The 25 Best BBQ Joints in America

As Brooklyn’s self-described house of meat, BrisketTown is a great place to start out on any meat-themed road trip. There are no fancy plays on barbecue at BrisketTown, just solid, no-frills Central Texas-style eats. Their brisket is rubbed with salt and pepper and then smoked for fifteen hours until perfectly tender. The sides you can skip, but don’t forget to check out their seasonal pie menu for dessert.

What to Order: The Brisket, obviously. It’s right there in the name.

This long-running establishment has been serving barbecue for over fifty years, with multiple former presidents among its customers. It's a modest establishment that's clearly been doing a lot of things right, for locals and visitors alike.

What to Order: Their pork and fried chicken have both received high marks, but be sure to save room for their hush puppies, which are a favorite of many diners.

If you're passing through New Orleans, The Joint — which specializes, wink wink, in smoking nearly everything, meat or otherwise — is well worth a visit, as the city is slowly amassing a terrific barbecue scene of its own. The Joint first opened in 2004, and has been at its current location since 2012.

What to Order: If you're fond of food both spicy and smoky, be sure to try their Chaurice sausage, a local speciality.

Located beside Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Walker's Southern Style BBQ expanded from an operation that initially sold sandwiches at the city's annual Jazz Fest. The result is an establishment that keeps its eye on barbecue traditions, even as it also weaves in local influences.

What to Order: Their Cochon de Lait Po'Boy brings together two distinctive traditions into one delicious sandwich.

Located in an isolated spot near the western border of North Carolina, this family-run barbecue spot takes a generalist approach to their food, offering a range of slow-cooked meats in a variety of sizes.

What to Order: While the space as a whole has earned rave reviews, some barbecue enthusiasts have pointed to their pork ribs and onion rings as a particular high point.

Located just outside of Birmingham (there are two related restaurants in the city itself), Saw's BBQ has attracted plenty of attention since opening in 2009. If you're eager to try out the distinctive white barbecue sauce popular in northern Alabama, this is a good place to do it.

What to Order: Among other dishes, Saw's has earned high marks for their smoked chicken.

Southeastern North Carolina's Southern Smoke has been in business since 2010; in addition to a restaurant open on Thursdays and Fridays, the family-run business also sells a number of barbecue sauces (Sweet Grace and Two Brothers) at retailers throughout the state. The restaurant has also recently begun hosting the South Supper Series, featuring a range of regional dishes.

What to Order: The restaurant is known for their ribs; giving both of their sauces a try is also recommended.

From its beginnings in 1958 to its current configuration, with locations in Alabama and Georgia, Dreamland is known as a go-to for high-quality barbecue. Their Tuscaloosa restaurant is where it all began, and where barbecue devotees still make pilgrimages.

What to Order: Ribs are their signature dish. Sometimes it's good to go with the classics.

No matter where your road trip begins or ends, make sure to swing through Manhattan for a stop at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. The City may be known for some of the World's most famous restaurants, but few can compare to this New York institution.

What to Order: Go all out with the Traditional Sampler (¼ chicken, ¼ rack of ribs, and some sliced Texas brisket), a side of fried green tomatoes, and spicy mac’n’cheese. Top it off with a beer from their extensive list.

Hickory Hog’s logo is of a pig driving a convertible, which is all you really need to know to justify a stop at this barbecue joint. It’s also attached to a liquor store (for your convenience). Everything is good, but your best bet is a bucket of ribs – your choice of St. Louis, Memphis Rub, Baby Back, or maybe all three.

What to Order: Grab a bucket of ribs, a six-pack of beer from next door, and head to the beach.

There are few reasons to find yourself in Sumter, South Carolina, but Ward’s is worth making a detour. Despite its strip mall exterior, Ward’s offers excellent Carolina-style barbecue, its vinegar-based sauce perfect for sopping up with a side of hush puppies fried to order.

What to Order: Change things up by trying the hash (minced pig’s brain over rice) with a side of hush puppies and some sweet tea.

It’s tough to compete in North Carolina’s thriving barbecue scene, but Scott’s is the best example of great Carolina 'cue out there. Its crumbling exterior might drive away tourists, but this place is a must-visit for any barbecue purist. A family-run restaurant, Rodney Scott sources, fells, and splits all the wood he uses for his smoke pits. How’s that for badass barbecue?

What to Order: Go all out with a whole hog, and don’t forget a side of skins.

The interior of Bailey and Cato in East Nashville isn't meant to impress, which is just as well because their food is impressive enough. Plenty of people have good things to say about B&C, but probably no one can put it better than Ashville food writer Jonathan Ammons: “I got food poisoning the first time I ate there, but went back a week later because it was just that damn good.”

What to Order: Go on a Saturday for BBQ pork shoulder, some hot water cornbread, and peach cobbler for dessert.

The first thing you’ll see on the hill leading up to the parking lot for Sugar’s Ribs are their goats, but don’t worry – they’re not on the menu. What is on the menu, however, is spectacular. This is a place for BBQ purists, and everything they have is delicious, from their perfectly smoked meats, to their fresh sides, to Jesslyn’s world-famous banana pudding. As if that weren’t enough, they also make a damn good margarita.

