These Are the Greatest Texas-Fashion Barbecue Joints in America

Phoenix

Little Miss BBQ

Scott Holmes had a culinary-school education, but he left the restaurant industry when, on a visit to the parents of  his soon-to-be wife, Bekke, he tried the Salt Lick in Driftwood, thirty minutes southwest of Austin, for the first time. He was hooked, and he and Bekke entered several barbecue competitions. After some success, they decided Phoenix needed a Central Texas–style joint. First they had to convince reluctant city authorities to allow the use of offset smokers. A health department official also said they needed more cooler space for the leftovers—but they weren’t going to have any leftovers. In 2014, Little Miss BBQ was one of the first joints outside Texas to go all in on the Texas craft barbecue model: smoke only the amount of meat you can do incredibly well, slice it fresh for each customer, and put up a Sold Out sign when it’s gone. Besides the great brisket and ribs, Little Miss BBQ has been making its own sausages since day one. And don’t miss the smoked pecan pie for dessert. You can also find Little Miss BBQ at a second location, in Sunnyslope, twenty minutes north of downtown Phoenix, which opened in 2018.

Pro tip: Little Miss BBQ recently opened sister restaurant Full Speed to focus on ribs and Nashville hot chicken.

Russellville

Ridgewood Brothers BBQ

Robert Couser and Grant Corridor aren’t brothers, however they’ve been associates since fourth grade, rising up on Ridgewood Drive in Russellville, Arkansas. A shared love for barbecue satisfied them to open a meals truck collectively in 2017, and the Ridgewood Brothers BBQ brick-and-mortar adopted in 2022. The menu is written in Sharpie on butcher paper, and so are a number of historical past classes in regards to the German and Czech influences on the Central Texas–fashion of barbecue the chums serve. Brisket is the prize right here, however don’t sleep on the juicy turkey. Smoked sausages are made in-house, and the bacon burnt ends are completely tender. A number of desserts are at all times accessible, however search for the orange creamsicle pie on the specials board.

Professional tip: The Tacky Jalapeño Rice Grits (much like corn grits, however smoother) are a must-order.

Little Rock

Wright’s Barbecue

Jordan Wright had his first chew of juicy brisket on the Salt Lick, in 2014, and was instantly hooked on barbecue. After moonlighting as a meals truck operator, Wright was able to make the soar to a everlasting constructing. His banker father thought of his marketing strategy too shaky to offer him a mortgage to renovate an old house in Johnson, outdoors the faculty city of Fayetteville, so he bought the capital from a unique financial institution. The placement opened in 2017. Three extra have adopted, together with one in Little Rock that opened final 12 months. That’s the place I’ve had my finest meal at Wright’s Barbecue. The rooster bacon ranch sandwich, with sliced smoked rooster, bacon burnt ends, and house-made ranch, is a revelation. The ribs are peppery, candy, and tender, and even the lean brisket is juicy. Mashed potatoes are an uncommon barbecue aspect, however they don’t disappoint, and the shells and cheese are one thing particular too.

Professional tip: There’s only one dessert choice, however fortunately, it’s the most effective banana puddings you’ll ever eat.

El Granada

Breakwater Barbecue

El Granada is true on the Pacific, and pitmaster Wyatt Fields beloved browsing these waves lengthy earlier than he discovered barbecue. Simply earlier than the pandemic, in 2020, he opened Breakwater Barbecue in a renovated home with a view of the water. Takeout orders sustained the brand new enterprise, and it’s now a community staple that’s simple to identify because of the offset people who smoke parked out entrance. The jet-black bark on the brisket brings a clear, smoky taste to the juicy slices. The large spareribs are smoked to simply the precise tenderness earlier than getting a candy glaze, and the coarse-ground smoked sausage, made with principally brisket trim, is juicy with an important snap. The remainder of the brisket trim goes into the praiseworthy burger, which is roofed with grilled onions, shredded lettuce, pickles, sauce, and extra chopped, smoked brisket underneath a blanket of American cheese. Brighten up that smoke bomb with the unconventional slaw, made with slivers of inexperienced apple and cilantro.

Professional tip: The cornbread is so candy and buttery, it may well double as dessert.

Alameda

Fikscue

“Indo-Tex” is how Reka and Fik Saleh describe the style of barbecue they sell at their joint, Fikscue. It began as two separate takeout businesses the couple operated out of their home kitchen in 2020. Reka focused on Indonesian cuisine and Fik sold his smoked meats. They combined both when their restaurant opened just south of Oakland last year. Expect a line down the block when they open, at noon on Saturdays and Sundays, for Texas classics like fatty brisket, massive beef short ribs, and smoked jalapeño-cheese beef sausages. The last are thinner than usual due to the lamb casings. The Salehs are Muslim and keep the menu halal, so don’t look for pork ribs. Instead, try the signature brisket rendang, a spicy Indonesian stew made with tender chunks of smoked brisket and coconut milk. The kale curry, seasoned with lime leaves and served alongside, is spectacular, as are sides of cabbage-and-cucumber slaw in a peanut dressing and creamy potato salad with green onions and fried shallots.

Pro tip: Kopiko Coffee Candy, a caffeinated Indonesian hard candy, is available by the register.

San Juan Capistrano

Heritage Barbecue

Ranking: No. 5

Seven years ago, Daniel and Brenda Castillo were already gaining fans at their weekend backyard pop-ups. By 2020 they had their first brick-and-mortar, Heritage Barbecue. A second location that included a brewery followed in Oceanside last year. The couple worked to clarify state laws that eventually allowed the use of wood-burning offset smokers at California restaurants. A fleet of Texas-built smokers from M&M, Mill Scale, and Cen-Tex are fueled with California white oak to produce stunning brisket, sweet-glazed pork ribs, and house-made smoked sausages that vary from classic Texas style to red coconut curry. Look for specials like smoked brisket birria tacos, the pastrami Reuben, and smoked chicken quarters with mole. It’s all good enough to have garnered a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide.

Pro tip: After your meal, tour the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, across the street.

Fresno

Mega Texas Barbeque

Since 2018, Anthony and Tasha Vallejo served their Texas-style barbecue out of a gasoline station in Fresno. Late final 12 months, they moved right into a restaurant area of their very own. The menu has some California aptitude—as evidenced within the pork ribs slathered in a salsa verde whereas being smoked and among the finest smoked tri-tip I’ve ever eaten—however the inspiration is all Texas. Even the brilliant purple “Mega Texas BBQ” signal painted on the constructing has some H-E-B vibes. Barbecue fundamentals like smoked turkey breast and skin-on rooster thighs are executed effectively, and the specialty bacon-wrapped chicken-leg “lollipops” and stuffed jalapeños are equally spectacular.

