Try these Southern barbecue joints while you still can.
Everyone has a favorite place for barbecue, and we couldn’t possibly list all the worthy spots out there. But these fifty joints below the Mason-Dixon line, which serve everything from pork to beef to mutton to mullet, are all worth any serious barbecue lover’s time.
Archibald’s BBQ
Northport
Established: 1962
In the same smoke-stained cinderblock building where his grandfather cooked fifty years ago, Tray Archibald glazes ribs with a tangy, rust-colored barbecue sauce. 205-345-6861
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
Decatur
Established: 1925
Big Bob Gibson invented white barbecue sauce at the backyard predecessor to his first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Nowadays, it’s slathered on smoked chicken all over Alabama. bigbobgibson.com
Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q
Vestavia Hills
Established: 1984
The pork and beef are fine, but the chicken is the main attraction—a tender, crisp-skinned testament to Alabama-style barbecue, best with plenty of white sauce. 205-967-6004
Saw’s BBQ
Birmingham
Established: 2009
It’s a young joint helmed by a classically trained chef, but the smoky atmosphere and no-frills ribs, pulled pork, and chicken are timeless. sawsbbq.com
Craig’s Bar-B-Q
Devalls Bluff
Established: 1947
Stop by in winter and chances are you’ll see plenty of duck hunters enjoying pork sandwiches, soaked with a proprietary sauce that most definitely includes a few secret ingredients. 870-998-2616
Jones-Bar-B-Q Diner
Marianna
Established: 1910
More than a century of accumulated wisdom goes into the pulled pork at Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, still operated by the same family that founded the place. 870-295-3802
McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant
Hot Springs
Established: 1928
McClard’s can count former president Bill Clinton among the many Hot Springs residents past and present who have fallen in love with the restaurant’s ribs and secret-recipe sauce. mcclards.com
Pearl Country Store & Barbecue
Micanopy
Established: 2002
It’s a gas station, a convenience store, and a highway-adjacent barbecue joint with surprisingly tasty chopped pork, ribs, and sides. pearlcountrystore.com
Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish
South Pasadena
Established: 1951
Mullet, German potato salad, coleslaw, a pickle wedge, a lemon wedge, a slice of tomato, and a slice of sweet onion. That’s the smoked mullet dinner, unchanged for generations. tedpetersfish.com
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
Atlanta
Established: 2007
Twins Jonathan and Justin Fox may have moved east, but they haven’t lost their Texas swagger, manifested in chicken-fried pork ribs, chili-smothered tater tots, and thick-cut brisket. foxbrosbbq.com
Heirloom Market BBQ
Atlanta
Established: 2010
When a barbecue-loving Georgia boy and a former Korean pop star cook together, they produce the likes of Heirloom Market’s popular gochujang-marinated pork sandwich. heirloommarketbbq.com
B’s Cracklin’ Barbeque
Savannah
Established: 2014
Bryan Furman serves locally sourced meats dressed with a peach-mustard barbecue sauce at his unassuming roadside joint. bscracklinbbq.com
Gary Lee’s Market
Brunswick
Established: 1968
Less than two miles from I-95, Gary Lee’s is a barbecue purist’s dream: a family-owned grocery store offering superb smoked chicken, brisket, pork ribs, and sausage by the pound. 912-265-1925
Southern Soul Barbeque
St. Simons Island
Established: 2007
Maybe Virginia has the better claim on Brunswick Stew, but Southern Soul near Brunswick, Georgia, has some of the best in the South. Tasty pulled pork, too. southernsoulbbq.com
Marion Pit Bar-B-Q
Marion
Established: 1972
Regulars line up for pit master Jack Easley’s seventeen-hour-smoked pork. There aren’t many places to sit, but that’s okay. Your takeout container probably won’t last long anyway. 270-965-3318
Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn
Owensboro
Established: 1949
