisket reminded me of Lewis, slap yo mama good.Comment
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"That website is full of pop-ups and it really clogged up my machine's RAM, warning"
Not on my Mac. Of course, I aggressively block ads
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rickgregory I usually do too but mine was off so I could read Fox News and forgot it was off. No Mac here, I'm just not that cool.
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We’ve grown fond of Hard 8 BBQ in Stephenville, Tx. Their meats come from the pits to the cutting board, hot and fresh. I’ve had the brisket, sausage, and the turkey they were all very good. The one thing I dislike most is dry meat, I’ve never been served that here. I haven’t tried the ribs yet, but will soon. Their sides are very good. I’ve had the beans, Mac and cheese, and their big ol delicious onion rings, they’re worth the drive. The bar is set high if you’re selling bbq in Texas. They pass the test just fine.Last edited by Oak Smoke; April 27, 2022, 02:57 PM.Comment
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Little Miss BBQ is excellent. There are two locations now and both are great.Comment
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Ctrl-F "Michigan" - no results. Maybe one day....Comment
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The Richmond VA one is the only one within a multi-hour drive for us. Myron Mixon's place is a couple of miles away in Alexandria VA, but we never got around to trying it Before (we moved here in July 2019). But I'm with Huskee in being glad I've learned at least the compulsory figures when it comes to BBQ... also glad I have a chestie full of excellent meat!Comment
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I’ve made some great BBQ, mainly thanks to Meathead and The Pit, but these places are at a totally different level, and I enjoy supporting them. The brisket at La Barbecue is so good, it’s paradigm altering. It’s like brisket from outer space or something. Smoque and Heirloom are also very good, especially Heirloom.Comment
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I've watched the Aaron Franklin videos several times each, and read his book twice through. And to be honest I think I'm doing WAY more TLC on my briskets than he does. Case in point he doesn't dry brine ahead of time and and he's nowhere near as picky as me in trimming, and he doesn't use digital temp probes but only the dials up on the lid not where the meat sits..etc etc etc. So I was sure my brisket 'had to' be better than his. And obviously Meathead's instructions, and Jerod's... -
continued... and you all's, and then I ate at Lewis BBQ in Charleston (and he used to work at Franklin's from what I've read) and it really made me rethink my own brisket skills. These guys do a dozen, or dozens, of briskets a day, production level which limits the TLC they can afford to give, and they're still better than mine. Wow. Humbling. -
Huskee Totally agree. I have been to La Barbecue and Franklin and I have no idea how they can turn out as good of brisket as they do on the scale that they do. I am pretty proud of mine and think it is better than most but the top level places like this are on a whole different level.
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I have little faith in the reviewers as they rated Big Bob Gibson's pulled pork as delicious. I think it was the worst pulled pork I have ever had, and I 'm counting pre-packed stuff from the grocery store.
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For Chicago: Smoque is good. We used to live close, then they put an outpost downtown across from work, so I started eating a lot of their brisket. The fresher it is out of the foil, and the faster you eat it after slicing, the better it is.
I dunno about the high rise. I hope they're still in the food court across the street from work, as I'm going back on Monday.
Haven't been to Lem's but it's a local institution. Since we moved, we're closer to Lem's than Smoque, so maybe we'll hit it up. Have been to a few of the others on the list, but many many moons ago, so in no way representative of their current output.Comment
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It's a bit of a PITA at busy times, but nothing like Franklin ;-) Can get very crowded and have a long line. Of course, that was in the before times, you know, pre-March 2020. -
I’ve had smoque a few times but only when it was take out. Good but there’s something about having fresh cut bbq. One day I’ll venture back into the city and get it.
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After having spent the better part of last week at our Texas Meat-up and eating at several Texas BBQ joints, I've come to the conclusion that BBQ has become so universal that choosing the "ultimate" ones is futile. Half the ones chosen in the Texas bunch are there because they have a certain amount of notoriety and play well politically in this over BBQd state. There are little upstarts all over the place who formerly worked at the big joints, learned the craft and struck out on their own. No point in naming names but the quest for the "ultimate" BBQ joint here in Texas many times occurs just down the street by a guy who makes the best brisket I've ever tasted.Comment
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I think they called this a "best of" article for search result reasons. People search for 'best BBQ near me" or "Best BBQ in Oregon" etc so a post on the Best BBQ in America with states mentioned etc will drive traffic. But what this really seems to be is a pretty credible list of some really good BBQ throughout the US.Originally posted by Troutman View Post
There will be misses. I guarantee you they didnt send out a single, highly qualified review team and hit up all of these. I'd bet they used writers and other trusted contractors in the various areas and so there will be some outright misses because some people don't know enough to differentiate good from meh BBQ.
But when I saw this, I almost posted it because on the whole it seems like a decent list.Comment
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Well I’m glad to see you apologize for the article but when I see words like "absolute" it smacks of advertising and politics. I know several high end Pitmasters who will admit to the politics involved with this type of advertising. It’s a business that’s under pressure on several fronts. -
Troutman I doubt advertising was a factor in selection. But I agree with rickgregory that they probably triangulated from a lot of lists and reviews. -
/shrug - I'm not apologizing for anything, just telling you why so many of these lists bill themselves as "best of" even if they might privately admit that it's merely a compilation of good places. Might there be backroom dealing? Maybe, but I don't like to accuse without evidnce so...
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Meathead I’ve personally been to almost all the Texas places mentioned. Some are spectacular and some are absolute has beens. You can triangulate and opine all you like but personal experience tells me otherwise. Talking personally to Pitmasters about the politics involved is real. Again anytime I see the word "absolute" without any understanding of how they list these places is suspect, there are no absolutes.
I’m done.Comment
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