Professional tip: Place a pin on the map of the US on the wall that reveals the place clients hail from.

Los Angeles

Moo’s Craft Barbecue

Ranking: No. 4

Andrew and Michelle Muñoz evaded the health department for a couple years by selling their barbecue by word of mouth before getting a spot in Smorgasburg, an open-air food market, in 2019. Two years later, Moo’s Craft Barbecue opened a permanent location in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. For California, this is the closest you’re going to get to the experience of eating craft barbecue in Texas. Impeccable smoked brisket, sausages, and spareribs are sold by the pound and served on butcher paper–lined trays. Pork belly burnt ends are smoked until the meat is tender and the fat gushes. The smoked burger is impressive on its own, but it’s even better with a scoop of smoked brisket chili, made the Texas way—without beans. The quality has made Moo’s another California barbecue joint on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list.

Pro tip: The rich bread pudding topped with fresh strawberries is a must for dessert.

Los Alamos

Priedite Barbecue

When his hospitality job evaporated firstly of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicholas Priedite turned to entrepreneurship. He offered takeout meals till the primary official pop-up for Priedite Barbecue, on Labor Day 2021. He and his enterprise associate, Brendan Dwan, served as many purchasers as they may from folding tables underneath a tent. Earlier this 12 months, they parked their new meals truck within the again lot of wine store Bodega, in Los Alamos, a small city in California cattle nation an hour northwest of Santa Barbara. Sundays are reserved for burgers, and the Thursday characteristic is the tri-tip sandwich, however Saturdays are once you’ll discover the complete Texas-style unfold. Whether or not you order the juicy Ranchero Sausage, the candy and salty pork ribs, or the supple brisket slices, add a number of made-in-house beef-fat tortillas. Higher but, discover easy bliss with the bean-and-cheese taco. Pinquito beans are a part of central California’s barbecue custom, and a bowl from Priedite, made with onions, garlic, tomato, and a puree of ancho and morita chiles, is legume perfection.

Professional tip: The buttermilk pudding dessert is paired with jam constituted of native in-season fruits.

Huntington Park

Ray’s Texas BBQ

The Ramirez household carries on the legacy that the late Rene “Ray” Ramirez began again in 2014 with the opening of Ray’s Texas BBQ. After Ray passed away two years ago, his widow, Anabell; sons Sebastian and Raul; and longtime worker Laura Sandoval determined that persevering with to serve barbecue can be their remedy, they usually closed for under in the future. Sebastian and Raul took a crash course to study what Ray hadn’t but taught them about smoking meat, they usually proceed to work as a pitmaster group within the small Huntington Park storefront. The home-made jalapeño-cheese sausage is healthier than ever, and the pork ribs have a novel taste from the steadiness of vinegar and sugar within the glaze. Brisket slices from the lean or fatty aspect stand on their very own, although it’s exhausting to withstand the signature Pitmaster Sandwich, piled excessive with sliced brisket, roasted jalapeños, slaw, pickles, and barbecue aioli topped with two slices of melted pepper jack cheese.

Professional tip: The ten a.m. opening time means gadgets can run out sooner than a typical joint.

Waterbury

Hindsight BBQ

With Christmas arising in 2012, Jeff Schmidt didn’t know what to get his dad. He discovered a closely discounted smoker and purchased it on a whim. The 2 turned obsessed, they usually took turns selecting the following meat to smoke. Schmidt’s first pop-ups had been in his mom’s restaurant, earlier than he transformed an previous diner into his Hindsight BBQ in 2020. Two huge, Texas-built people who smoke fill the pit room. Pitmaster Jay Rosko and his group preserve them filled with house-made sausages that modify from week to week. I wanted I may have tried the mushroom Swiss model, however the blueberry gouda was a shocking triumph. A stout bark on the brisket brings loads of smoke and seasoning with each chew, and the big spareribs are lots tender. Facet choices change repeatedly, however I beloved the pumpkin honey cornbread and the onion rings drizzled with scorching honey. I may drink the gravy that comes with the mashed potatoes.

Professional tip: Adventurous eaters will benefit from the creativity behind the wing taste of the week.

Ridgefield

Hoodoo Brown BBQ

Proprietor Cody Sperry and supervisor Chris Sexton helped change perceptions about what barbecue may very well be in Connecticut after they opened Hoodoo Brown BBQ in 2015, in Ridgefield, not removed from the New York state line. Since then, they’ve added to the roster Tyler Hodge, the self-titled “Sausage King of Connecticut,” who produces hyperlink variations that embody turkey shawarma, Viet-Cajun boudin, and a concoction that mimics the hashbrown casserole from Reality Barbeque, in Houston. Pulled pork was the unique buyer favourite, however brisket is now the well-deserved prime vendor. The Cracklin’ Pork Stomach—a signature merchandise—has a glassy pores and skin that shatters underneath the knife, and the recent tomato relish served alongside is the right complement.

Professional tip: Don’t miss the desserts, corresponding to chocolate chip bread pudding and banana bourbon cream pie, that are made by Sperry’s mom.

Orlando

Smokemade Meats + Eats

The scent of fats dripping onto coals was within the air after I pulled as much as Smokemade Meats + Eats. Superbly charred half chickens had been coming off the direct-heat pit simply earlier than opening time, and subsequent to the pit was an offset smoker filled with briskets for the next day. Inside, as proprietor Tyler Brunache, who began the joint as a pop-up in 2021, manned the chopping block, Brunache confirmed that Goldee’s Barbecue had influenced his freshly baked white bread, golden barbecue sauce, and spectacular sides of pork hash on rice and creamy cheese grits. The half rooster tastes pretty much as good because it appears. The bark on the pork ribs glistens from a candy glaze, and the casing on the beefy hot-gut sausage is lots snappy. Savory collard greens and pinto beans studded with brisket are pure consolation. Freshly baked dessert choices abound, as at many barbecue joints, however since I used to be in Florida, I needed to get the important thing lime pie, its tangy filling balanced by the candy, buttery graham cracker crust.

Professional tip: Purchase a loaf of the house-made white bread to take residence.

