America's 5 Best BBQ Hotspots (according to Maxim)

Might have to check out The Joint since it's the closest one to me..

@nolaegghead, any experiences there?

I guess I'm gonna have to try Fox Bros BBQ if I find myself downtown! 

NEWB_IN_NOLA said:

I highly disagree with The Joint being on this list.  I am from New Orleans, but spent my college days in Texas and got my law degree in Georgia, so I have sampled my fair share of BBQ.  

The Joint does not belong on any national lists.  It is okay for New Orleans BBQ, but that is not saying much.  The Shed in Ocean Springs, MS and Williamson Brothers BBQ in Marietta, GA are both far superior to The Joint, not to mention countless other places.

I agree, it was good but not memorable. I remember every detail of our meals at Port of Call and Willie Mae's Scotch House. I just remember eating at The Joint.

NEWB_IN_NOLA said:

cazzy said:

NEWB_IN_NOLA said:

I highly disagree with The Joint being on this list.  I am from New Orleans, but spent my college days in Texas and got my law degree in Georgia, so I have sampled my fair share of BBQ.  

The Joint does not belong on any national lists.  It is okay for New Orleans BBQ, but that is not saying much.  The Shed in Ocean Springs, MS and Williamson Brothers BBQ in Marietta, GA are both far superior to The Joint, not to mention countless other places.

I agree, it was good but not memorable. I remember every detail of our meals at Port of Call and Willie Mae's Scotch House. I just remember eating at The Joint.

Willie Mae's is out of this world.  The considerably longer lines these days after all the food network publicity keep me from going very often (which is probably a good thing), but man do I enjoy it when I get to go.

That chicken is insane! ^:)^

Have you been to Port of Call. Great burger man:

I'm trying to figure out how travis's back deck didn't make it... Or cali's pool cookery

never been to "the Joint" so can't comment. 

There are better places in KC than jack stack IMO

Harmening said:

Maxim is a little "suspect" with their best of lists.

They ranked Miley Freakin' Cyrus as the hottest woman of the year.

:puke:

No wonder I stopped reading it.

SteveWPBFL said:

It's a ridiculous concept, to say you can pick the top 5 of something like BBQ from among thousands, especially knowing that you haven't sampled them all nor are even aware of them all. Now, to list 5 five-stars (or however many stars you want for best score) of something is not a ridiculous concept. The writer and the publisher are just looking to stir things up and bring attention to themselves, call it media buzz, something that many people will react to. Like I'm doing.

Yeah, especially the ones you see in the airline magazines.  They're advertisements.  You pay to place yourself on the ranking in the "Top 10 Seafood Restaurants in the US".  I'm sure they have some sort of minimum criteria to keep Red Lobster from buying slot #1, but in the end, they're an ad.

Food is so regionalized and subjective, I don't know how you could ever have a creditable list for the entire country.  The local papers or city magazines usually do pretty good with reader's polls.......ours breaks them down for chain and standalones as well after Hardee's won "Best Burger in St. Louis".  WTF? 

What gets me is when one of these national lists or TV shows puts a restaurant on, all the sudden it's the favorite in the city by everyone.......not because it's any good, but because some personality/writer told them it was.  Bandwagon advertising--and they fall for it hook, line, and sinker.  There's quite a few here in STL that have become the "favs" and tourist destinations for reasons none other than pure hype.

For brisket I like OK joes. I wish I knew how they could get that level of smoke flavor, tenderness, AND moisture. I haven't been able to reproduce it. I wonder if perhaps they reheat it by some kind of steaming process?

For pulled pork I prefer Arthur Bryant's in the ghetto (not the one at legends).

For ribs, I think Jack Stack is up there, but there's a place called RJ's near Shawnee/Mission that has been really good. RJs also does some breakfast bbq dishes for after a night of drinking.

For sides, jack stack cheesy corn, RJs fries, and Smoke House for the baked beans.

I live up north and its sort of slim pickens up here tbh. We will do smokehouse if I don't have time to cook for family coming into town but most of the best places are downtown or Kansas side.