The End is Near - Yahoo Finance BBQ List

[klflowers]

Yahoo Finance has a best BBQ chain article. It is what one would expect IMHO...

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-best-barbecue-chains-america-111616111.html

[DaveD]

Real sure that the bulk of that piece is written by AI... same kind of harbinger I guess.

[CaptainMike]

Artificial intelligence, indeed. Hell, authentic intelligence is a rare commodity these days.

[tmaan235]

Unless I got the article totally wrong, they wasted 12 paragraphs and basically said nothing, am I right?
I would never waste my hard earned dollars on a BBQ chain to start with and blah blah blah. Why would i when i can make it much better at home.... right?

[CaptainMike]

I didn't even get that far through the article.

[prepperjack]

I guess about the only thing this article has going for it is that it doesn't have Sonny's listed. Being from Orlando, I'm all too familiar with the travesty that is Smoky Bones and I apologize for that particular travesty. There's a Woody's in Orlando, though and it is pretty legit. I doubt that it is part of any chain though, because every time I go, I'm amazed that the building is still standing. And, I don't hate Dickey's, especially their Fried Okra. The only thing that makes me question this whole article, though, is that 4Rivers is not listed. I'd say it's about as good as one can expect a chain restaurant to be. They kind of ride the line between appealing to the masses of the cultural hodpodge that is Central Florida population and tourists and something for everyone BBQ all in a very clean, sanitized and faux-country environment.

[Oak Smoke]

I like that term”faux-country” I’ll have to use that. Here we are real country and have an occasional place that’s faux big city.

[Mosca]

Oh boy! Another list that is culled from reviews!

One thing I have to say: most of these are franchises, and the single deciding factor in the quality of food from a franchise restaurant location is the dedication of the management.

Every Smokey Bones in America has every tool it needs to produce Q that is as good as any Q in the country. What they don’t all have are people who know how to do it, or people who care how to do it, or really, any incentive to do it at all. Our local SB was outstanding when it first opened; the GM was a bbq freak, one of those “up all night tending the pits” guys. He was a customer of ours (the restaurant was right across the street from us) and I talked Q with him. He was a believer. But that kind of dedication burns out when you’re collecting a pay check and answering to both corporate and local ownership concerns. It’s an environment that rewards high volume, mediocre to average food at decent prices. The original GM lasted about 2 years. I hope he is still making Q somewhere.

Another thing I will say: the first thing I thought was, “#1 had better be Dinosaur.” Their Q has always been excellent. They started as a bbq road show, with a 55 gallon drum, going to biker meets. There are six stores, no franchises, and they’re all in New York, within a few hours of each other, so QC is easier to handle. Everything I’ve ever had from Dinosaur has been shut my eyes, move my jaw, silently smile delicious.

[klflowers]

The same thing happened with the Smokey Bones here. I used to go frequently when they first opened; at this point I haven't been in years.

[captainlee]

I take all of those reviews, especially from a non food source, with a grain of salt. The only one of those that I have eaten at was Sonny s, and that was a good 30 years ago. At that time I knew nothing about bbq but thought the ribs were fantastic. I've also been extremely disappointed at a bunch of DDD recommendations that I tried.

[klflowers]

Sonny's has gone downhill then

[captainlee]

Seems like they all eventually do that.

[Finster]

Famous Dave’s and Mission are the only 2 I’ve even heard of…
never been to Famous Dave’s, and went to Mission once a few months ago when one near us opened.
The food was decent, and the service was friendly and on point. I approve of their mission. But, overall I’m not big on chain restaurants of any type, so it would likely be the rare occurrence where I would eat there again

[klflowers]

I really like Mission's pulled chicken sandwich and the Mac n cheese and beans. Famous Dave's was fair, but they left the Chattanooga market.

[tmaan235]

I know what the absolute best BBQ in the country is. It's the chain that holds your smoker/grill lid up for you so you can get in there and slobber on some more sauce! Nuff said

[texastweeter]

I read the title and thought 58limited had bought a new Mustang at first.

[Troutman]

Dickey's (utter trash), Rudy's (alright decent but not world class), Corky's (more trash) are in the top 5. Are you kidding me? And then there's Dinosaur at #1? Ok raise you hand if anyone here has even heard of Dinosaur BBQ from Syracuse NY?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

[Willy]

Try Mosca,

[Mosca]

I have, the Syracuse location, twice. It is excellent. But also we are out of the way here in the Northeast. And this list isn’t somebody visiting restaurants; it is collating review stars. What is excellent up here might be average in Texas or North Carolina.

That said, having eaten at several well regarded bbq places in VA, NC, and Chi, I stand by Dinosaur as excellent.

[tmaan235]

Dinawhat????

[Spinaker]

Hahahaha, Famous Daves is above Terry Blacks. Now that is funny. These lists are alwasy trash. Always. Let's be honest, it's all click bait and it worked.

[Spinaker]

Based in MN, 95% of the people up here think vac sealed Lloyds ribs is BBQ so not surprising.

[klflowers]

It amazes me that yahoo finance would put this on their site. Competition among financial websites must be tough if they are reaching like this. But then again, the great unwashed, unlettered public that are not AR members may be swayed...

[Spinaker]

Yeah maybe it’s easier to throw a list together and get clicks than it is to do your homework and actually nail down a solid list. 🤷🏼♂️