Atlanta

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q

Georgia’s barbecue culture runs deep, particularly when it comes to dishes such as chopped pork and Brunswick stew. Brothers Jonathan and Justin Fox found plenty of that when they moved from Fort Worth to Atlanta—Jonathan in 1998 and Justin in 2000—but they missed Texas barbecue. Homesick and hungry, they started smoking briskets in their backyard, which led to pop-ups and eventually to the opening of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q with partner Beau Nolen. In 2007, Fox Bros. was one of the few barbecue joints outside Texas making smoked brisket, and it took years for the cut to outsell pulled pork and chicken. These days Atlanta is a brisket town—the cut is featured at nearly every local joint, including the five locations of Fox Bros.

Pro tip: The only location where the meat is sliced in front of the customer is in Brookhaven, twenty minutes north of downtown Atlanta.

Smyrna

Owens & Hull

Ranking: No. 3

Atlanta restaurateur Robert Owens, who previously owned several Grand Champion BBQ locations, teamed up with local pop-up barbecue phenom Bryan Hull, of Secret Pint BBQ, to rebrand his joint. The new Owens & Hull is tucked behind an apartment complex, next to a brewery, at the southern tip of Smyrna, and it goes against the table-service model of most Atlanta barbecue joints. Orders are taken at the counter, where Hull slices meats pulled from the Primitive Pits smoker that sits just outside the front door. The Prime-grade sliced brisket (Fridays and Saturdays only) is the best I’ve had in Georgia, but the juicy, peppery smoked turkey breast might be the best protein on the menu. Every week brings a new sausage variety, such as the garlicky Portuguese linguica calabrese I enjoyed. The side of shells and cheese is a standout, as was the special of Cajun rice with brisket gravy.

Pro tip: Visit on a Thursday if you want to try the smoked burger with onion jam.

Savannah

Slow Fire BBQ

When I first found Slow Fire BBQ, last year, the brand-new barbecue bus was in a food truck park in Savannah. Now you can find it in front of its future brick-and-mortar every weekend. Owner Terren Williams spent years working as a chef in Texas and his native Savannah before buying a smoker in 2021. He wanted to re-create his favorite food memories from Smitty’s Market, in Lockhart, and Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington. While Williams smokes a fine brisket, the substantial, pull-apart-tender beef ribs with a stout bark are the specialty. The sliced pork belly is lusciously fatty, while the spareribs are perfectly tender, and the house-made sausages are all impressive. The sides show a chef’s touch, with the drizzle of chile crisp over the slaw and creamy mac and cheese topped with crushed Ritz crackers and chili cheese Fritos warmed in brown butter. Williams’s take on esquites blends mayo and cotija cheese with pureed preserved lemons, parsley, and harissa.

Pro tip: Order the Smokegasbord for a sample of every meat besides the beef rib.

Chicago

Inexperienced Road Smoked Meats

When pitmaster Dave Bonner provided me a head-to-head tasting of his double-patty smokehouse burger and the much more well-known one from Au Cheval, throughout the road (each are owned by the Hogsalt restaurant group), I couldn’t say no. My two tablemates and I declared Green Street’s the winner. The barbecue joint, which opened in 2014, can be serving the very best beef rib I’ve had in Chicago, and the brisket isn’t far behind. You’ll discover picture-perfect pork ribs and slices of pork stomach so tender they wrestle to not disintegrate. Whereas Chicago is a sausage city, you don’t usually discover a Texas scorching hyperlink of this high quality within the metropolis. A chew from the colourful array of pickled greens helps cleanse the palate. The underrated star of the menu is the smoked rooster quarter, with luscious meat beneath a crisp mahogany pores and skin, made even higher with a dunk within the white barbecue sauce.

Professional tip: The road could be lengthy, however you’ll stand subsequent to a bar serving wonderful cocktails for many of it.

Ruston

Unhealthy Wolf BBQ

Louisiana native Andrew Caskey discovered his calling after a two-week trek by Texas. He launched his Bad Wolf BBQ truck in Ruston, about an hour east of Shreveport, in 2019, then used a pandemic hiatus to construct a commissary kitchen earlier than transferring into the Heard Freighthouse meals truck park, which backs as much as railroad tracks. Brisket is the best-seller right here, and for good purpose. The fats cap is effectively rendered beneath a peppery bark, and the slices pull simply with out falling aside. The shimmering brisket burnt ends are one-bite treats, and Caskey makes a banger of a brisket boudin that oozes with melted pepper jack. Quite than going conventional along with his ribs, Caskey smokes and fries his child backs, then tosses them in a candy chile glaze earlier than including sesame seeds and inexperienced onions as garnish. I couldn’t resist the Chimi sandwich, with sliced beef and chimichurri aioli on a jalapeño-cheddar bun.

Professional tip: Ask for a aspect of the chimichurri aioli, as a result of it goes effectively with every part.

Lafayette

Blanchard’s BBQ

Matt and Christy “Kissy” Blanchard fell in love with barbecue in Memphis, however they knew they’d be serving Texas-style brisket at their meals truck when it opened in 2014. A brick-and-mortar location of Blanchard’s BBQ adopted in 2018. The menu displays the Blanchards’ efforts to distinguish their cooking from traditional southern Louisiana delicacies. There isn’t any rice dressing or boudin, and the sauce comes on the aspect, although the Creole mustard sauce is a useless giveaway of the locale. Attempt it on the house-made smoked sausage, which is extremely juicy, with a daring mixture of Cajun spices. Save the espresso sauce for the brisket (not that it wants any). The thick slices pull aside simply, whereas well-rendered fats moistens each chew. A beneficiant handful of the chopped brisket comes atop the house-specialty poutine, made with fresh-cut fries, a wealthy brown gravy of smoked brisket drippings, and queso fresco.

Professional tip: Too many sauces at a barbecue joint could be a purple flag, however all those listed here are wonderful.

Luling

Gonzo’s Smokehouse & BBQ

Smoked boudin has grow to be a favourite at loads of Texas barbecue joints, however I’ve by no means had one pretty much as good because the brisket boudin Jason Gonzalez makes at Gonzo’s Smokehouse & BBQ. It’ll take some planning to strive it. The placement, which opened in 2020, gives its full barbecue menu on Fridays solely, and the road varieties lengthy earlier than the 11:30 a.m. opening time. If the boudin sells out, the comfort prizes aren’t dangerous. Wonderful slices of smoked brisket are simply the beginning—the joint is a burnt-end paradise. Relying on the weekly particular, you’ll discover brisket, pork stomach, beef stomach, or pork-jowl burnt ends. The pork jowl comes with a sticky char siu glaze that’s the good marriage of Louisiana elements and Texas cooking strategies. Or simply refill on sides, such because the smoked gouda grits and the soiled rice topped with shredded smoked beef cheeks. Don’t miss the pickled pineapple garnish.