Aficionados visit this famous spot to check two rarities off their bucket lists: Kentucky burgoo and mutton barbecue, served with an umami-rich black sauce. moonlite.com
Johnson’s Boucanière
Lafayette
Established: 1937
Boudin meets brisket at Johnson’s Boucanière, known for both its barbecue and its grilled cheeses, stuffed with sausage and smoked meats and pressed until warm and gooey. johnsonsboucaniere.com
The Joint
New Orleans
Established: 2004
There isn’t really such a thing as New Orleans-style barbecue, but a combination platter that weds spicy chaurice sausage and pulled pork makes a case that maybe there ought to be. alwayssmokin.com
Walker’s Southern Style Barbecue
New Orleans
Established: 2004
Wanda Walker plays a little loose with the term cochon de lait, which usually refers to a slow-roasted suckling pig, but the pork in her cochon po’boy is equally as tender and flavorful. cochondelaitpoboys.com
Chaps Pit Beef
Baltimore
Established: 1987
Baltimore’s answer to low-and-slow barbecue is pit beef: Charcoal-cooked bottom round, sliced thin and served on a roll with horseradish sauce. Chaps is a Charm City institution. chapspitbeef.com
Abe’s Bar-B-Q
Clarksdale
Established: 1924
The pits smolder at the same crossroads where blues legend Robert Johnson supposedly made his bargain with the devil. Make an easier choice: get a pork plate and a bundle of hot tamales on the side. abesbbq.com
Lamar Lounge
Oxford
Established: 2012
The nineteenth-century bar by the front door is impressive, but the centerpiece at Lamar Lounge is the patio-side barbecue pit, built to cook whole hogs—and draw a crowd. citygroceryonline.com
Hattiesburg
Established: 1974
With a tin roof, plywood floors, and mismatched chairs, Leatha’s is a no-frills joint. The focus is on the food: pulled pork and chicken, ribs, grilled ribeyes, and classic sides. 601-271-6003
12 Bones Smokehouse
Asheville
Established: 2005
True to its laid-back mountain surroundings, 12 Bones serves freeform barbecue with creative twists. The local favorite: baby back ribs glazed with a blueberry-chipotle sauce. 12bones.com
Allen & Son Barbeque
Chapel Hill
Established: 1970
Diners go to Allen & Son for chopped pork, dressed with an eastern North Carolina–style vinegar-pepper sauce, but they linger after dinner for the scratch-made pie and ice cream. 919-942-7576
Greenville
Established: Late 1970s
There’s no phone, and the joint closes when the smoked pork and chicken run out. Even locals line up for a taste. 252-758-7126
Bar-B-Q Center
Lexington
Established: 1955
Your order at one of the oldest joints in a barbecue capital: chopped pork, red slaw, crinkle-cut fries, and a banana split, heaped with ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. 336-248-4633
Lexington
Established: 1962
Wayne Monk might be the most famous pit master in the North Carolina Piedmont, and his chopped pork shoulder still sets the standard in one of the state’s barbecue capitals. lexbbq.com
Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Shelby
Established: 1949
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That old mantra keeps the hickory burning at Red Bridges, where Debbie Bridges-Webb makes sure the pork and red slaw remain up to her father’s standards. bridgesbbq.com
Skylight Inn
Ayden
Established: 1947
Skylight Inn is a window into the nineteenth-century origins of barbecue, serving chopped hog dressed with salt, pepper, vinegar, and hot sauce in the eastern North Carolina style. skylightinnbbq.com
Smokies BBQ
Broken Arrow
Established: 2012
Out west, smoked bologna also goes by the tongue-in-cheek moniker Oklahoma Prime Rib. Some of the best in the Sooner State comes from the unusual concrete cooker at Smokies. smokieshickoryhouse.com
Hite’s Bar-B-Que
West Columbia
Established: 1957
Locals lust after the rib cut, a bone-framed rectangle of tender meat carved from a whole hog and backed by crisp, mustard-lacquered skin. Hash and rice on the side. hitesbbq.com
McCabe’s Bar-B-Que
Manning
Established: 1982
How about sides of fried chicken and black-eyed peas with your pulled pork? Ninety-three-year-old Jessie McCabe still oversees everything but the smoker at her family’s buffet. 803-435-2833