What to Order: Get there early for the wood-grilled chicken legs (they run out quick), and pair it with a side of grilled okra and banana pudding for dessert.

If you find yourself in Atlanta and in need of some authentic Southern barbecue, get yourself to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. A no-frills retro-classic eatery, Matt’s offers live blues music along with crazy good barbecue. Don’t miss this one.

What to Order: It’s a rib shack, so you should definitely order the ribs. But while you’re at it, try a side of Brunswick stew and their famous rum baked beans.

Alabama takes its barbecue pretty seriously, so it may come as a surprise that the winner of the 'Bama BBQ Bracket (yes, they have one of those) is a chain. Jim 'N Nick's isn't just any old chain, though. From their homemade BBQ chips to their addictive cheddar cornbread muffins, to their hickory-smoked pulled pork, everything at Jim ‘N Nick’s is made with pride in their product.

What to Order: Pig on a Bun (otherwise known as a pulled pork sandwich) and as many baskets of cheddar cornbread muffins as you can stomach. Or try your pulled pork in a tortilla on Taco Tuesdays.

Leatha’s is incredibly hard to find, but well worth the search once you do. Its location isn’t the only thing Leatha’s keeps under wraps, though – its secret sauce draws barbecue devotees from every state around for being the perfect mix of tangy and sweet. And the secret recipe for their mustard-based coleslaw will make a believer out of even the most fervent coleslaw atheist. Of course, the rest of the menu ain't bad either.

What to Order: Four-meat plate with secret sauce, and a side of coleslaw.

If you want to literally see how the sausage is made, Smitty’s is the place for you. A stronghold in the Central Texas Barbecue Belt, Smitty’s is located in the same warehouse where the meat is made, smoked, and served. Customers line up to order in the actual smokehouse, where they watch pitmasters serve up all manner of meat out of their brick pits.

What to Order: Now that you know how the sausage is made, try the hot links.

Located in East Austin, John Mueller Meat Co. is taking over for Franklin BBQ as the up-and-coming barbecue trailer. "We’re going to offer you the biggest backyard in Austin,” says founder John Mueller. Just don’t call him a pitmaster. "I’m a cook," he says. "I cook for a living." Luckily, he cooks damn good meat. And if that weren’t enough, he offers free beer while you wait in line, which is often stretched around the block.

What to Order: The beef short ribs, otherwise known as “meat lollipops.”

Austin has enough good barbecue to keep you there for at least a week. But if you only have time to try one, better make it Franklin. Everybody has heard of Franklin BBQ, and for good reason – of all the overhyped barbecue joints, Franklin is one of the only ones to deserve the hype. Franklin BBQ began in 2009 as a trailer, but grew quickly to compete with the superstars of the Texas Barbecue Belt.

What to Order: A Mexican Coke, the Tipsy Texan (pulled pork, sausage, brisket, and chopped beef), and a banana-bourbon pie for dessert.

Started in 1910 by Walter Jones, this place is one of the oldest African-American owned restaurants in the country. Winner of the 2012 James Beard Foundation American Classics Award, the honor hasn’t changed Jones BBQ in the least – its meat is still smoked in the same cinder-block pit, and tended by James Jones, Walter's grandson. Jones serves it up old school for barbecue lovers, but be sure to get there early; when they’re out, they’re out.

What to Order: The pork shoulder, smoked to perfection.

Arthur Bryant’s is the reigning king of Kansas-style barbecue, and a mandatory stop on any road trip. Famous for its sauces, Bryant’s has been frequented by presidents and celebrities since its opening in the 1920’s. Even so, it’s never lost the spirit of what the original King of Barbecue Arthur Bryant proudly referred to as his “grease house.” The menu is bare bones, but eat light before visiting, because you’re going to want to try everything on the board. 

What to Order: The two-meat combination sandwich, sopping with one of Bryant’s famous sauces.

17th Street BBQ is a south-Illinois stronghold in the barbecue scene. Owned by champion pitmaster Mike Mills (known as “The Legend” in the barbecue world), their ribs are renowned for being some of the best in the U.S. The self-described as the “Filet Mignon of Barbecue,” they have won Grand World Champion at Memphis in May, otherwise known as “the Superbowl of Swine,” for three years running.

What to Order: As Mike says, “life is too short for a half-rack.” Order a full rack, and leave happy.

It may be a chain, but don’t let it fool you: City BBQ doesn’t mess around with their meat. Top quality cuts, hand-seasoned, and slow-smoked, City BBQ is the kind of joint where you don’t actually need sauce. And the upside of it being a chain? There are 23 different locations, so chances are you’ll stumble across at least one on your trip.

What to Order: The City Sampler, which includes brisket, pork, sausage, turkey, two sides, and Texas Toast. Make sure to choose their famous corn pudding for one of those sides.

Inarguably the best barbecue outside the Barbecue Belt, Bludso’s is a Los Angeles institution. Owner Kevin Bludso is the product of generations’ worth of Texas barbecuers, and luckily for L.A., he’s taken the special techniques of his great-great-grandfather and the secret BBQ recipes of his grandmothers to California, so even West Coasters can experience the joy of Texas-style 'cue. Literally everything on this menu is good, so go as many times as it takes to try it all.

What to Order: Absolutely everything.