Professional tip: Preorders for Friday go stay the Sunday prior at 10 a.m.

Riverdale Park

2Fifty Texas BBQ

Fernando González had by no means heard of Franklin Barbecue till he was caught in Austin on a enterprise journey. He beloved its brisket a lot, he introduced an entire one again to his native El Salvador, handed it to his spouse, Debby Portillo, and advised her it was their future. She thought it regarded extra like a rock than beef, however by 2020, 4 years later, the couple had moved to the Washington, D.C., area and opened 2Fifty Texas BBQ. González attended a barbecue class at Goldee’s Barbecue, in Fort Value, and introduced in marketing consultant Mauro “Max” Chiefari to study the finer factors of sausage making, that are evidenced within the poblano and the spicy cheddar hyperlinks. 2Fifty gives Wagyu and Prime-grade briskets, and each are smoked till juicy. The tender ribs are effectively seasoned. Sides are categorized as “Conventional,” corresponding to potato salad and slaw, or “Heritage,” a grouping that features Salvadoran touches, like within the purple beans slowly simmered in beef fats and the golden fried plantains.

Professional tip: Order the candy potato mash in case you love roasted marshmallows.

Stevensville

Bark Barbecue Café

Boris Ghazarian and his son Berj run the food-flavoring enterprise Itaberco on Kent Island, about an hour outdoors Washington, D.C. They lacked good eating places close to the ability, so Berj used his ardour for Texas barbecue to resolve the issue. In 2021 he parked a pair offset people who smoke underneath a cover within the parking zone and opened Bark Barbecue Café. It virtually instantly gained fans from farther afield because of its masterful brisket, smoked and seared pork stomach, and juicy smoked rooster. The spareribs don’t adhere to any barbecue fashion—they’re separated earlier than being smoked, for further bark; braised in a Korean-influenced barbecue sauce; smoked once more; glazed with honey, ginger, and gochugaru (purple chile flakes); and broiled to caramelize the sauce simply earlier than serving. The method for the Laser Potatoes is simply as rigorous, and the completed product is akin to a fried dice of scalloped potatoes. A aspect of purple rice made by Berj’s Armenian mom relies on a recipe for karmir pilaf, a dish wherein beef fats, onions, and tomatoes taste the rice because it cooks.

Professional tip: The $39 Pitmaster Platter comes with three meats and three sides and is the very best deal on the menu.

Michigan

Ann Arbor

Ricewood

A rice bowl doesn’t sound like a conventional Texas barbecue providing, however at Ricewood, Gabe Golub and his half-brother, Frank Fejeran, have made it so by topping it with half a pound of smoked meat. What started as a meals truck in 2015 moved indoors in 2019 and added a second location throughout city in 2022. Sliced brisket is the most well-liked topping for the rice bowls, however I most popular the slices of pork stomach so tender they melted in my mouth, together with some evenly pickled cucumbers and house-made kimchi. Every bowl is drizzled with a sweetened vinegar habanero sauce accessible in three ranges of warmth and based mostly on a recipe from Fejeran’s mom.

Professional tip: Specials, corresponding to smoked and fried rooster wings and the smoked cheeseburger, aren’t at all times the identical at each areas, so take note of social media.

Minneapolis

Animales Barbeque Co

Jon Wipfli has parked his Animales Barbeque Co meals truck, which opened in 2018, outdoors Bauhaus Brew Labs for the final three years. He closes it for a number of months yearly because of the brutal Minnesota winters. Subsequent 12 months Animales will probably be transferring into its personal everlasting spot, which can enable it to remain open year-round. Brisket isn’t at all times on the menu on the present meals truck, although beef ribs, smoked beef cheeks, and smoked birria tacos are standard specials. The smoked sausages are at all times impeccably made. The pork ribs get a great dose of dry rub earlier than smoking and a candy glaze after. It’s exhausting to prime the pork stomach burnt ends, that are smoked till the layers of meat and fats condense to grow to be a smoky gusher. And as a beef lover, I used to be stunned by how a lot I obsessed over the smoked rooster Caesar sandwich.

Professional tip: Animales makes use of domestically made bread, so don’t sleep on the barbecue sandwiches.

Kansas Metropolis

Chef J BBQ

The West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas Metropolis is filled with old-school brick buildings. Inside one among them, you’ll discover a barbecue counter that appears prefer it got here straight out of Texas. That’s the way you’ll know you’re at Chef J BBQ, established in 2020. Order immediately from proprietor and pitmaster Justin Easterwood, who slices fatty brisket so tender it wobbles. Most KC joints use brisket for burnt ends, however the burnt ends listed here are of the pork stomach selection. Jalapeño-cheese sausage is a staple, however search for no matter hyperlink is on particular, too. The pork ribs are savory and candy due to the skinny glaze. Share a photograph of your barbecue tray—with the slaw, pickles, onions, esquites, and banana pudding—and it’ll be exhausting convincing of us it wasn’t in-built Texas.

Professional tip: You could find Chef J BBQ at Kauffman Stadium, the house of the Kansas Metropolis Royals, on choose dates by the remainder of baseball season.

St. Louis

Fourth City Barbecue

At the back of Fortune Teller Bar, you’ll find the counter for Fourth City Barbecue, helmed by married couple Greg Mueller and Erica McKinley since 2023. They’re trying to create a barbecue style unique to St. Louis, with Texas brisket as the foundation. Both the lean and fatty slices of brisket were the best I’ve had in St. Louis, a town better known for its ribs. The beef rib here doesn’t disappoint either; it’s brined like pastrami and served with house-made mustard sauce. The star of the sides is the savory bacon fried rice, studded with lardons and garnished with green onion. Creamy macaroni salad paired well with the crunch of the broccoli salad that incorporated almonds, raisins, and apples. Rather than serving white bread, McKinley bakes a sweet and buttery cornbread that comes with every plate along with hot honey butter.

Pro tip: Order a cocktail from Fortune Teller Bar while waiting for your order.