Hemingway
Established: 1972
First, the boll weevil killed the cotton crop. Then, tobacco went out of style. These days, pit master Rodney Scott keeps little Hemingway on the map with his famous whole hog barbecue. thescottsbbq.com
Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que
Holly Hill
Established: 1977
Takeout is an option, but regulars generally spring for the all-you-can-eat buffet, stocked with everything from mustard-sauced pork to green beans to banana pudding. sweatmansbbq.com
Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous
Memphis
Established: 1948
Decades of cooks have tried to copy the dry rub that Charlie Vergos devised to coat ribs in his basement restaurant more than fifty years ago. It’s still a closely guarded secret. hogsfly.com
Memphis
Established: 1977
This Memphis stalwart’s temporary closing due to fire damage has likely caused conniptions among the devoted patrons who go starry-eyed over its smoked cornish hens and barbecue spaghetti. cozycornerbbq.com
Helen’s Bar-B-Q
Brownsville
Established: 1996
Helen Turner has worked in a cloud of hickory smoke since her barbecue pits melted the fans she bought to clear the air. You can taste the smoke in every bite of her hand-cleaved pork shoulder. 731-779-3255
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
Three locations in Tennessee and Morgantown, West Virginia
Established: 2006
Pulled pork, barbecue sauce, and coleslaw—all great individually and, even better when heaped together on a freshly griddled hoecake to make one of Pat Martin’s Redneck Tacos. martinsbbqjoint.com
Nashville
Established: 2013
In a brick bunker of a barbecue joint, Carey Bringle serves some of Nashville’s finest ribs, dusted with a tomato-red dry rub that testifies to his roots in the western part of the state. peglegporker.com
Ridgewood Barbecue
Bluff City
Established: 1952
Call it Appalachian-style barbecue. At Ridgewood, smoked and shaved ham comes doused with a thick, sweet, and top-secret sauce. 423-538-7543
Franklin Barbecue
Austin
Established: 2009
Although Aaron Franklin has only been in the business for six years, his brisket has already earned him some of the culinary world’s highest honors. franklinbarbecue.com
Lockhart
Established: 1900
One of the original Texas barbecue temples, Kreuz is still marvelously minimalist. No forks, sauce, or plates. Just great flavor. kreuzmarket.com
La Barbecue
Austin
Established: 2012
Pit master John Lewis is a lanky, bespectacled perfectionist who welds his own barbecue pits, stuffs his own sausage, and holds his brisket to exacting standards. labarbecue.com
Dallas
Established: 2010
Like many Texas joints, Pecan Lodge is all about the meat: Brisket, pork and beef ribs, pulled pork, and sausage, served glistening with fat and accompanied by pickles and raw onion. pecanlodge.com
Snow’s BBQ
Lexington
Established: 2003
Brisket, pork ribs, chicken, pork steak, and sausage. Saturdays only, starting at 8:00 a.m. Show up around noon, and 79-year-old pit master Tootsie Tomanetz might already be sold out. snowsbbq.com
Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que
Brownsville
Established: 1955
Texas health codes have been hard on traditional cow’s-head barbacoa, cooked on mesquite coals in an underground pit. Luckily, Vera’s has been grandfathered in—ojos and all. 956-546-4159
Barbeque Exchange
Gordonsville
Established: 2010
Barbeque Exchange’s encyclopedic menu of smoked meats could drive an indecisive diner to madness. Relax and order the pork belly, with collard greens and a pumpkin muffin. bbqex.com
Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que
Williamsburg
Established: 1971
The name came from a sign painter’s mistake, according to legend. Nowadays, plenty of diners pull up under the curiously misspelled logo for piled-high pork sandwiches and sides. pierces.com
DCity Smokehouse
Established: 2013
Layering smoked meats with red chile coleslaw and cilantro ranch dressing, DCity Smokehouse is the irreverent, multicultural barbecue joint our nation’s capital needs. dcitysmokehouse.com
