Top 11 Cities for BBQ

jcaspary

It's more spread around than I thought it would be but I was surprised to see some of the cities mentioned.

https://www.yahoo.com/food/the-11-best-bbq-cities-in-america-111309523816.html

Eggcelsior

Lamb =/= mutton

That is my only takeaway from this article.

Chubbs

Everyone knows real BBQ comes from the Carolinas. Surprised only 2 of the 11 were in the Carolinas... \m/

shucker

Chubbs said:

Everyone knows real BBQ comes from the Carolinas. Surprised only 2 of the 11 were in the Carolinas... \m/

And none from my part of the state which is obviously the best bbq in the world

grege345

I call BS on NY. They just rip
Off bbq from other states

bbqlearner

Texas it is.

fishlessman

everyone knows that true bbq comes from boston



even southerners call a pork shoulder a boston butt fer cryin out lowd

jcaspary

I figured most of the places would be in Missouri, Texas, and the Carolinas. Hawaii, Indiana, and New York???

GATraveller

Everyone's a winner.......well almost.

saluki2007

If you are in Memphis, don't go to Paynes....unless you like being shot at...

KiterTodd

Man, I despise the plethora of lists hitting the internet these days and I skip over any that make you click-through each page out of principle.  F those, they are just going for clicks and the lists are never written by experts and usually recycled from somewhere else.   THIS one wasn't awful, I just wanted take this opportunity to vent. 

That said...I did like this other list (not a click-through) that was embedded in the original list;
7 foolproof ways to spot a fake BBQ joint.

There...I see your list and raise you another! 
)

DoubleEgger

I quit reading at New York City....

platypusrex

There's even more great places in Austin besides the ones listed:

• Stiles Switch on Lamar
• Scotty's BBQ (food truck on Rainey)
• Iron Works downtown
• Smoky Mo's 
• Lamberts' downtown
• Jack Allen's Kitchen

The list goes on, it's ridiculous. 

)

Carolina Q

Wait. They have barbecue outside NC? Seriously?

Top 11, In no particular order, except east always trumps west. Of course. LOL..........

Goldsboro, Ayden, Wilson, Greenville, Lexington, Burlington, Weldon, Reidsville, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Salisbury.

And you didn't even have to click through it.

I do have some Goldsboro Q in my freezer right now. My brother brought me some from Wilber's. As much as I like Wilber's, mine is better.

DoubleEgger, NYC actually has some pretty good Q. It's not NC, but it's not bad.

Ladeback69

KC is in there, but there is probably one BBQ joint for every 1000 people in the area, but not all of them are worth my time. Arthur Bruant's and Joe's Kansas City, formally Oklahoma Joe's are two of my favorites, but I have other's like RJ's Bob a Que our Johnny's BBQ. I don't understand Hawaii or New York either. Indiana maybe?

cook861

What No Canadian Cities  :((

Acn

I can see NY, if we're just talking about places to eat BBQ. If you're talking about places that have a BBQ style, or history, then your list shortens considerably and doesnt work nearly as well for click bait.

Vaguely related - the list of semifinalists for the James Beard awards came out and Aaron Franklin made the Best Chef Southwest list.

DoubleEgger

NYC won't have BBQ in a few years when Bloomberg decides it's a health risk and bans fatty meats.

Acn

DoubleEgger said:

NYC won't have BBQ in a few years when Bloomberg decides it's a health risk and bans fatty meats.

You're aware that it has been over a year since Bloomberg was mayor, right?

Carolina Q

DoubleEgger said:

NYC won't have BBQ in a few years when Bloomberg decides it's a health risk and bans fatty meats.

Well, except none of that worked out for him. And, umm, he's gone now anyway.

I had some excellent ribs at Bluesmoke in Manhattan. I understand the owner (from StL as I recall) had to jump thru some serious hoops to be allowed to vent the kitchen high enough so he didn't smoke up the joint.

Legume

Chubbs said:

Everyone knows real BBQ comes from the Carolinas. Surprised only 2 of the 11 were in the Carolinas... \m/

Maybe that's because it says 'city'

<cue banjo music>

jcaspary

Speaking of Carolina Q...

http://charleston.eater.com/2015/2/17/8052489/renowned-north-carolina-pitmaster-ed-mitchell-closes-que-restaurant

tarheelmatt

Interesting read there for sure... 

However, I noticed that the writer said this about Lexington BBQ, "The shoulder is served chopped or pulled, sandwiched with slaw or with the slaw on the side. "  The key word here is pulled.  You cannot get pulled BBQ in Lexington.  You have chopped, coarse chopped, and sliced.  

Funny story here.  My brother came over to my house and my in-laws were in town.  I cooked some BBQ and my MIL said "that was some good pulled pork".  My brother looked at her like he smelled poop and said, "pulled pork, what is that"?   Hahah.. 

Zmokin

I ignore all of lists in the media as they are all full of crap.   Just some dumba$$ smuck writers opinion, which we know what they say about opinions.  For me, the Best places for BBQ are in your own backyard, restaurants that serve the masses can never compare.  I would much rather go to a fellow eggers house for BBQ, than any restaurant for BBQ.  So the best cities for BBQ should be the list of cities with the most BGE owners, plain & simple.
Best cities to live in?, well most of the time, the list is all of the places I would never want to live in.

jcaspary

@Zmokin I totally agree.  Rarely do we even go out to eat but if we do it is even rarer that we go to a steakhouse.  Why would you spend extra money for food that isn't superior to what you would make and on top of that you lose the enjoyment of cooking it yourself.  

Eggcelsior

jcaspary said:

@Zmokin I totally agree.  Rarely do we even go out to eat but if we do it is even rarer that we go to a steakhouse.  Why would you spend extra money for food that isn't superior to what you would make and on top of that you lose the enjoyment of cooking it yourself.  

No clean-up and I don't have Pappy in my house.

Zmokin

Eggcelsior said:

jcaspary said:

@Zmokin I totally agree.  Rarely do we even go out to eat but if we do it is even rarer that we go to a steakhouse.  Why would you spend extra money for food that isn't superior to what you would make and on top of that you lose the enjoyment of cooking it yourself.  

No clean-up and I don't have Pappy in my house.

I agree, that service and no clean up is nice to enjoy, so when I do go out, I much prefer to order things I am less likely to make for myself.  Like Prime Rib.
My family is too small for it to be worthwhile for me to cook Prime Rib, so it is my go to steak when dining at a steak house.  I have tried ribs at lots of BBQ joints and I find most of the time they are dried out.  I have concluded this is because they cook them way in advance of my arrival and therefore I am not getting them at their prime condition coming off the smoker.  So, I hardly ever go out for BBQ, because it just doesn't compare to what I am used to.  Now when it comes to other nationality food, while I do make certain Italian, Asian, etc cuisine, quite often, mine is not as good as what I can get served from some of the local restaurants, so when I dine out, I usually go for other cultural cuisine and not for Que.