Raytown

Harp Barbecue

Tyler Harp and his father, Bob, took their first journey to Texas anticipating the barbecue to pale compared to Kansas Metropolis’s. As a substitute, they discovered the very best barbecue they’d ever eaten at Austin’s la Barbecue and lots of different Central Texas stops. Lower than three years later, in 2019, Tyler began Harp Barbecue as a pop-up in KC to share Texas-style barbecue with the locals. He moved the operation to a brick-and-mortar in Raytown, about ten miles southeast, two years in the past, and one other transfer to a bigger location in Overland Park, Kansas, is scheduled for subsequent month. Harp has made its title on smoked brisket, however the ribs are additionally stellar and provided recent in the course of the weekends; smoked-and-fried ribs can be found in the course of the week with completely different sauces. Rotating sausage flavors, corresponding to pepper jack boudin and maple blueberry, by no means fail to impress.

Professional tip: Get complete slabs of pork ribs on Saturdays for simply $25.

Alliance

Golden Hour Barbecue

Ranked No. 10

Flor and Fletcher Sheridan left Houston, where Fletcher got his barbecue education, for Flor’s hometown in western Nebraska. Their Golden Hour Barbecue, which opened in March, is a classic small-town barbecue joint in a historic building (constructed in 1914) along the main drag. Fletcher mans the counter and the smokers out back that burn post oak trucked in from Texas. You’d have to drive all day to find another spot with brisket this good. The luscious, fatty slices are dripping with well-rendered fat, and are encircled with a smoky bark. I loved the bold flavor of both the jalapeño cheese sausage and the garlicky beef sausage that would be right at home in Texas. Even the pulled pork is impressive, especially with a splash of the golden barbecue sauce. Look for specials like pork belly burnt ends, and year-round favorites such as the crunchy slaw and homey banana pudding.

Pro tip: This being Nebraska, there are amazing corn dishes to be had, including the smoked corn on the cob (summer only) and the rich corn casserole.

Las Vegas

Soulbelly BBQ

I don’t know of one other barbecue joint that makes its personal pasta for mac and cheese, and this one’s a stunner. Bruce Kalman made his title as a chef at a number of standard red-sauce Italian eating places in California and moved to Las Vegas to open his personal. When that fell by, he pivoted to a delicacies that food-loving Vegas was gentle on: barbecue. The pair of Mill Scale offset people who smoke in entrance of Soulbelly BBQ let this place is severe about cooking with wooden. Kalman and his group’s barbecue expertise have developed for the reason that joint was based in 2021, they usually’re now serving spectacular sliced brisket, savory pork ribs, and house-made inexperienced chile and cheese sausages. Different Texas touches embody the chile con carne—constituted of smoked brisket chunks and barbacoa—served on corn tortillas. The smoked burger on a house-made bun is pure pleasure.

Professional tip: The mac and cheese is nice, however the deep-fried mac and cheese balls are even higher.

Cloudcroft

Mad Jack’s Mountaintop Barbecue

James Jackson’s first foray into barbecue was with a meals truck in his native Lockhart, also referred to as the Barbecue Capital of Texas. The mountain city of Cloudcroft, in southern New Mexico, had far much less competitors, and Jackson discovered a constructing on the market there for the precise worth. He opened Mad Jack’s 9 years in the past and drives backwards and forwards from Lockhart to haul the a great deal of put up oak he insists on utilizing in his Oyler people who smoke. I first tried his barbecue six years in the past, and it has gotten markedly higher since. The fatty brisket is nice but it surely doesn’t examine to the meat quick rib, with its deep smoke ring and a jet-black bark. One may make a meal of only a bowl of the savory pinto beans and candy slab of buttery cornbread, although I wouldn’t skip the inexperienced chile sausage with a quick casing that gleams with beef fats.

Professional tip: Ask Jackson in regards to the jars of money on show and also you’ll get an important story.

Brooklyn

Bark Barbecue

The signal above Bark Barbecue’s stall (to not be confused with Bark Barbecue Café in Maryland, additionally on this checklist) that opened on the Time Out Market meals corridor in 2020 reads “Dominican-Texas Fashion.” Proprietor and pitmaster Ruben Santana blends the flavors of his heritage with Texas barbecue he smokes offsite in a fleet of offset people who smoke. The rub on his tender and smoky brisket has a conventional base of salt and black pepper however will get Dominican aptitude with oregano and dried ancho powder—each seasonings present up in many of the meats and sides. Whereas smoked sausage and pork ribs are on the menu, the Dominican-style smoked chicharron is the must-order. The skin-on pork stomach is smoked till tender, then fried so the pores and skin puffs up like crackling. A chew isn’t full with out a squeeze of lime. Rice and black beans are blended and stewed in beef broth for arroz congri. Different sides embody fried candy plantains known as maduros and deep-fried batons of white cheese—strive them each with chopped pork on the Tres Golpes sandwich.

Professional tip: Once you order a “torta” right here simply know that it appears extra like what Texans would take into account cornbread. It’s seasoned like a spice cake and served with honey butter.

Brooklyn

Hometown Bar-B-Q

Billy Durney became enraptured with the meats at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, about thirty miles north of Austin, in 2007. He was working in private security for celebrities at the time, but discovered then that barbecue would be part of his future. Six years later, Durney opened Hometown Bar-B-Q in a secluded corner of his native Red Hook neighborhood. The menu was an homage to the foods he grew up eating prepared with Texas barbecue techniques. Instead of pork belly burnt ends, Durney serves a thick slice of pork belly pastrami smoked in a Texas-built, wood-fired Oyler rotisserie. Baby back ribs get a char siu glaze, and a jerk marinade spices up the rib tips. The Texas basics are equally impressive, such as the hearty pork spare ribs, the peppery brisket, and one of the few beef short ribs I’ve found outside of Texas that can rival Louie Mueller’s.

Pro tip: Don’t plan on making it to New York anytime soon? A second location of Hometown Bar-B-Que opened in Miami in 2019.

Buffalo

Southern Junction

Ranked No. 6

Ryan Fernandez was born in Kerala, India, and went to high school in Plano. He has combined cuisines from both places into his ground-breaking barbecue joint in Buffalo. Southern Junction was first housed in a restaurant incubator in 2020. Fernandez opened the brick-and-mortar last year, and received a James Beard Award nomination for the Emerging Chef Award this year. Expect a line outside before the late afternoon opening. A classic Texas barbecue tray can be had with glistening slices of brisket, maple-glazed pork ribs, a Texas hot link, mac and cheese, and brisket beans. That’s all great, but the real reward is in items like brisket biryani and the barbecue foldie, a paratha (Indian flatbread) filled with smoked and pulled beef shoulder, mixed with caramelized onions, garam masala, and a coconut curry sauce. The shatteringly crisp skin of the juicy smoked chicken is coated in a combination of garlic, ginger, shallots, and curry leaves toasted in coconut oil. The honey butter cardamom cornbread is sweet enough for dessert, but I licked the banana pudding bowl clean.

