Best/Worst Cities for Barbecue HAHAHAHAHA

Ordering barbeque in Boston is like ordering seafood in Kansas City. I mean, why? Even if it's decent (there's an OK place in the town one over from mine), that's all it could be. This goes for all the cities in the Acela Corridor. Sure, you could find something good, maybe. But play the percentages, man. BTW, Jacksonville has several very good BBQ places, but its rating is dragged down by a ubiquitous and not very good chain.
PS: Memphis, North Carolina, Kentucky, all of 'em have outstanding BBQ. That I prefer the Austin-Hill Country variety is a matter of personal taste.

 

Note: This is all prepandemic. Boston has: Superlative seafood restaurants (even the big chain, Legal, is damn good). Outstanding Italian. Workmanlike to outstanding Asian places, all of Asia, India and Pakistan included. Big name big money chain steakhouses. That's about it. Mexican, no. French, all dead. Top contemporary chefs -- all working for the big casinos in Connecticut. Worst of all, when I first got here in the '70s, there was a whole bunch of moderately priced, cheap even, good Greek places. They're all gone too. It's not public taste, it's landlords. They can't wait to octuple a restaurant's rent so it'll fold and they can get a branch bank in there.

 

Oddly, I had decent Mexican food in, of all places, Cumberland and Lincoln, R.I., and arepas in Pawtucket. It's great when you can find small pockets of a population in an area, and they open restaurants. Likewise - The first time I had a kolache was when I visited Houston for the first time, and they're delicious.

 

One possibility vis-a-vis New Orleans: BBQ shrimp is a ridiculously good local dish, but it ain't barbecue. Perhaps that's why the Big Easy appeared on that list?

 

There are inner city neighborhoods up north where you can find strong barbecue courtesy of the black Southern diaspora.

 

If a place serves barbecue on plates with silverware, it's pretty much out of the running for best.
If the place serves it on a paper plate with a plastic fork, those little tray/boat things, or just wax paper, it's going to be good.

 

Bonus points for being away from an interstate exit and being closed at least one random weekday.

 

Nope. Jack Stack serves your food like a grown up and it’s pretty fucking good. Not the best in KC by a long shot, but still pretty good.

 

If this is Tripadvisor's advice, my advice is to use Travelocity.

 

Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas are not to be found on the good list?

It's a waste of time.

 

The tables, if they have them, should be or resemble picnic tables. Bonus if they are actually outside.
The only two acceptable beverage containers at a proper bbq establishment are plastic tea glasses and beer bottles.