Pro tip: Skip the line by ordering at the bar if a seat is available.

Cary

Dampf Good BBQ

In 2021, the primary few barbecue pop-ups of Dampf Good BBQ, operated by brothers Nick and Bryce Dampf, didn’t go so effectively. People in Smithfield, North Carolina, got here in search of cheap pork sandwiches, however discovered dear sliced brisket as an alternative. The brothers discovered their candy spot in 2022 after transferring their truck north to Cary, an prosperous suburb of Raleigh. The peppery brisket is the best-seller—one chew of the boldly flavored burnt finish will let you know why—however the pastrami is scorching on its heels. Spare ribs usually get a candy glaze nowadays, however the Dampfs preserve it easy with a easy dry rub and loads of oak smoke. The sausages are well-crafted, and sliced pork stomach is meltingly tender. Candy and salty Brussels sprouts are roasted till simply tender, and meaty beans, creamy mac and cheese, and loaded mashed potato salad spherical out the aspect choices.

Professional tip: The pork stomach is listed on the menu as “bacon brisket.”

Peachland

Jon G’s Barbecue

Ranked No. 8

The line gets so long on Saturday mornings at Jon G’s—the only day it’s open—that workers offer customers sausage klobasniky from a food truck outside the restaurant to munch on while waiting. Garren and Kelly Kirkman have turned this joint outside of Charlotte into the Snow’s BBQ of North Carolina. Anticipation builds among the diners, many of them with a free beer in hand from the community cooler, as opening time approaches. They’re here for brisket unlike what you could find in the state just five years ago. The smoked turkey and bacon burnt ends are pretty impressive as well. I love the local touches like using Cheerwine soda in the smoked sausage. A few sides, such as brisket fried rice and spiced corn esquites, have international flair. If it’s on special, get the batata salad, which is smashed potato with lemon, garlic, cilantro, and crushed red pepper.

Pro tip: Jon G’s also has a food truck that roams the Charlotte area, so check its social media for the schedule.

Edenton

Outdated Colony Smokehouse

When Adam Hughes left his job as a basic contractor to open Old Colony Smokehouse in small-town North Carolina in 2019, he took a danger serving a lot of beef on this pork-loving state. Fortunately, locals beloved the brisket, and he opened a brand new, bigger location earlier this 12 months. The candy and savory St. Louis–lower pork ribs have the right tenderness and a candylike bark;  smoke and pepper clings to the sting of every juicy turkey slice; and the butter-brushed cornbread is moist and candy. Even an merchandise so simple as pulled rooster is divine, particularly when it will get a dip in clarified butter and a sprinkle of lemon-pepper seasoning earlier than it goes onto a tray or in a sandwich. I bought all that and a few juicy sausage and smoky brisket on the Solo Sampler tray for simply $35. The dessert choices are additionally intensive— generally a dozen decisions—however you gained’t take into consideration ordering the rest when you’ve had a chew of the banana cream pie.

Professional tip: For a real style of North Carolina, strive the new canine lined in brisket chili and slaw.

Knightdale

Prime Barbecue

Ranked No. 2

In Knightdale, just east of Raleigh, the building that’s housed Prime Barbecue since 2020 is as immaculate as the barbecue trays at the counter. It’s like the cutter has a blueprint for where to place each protein based on how much the customer orders. Get one—or get them all—and you won’t be disappointed. The bark is picture perfect on the tender pork ribs. Each bite of sausage brings a pleasing snap as the juices drip down your chin. It’s hard to pick a favorite between the pull-apart tender beef ribs or the peppery brisket because both are executed with precision. Chris Prieto’s Puerto Rican roots are on display daily in the side of barbecue rice cooked with onions and bacon fat, and on Saturdays with a whole pig done lechon-style. The fruit for the Texas cobbler changes daily, but it always includes a small cup of Blue Bell homemade vanilla.

Pro tip: Prime serves one of the finest pastrami Reubens you’ll find anywhere every Wednesday.

Oklahoma City

Edge Craft Barbecue

Ranked No. 9

Zach Edge has come a long way from his time as the pitmaster at the now-closed Maples BBQ in Oklahoma City. The place never lived up to its potential, but Edge kept pushing, and his barbecue gets better by the year at Edge Craft Barbecue, which he opened in 2021. Even the lean brisket has a sheen to it from all the juiciness, and the only bite better than a brisket burnt end was the smoky bark on a flawless beef rib. In a state known for smoked bologna and commercially made hot links, the house-made sausages shine. For sides, it’s hard to choose a favorite between the savory collard greens or the sweet Brussels sprouts, so get both, along with some soulful red beans and rice. Edge switches out bananas for fresh peaches in the pudding when the season is right.

Pro tip: Ask Edge which seat Glen Powell sat in to record a promotional video for Twisters.

Tulsa

Oakhart Barbecue

Chris Emmons and Brian Hodges held out so long as they may with out placing smoked bologna on the menu at Oakhart Barbecue, however their Oklahoma clients demanded it. Nonetheless, Texas barbecue lovers can nonetheless get smoked sausage—they serve each a traditional beef hyperlink seasoned with garlic and black pepper and one other with jalapeño and cheddar. Enormous spare ribs get a candy glaze that melds effectively with the peppery rub. Since opening in 2021, the joint’s brisket is among the finest in Oklahoma. The fats cap on the lean aspect is sort of melted, and the slices keep juicy effectively after slicing. All the perimeters are fastidiously ready classics corresponding to creamy shells and cheese, savory pinto beans, crunchy slaw that’s made recent day by day, and pillowy smooth cheese grits dotted with black pepper.

Professional tip: Filming areas for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film, The Outsiders, are lower than a mile north of the restaurant.

Idabel

Phat Tabb’s BBQ

Of all of the spots on this checklist, none are nearer—bodily—to Texas than Phat Tabb’s. Tabb Singleton returned to his hometown of Idabel, Oklahoma, simply fifteen minutes from the Pink River, after leaving his govt sous chef place in New Orleans. Nowadays he’s smoking monumental spare ribs which have loads of spice beneath their honey glaze. Slices of fatty brisket and smoked beef sausage are flawless. The chef’s sensibility reveals by within the Nashville scorching turkey sandwich, which is made with breaded slabs of his candy tea–brined smoked turkey in a sauce amped up with Korean chile flakes and fish sauce. Search for it and different specials uncommon for small-town Oklahoma corresponding to barbecue gyros, smoked rooster tinga, and poke bowls made with cold-smoked tuna.

Professional tip: The white trash potato salad, garnished with Bac-Os, is a tribute to the pitmaster’s humble upbringing.

Portland

Bark Metropolis BBQ

After I wrote that Portland had the very best barbecue scene outdoors of Texas 5 years in the past, Bark City BBQ, which opened in 2017, was a part of that equation. However after that story got here out, proprietor Michael Keskin decamped to Flagstaff, Arizona, to be nearer to household. The excessive altitude messed along with his smoker efficiency, so he returned to Portland earlier this 12 months, bringing a much-improved brisket. A thick, fatty slice was an exemplary specimen of his cooking acumen. Though the rub appears too heavy on the ribs, Keskin manages to create an ideal bark with nice spice and pork taste coming by. A chew by the jalapeño cheese sausage launched juices that stained my shirt so noticeably that Keskin gifted me a Bark Metropolis BBQ one.

Professional tip: Pickled cucumbers and onions will really feel like baby’s play when you’ve tried the pickled avocado right here.

Hood River

Grasslands Barbecue

The gorgeous drive from Portland alongside the mighty Columbia River to its namesake city is purpose sufficient to go out for the hour-long weekend barbecue trek. On the finish, you’ll discover Grasslands Barbecue, a truck began by a trio of out-of-work buddies in the course of the pandemic. The truck is open alongside a number of different distributors on the sting of a grassy park close to the waterfront. A line varieties about thirty minutes earlier than opening, and many purchasers dine at shaded picnic tables. They get pleasure from brisket that will maintain its personal in Texas, and masterfully crafted sausages, such because the signature inexperienced chile and cheddar selection. I like the pork stomach burnt ends tossed in a ginger, soy, and serrano French dressing. All the perimeters are freshly ready, so anticipate shiny and crunchy slaw together with elote made with corn shucked recent off the cob and mac and cheese topped with a crunchy layer of garlic bread crumbs.

Professional tip: Earlier than visiting, examine the calendar on Grasslands’ web site for an up-to-date schedule.

Portland

Matt’s BBQ

When Matt Vicedomini first opened his meals truck in 2015 behind an empty parking zone, he oversaw all operations. He was recent off his barbecue schooling in Australia, of all locations. 9 years later, as an alternative of simply watching one pit, he has a number of eating places to are likely to, together with the Thai-influenced smokehouse Eem he’s a associate in. Matt’s BBQ now sits in a bustling meals truck park. Order at a kiosk with a bank card and wait to your title to be known as. The half-pound minimums make it exhausting to strive quite a lot of smoked meats, so concentrate on the glistening slices of tender brisket and the sweet-glazed pork ribs.

Professional tip: You’ll want to strive the array of wonderful and distinctive barbecue sauces, such because the cherry chipotle and peach mustard.

West Columbia

Metropolis Limits Barbeque

 The James Beard Awards have paid extra consideration to barbecue lately, and Robbie Robinson, pitmaster at City Limits Barbeque, was a part of that wave when he turned a finalist for Greatest Chef: Southeast this 12 months. His barbecue joint, which opened in 2016, blends Texas and South Carolina traditions. Spare ribs are cooked over coals like South Carolina complete hog, however you may style the Texas affect within the smoked scorching hyperlink and garlicky Hill Nation sausage. The Palmetto State is thought for its hash product of stewed pork and rice, and Robinson provides chopped brisket in his. There are proteins aplenty however be sure you strive the smoked rooster wings or pork stomach burnt ends. Don’t miss the recent peach cobbler when it’s on the menu, and take residence a bath of jalapeño pimento cheese to let your expertise linger.

Professional tip: The total barbecue menu is just accessible on Saturdays.

Anderson

Fork Grove Barbecue

Dylan and Tiffani Cookes’ mentor wasn’t a Texas pitmaster, but a North Carolinian with a love for brisket. After Dylan watched videos and read cookbooks, he turned to Garren Kirkman of Jon G’s Barbecue (also on this list)  for advice on transitioning his barbecue pop-up to a full-on restaurant. Dylan was so sure his barbecue would be accepted in rural South Carolina that he bought four 1,000-gallon offsets before the doors of Fork Grove even opened in 2023. And his confidence was paid off with his thick-sliced fatty brisket, smoky spare ribs, and house-made sausages. You’d never guess that the Cookes haven’t even visited Texas for a barbecue crawl yet. The smoked turkey and pork belly burnt ends are a nice addition to the Texas Trinity. The elote side has a great char on the corn kernels; the mac and cheese is pleasantly gooey; and the slaw is the perfect marriage of a KFC-style fine dice and vinegar-based dressing.

Pro tip: Every Saturday, there’s a new flavor of pork belly burnt ends.

Charleston

Lewis Barbecue

John Lewis wasn’t sure how folks in Charleston would receive his style of barbecue when he first opened. Barbecue in the state meant pork, and Lewis had spent years perfecting his brisket and sausage techniques in Austin. He worked the pits at Franklin Barbecue as it rose to stardom, then helped Ali Clem and the late LeAnn Mueller open La Barbecue. Lewis wanted his own place, but not in brisket-saturated Austin. He figured South Carolinians had a love for barbecue, and that he could foster their acceptance of something other than pork. The motto at Lewis Barbecue is “beef is king,” and since opening in 2016,  it’s proven in the impeccable sliced brisket; the juicy, beefy hot guts; and specials like Saturday’s massive beef ribs and Friday’s sandwich piled high with smoked prime rib and cheddar. These days, standing in line for smoked beef in South Carolina doesn’t seem out of place, whether it’s at the Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, or the location in Greenville, about two hundred miles northwest, which opened in 2022.

Pro tip: The Friday-only beef and cheddar sandwich might be the best menu item.

Charleston

Palmira Barbecue

Ranked No. 1

 It could be hard to balance the flavors and techniques of South Carolina, Texas, and Puerto Rico in one restaurant, but that’s exactly what Hector Garate is doing at Palmira Barbecue. To prepare for opening this year, he took advantage of pop-ups to perfect his whole-hog method, which uses the direct-heat process preferred by South Carolina pitmasters along with seasoning and sauce inspired by Puerto Rico. You’ll also find offset smokers at Palmira for the very beefy Texas portion of the menu. Beef cheeks are offered daily—and melt in your mouth without being mushy—while beef ribs and brisket are featured on the weekends. Tender, smoky spare ribs with a slightly sweet, thin glaze are always available, as are the house-made smoked sausages, which vary weekly. Garate’s wife and parents work with him, so thank his mother, Marisol, after taking a bite of the guava cheesecake.

Pro tip: At the register, ask for an Underberg, a German digestif in a tiny green bottle that helps settle the stomach after large meals. 

Martin

Blake’s at Southern Milling

Shifting up from a meals truck to a brick-and-mortar joint isn’t unusual, however Blake Stoker skipped a number of steps to opening a veritable barbecue palace in 2022. He spent years renovating a historic mill in Martin, 130 miles northeast of Memphis, to show it into Blake’s at Southern Milling. His love for barbecue was born in his faculty years at Mississippi State College when he took a weekend journey to the Austin space to go to Franklin Barbecue and Louie Mueller Barbecue. Stoker noticed his future in these trays. Now he’s serving an enormous menu of Texas classics together with a few of his household favorites corresponding to tomato pie, smoked cream cheese, and his aunt’s pimento cheese. The final tops the favored Bubba Cole sandwich, which mixes smoky brisket and juicy turkey breast. For a beefier sandwich, strive the patty soften with a floor brisket patty and chopped brisket between two slices of griddled Texas toast.

Professional tip: They is probably not barbecue, however the masterful hand-breaded rooster tenders are extra than simply meals for the youngsters.

Madison

Shotgun Willie’s BBQ

No, this isn’t a Willie Nelson–themed barbecue joint, however proprietor Invoice Laviolette did title Shotgun Willie’s BBQ after the Pink Headed Stranger’s sixteenth album. Laviolette was lacking Texas barbecue after transferring from Houston to Nashville, and jumped into meals truck possession in 2016. The enterprise failed in lower than a 12 months, and he put apart the dream till he discovered the precise constructing. Shotgun Willie’s was reborn—however with dangerous timing—in Might 2020. He barely made sufficient on takeout orders to remain operational, however his perseverance paid off. His joint has grow to be so standard that it demanded a bigger area, which opened this 12 months in Madison, simply northeast of Nashville. Brisket and ribs are the celebs right here, however don’t sleep on the smoked half chickens with a heavy rub and loads of juice. The premade sausage comes from Kiolbassa in San Antonio. The mac and cheese is made with queso, and dessert is Texas sheet cake. There’s a lot Texas on the menu that we’ll enable the inclusion of Tennessee-style pulled pork.

Professional tip: The massive beef quick ribs are solely accessible on Saturdays.

St. George

Pica Rica BBQ

Ranked No. 7

Jason Neeley and Michael McHenry were looking for the right location for their new barbecue joint. In downtown St. George, they found a building that had been the first bakery in town, originally opened by the grandfather of Neeley’s wife. It seemed like kismet, especially since the joint makes its own bread. At Pica Rica BBQ, which opened last year, cooks work a rotating plancha near the register, heating house-made beef fat flour tortillas for tacos. They also bake telera bread for the signature chopped brisket torta, which gets layers of refried beans, jalapeño slaw, and guajillo and chile de árbol salsa. It’s incredible, but the sliced brisket shines on its own. The beefy house-made sausage has a great snap and seasoning, but the smoked and fried chicken quarter is the star, with crispy skin, dressed with Alabama white sauce, cilantro, and tajin. Neeley is rightly proud of his tres leches cake, but the smoked peach and blueberry pie is one of the best slices I’ve ever eaten.

Pro tip: On Thursdays, Pica Rica serves a smoked brisket burger with hand-cuts fries and fry sauce.

Norfolk

Redwood Smoke Shack

Barbecue was by no means presupposed to be a full-blown enterprise for Bob Roberts. Sure, he offered smoked meats from his driveway in 2017, but it surely was extra of a interest. Then the compliments poured in, and he was hooked. The primary Redwood Smoke Shack opened in Norfolk in 2019, and one other adopted two years later, twenty miles away, in Virginia Seaside. It took a number of years for him to get his recipe for smoked sausage down, however I’m glad he did—the jalapeño cheese hyperlink was pleasantly plump. The slices of lean brisket glisten with melted fats, and the thick spare ribs pull from the bone with minimal effort. Throughout my go to, I drank the broth from the collard greens after ending them, they usually paired effectively with the candy corn pudding. End the meal with the bananamisu, a extra Italian tackle conventional banana pudding.

Professional tip: Take a look at the massive signpost out entrance, which reveals the distances to completely different barbecue joints throughout the nation.

Richmond

ZZQ

For a protracted whereas, I joked that the very best barbecue for guests to Washington, D.C., was 100 miles south in Richmond, Virginia. Choices in D.C. have improved, and fortunately ZZQ, which opened in 2018, has maintained its excessive requirements. It began when Texas native Chris Fultz tempted Alex Graf out of vegetarianism with a brisket he’d smoked. Now they’re companions in life and enterprise. Their pit room, outfitted with people who smoke from Austin Smoke Works, is the place Fultz spritzes the black bark of the briskets and wraps them in butcher paper—similar to a scene proper out of Texas. My newest go to was in the course of the midafternoon hours, which might imply the meat is well beyond its prime, however the house-made sausage was nonetheless juicy and the brined rooster halves may as effectively have been recent off the smoker. As for sides, the cowboy beans are easy and excellent; the slaw is crunchy with a zing; and the Texas caviar provides you with a brand new approach for consuming black-eyed peas on New 12 months’s Day.

Professional tip: Need a smoked burger? Go to ZZQ’s sister restaurant Eazzy Burger subsequent door.

Seattle

Jack’s BBQ

Jack Timmons is a Dallas native and Texas A&M graduate who left his position at Microsoft in Seattle to pursue barbecue. His obsession started with the barbecue summer camp, hosted by Foodways Texas, in 2012, and he brought those smoky secrets back to Washington. A year later, Seattle Met magazine dubbed him the Brisket King of Seattle, based only on his monthly pop-ups. The following year, Timmons finally had his own joint, Jack’s BBQ, in brisket-starved Seattle. In the decade since that opening, he has expanded to seven locations in the region, all of which serve a classic Texas menu. At the original, in the SoDo neighborhood, you can gaze at the offset smokers through the back window while dining on the popular Texas Trinity plate with tender slices of brisket, smoky pork ribs, and Texas-style hot links. Add a side of Texas caviar or Texas chili—made without beans, of course.

Pro tip: The pecan pie is made from a recipe that won top prize at the State Fair of Texas in 1996.