Best/Worst Cities for Barbecue HAHAHAHAHA

Bingo on Memphis, suburban Memphis, the Delta in Mississippi, Tuscaloosa (the original Dreamland), Owensboro and Bowling Green, Kentucky, almost anywhere in North Carolina, the Upstate in South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. Outlier big cities: Miami, as the list indicates, metro Atlanta, Houston to Austin via 290, and some of those original Texas 'cue places you read about in Texas Monthly. The kinda towns I can get in trouble in.

Edit: And Kansas City.

 

Best I ever had was someplace around Austin. Dammed if I can remember the name, though. Out in the middle of nowhere

 

You misspelled Archibald’s.

 

My brother fed me some of the best 'Q I've ever eaten. He was living near the tiny town of (I shit you not) Arp, Texas, and my wife and I had gone to visit him. We'd run a couple of errands together, and he said he was going to stop by a local barbecue house and get some brisket and ribs to take home. "It's really good food, and a unique atmosphere. Most popular BBQ around here."

He drives up to this rundown little shack with a gravel lot off of a dirt road through the piney woods. We go in and there maybe ten other people, all Black. You could look over the counterman's shoulder and see the pits smoking in the back. It was a big old open space, a couple of walls splitting it a bit. I'm standing in line, just idly looking around and I realize that we're standing in what was once a chicken coop. The building looked to be vintage 1950, maybe. There were still old rusty chickenwire panels over a couple of low walls. The doors, door jams, counter area were all well worn, lots of hand oil rubbed in over the years. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that the place making your food has a patina, but this one did in abundance.

He sold us two pounds of brisket and a couple of racks of ribs, and threw in half a loaf of Wonder Bread and about twenty napkins.

We get back in the truck and Larry starts laughing his ass off. "I was watching you. I could see exactly when the light dawned and you figured it out." Bastard.

Damn good BBQ, though.

 

You been to Top Hat, up in Blount Springs? Green Top's still good too. Pat James'.


Here lately, I think Saw's is my favorite local. A little pricey, but it's so tender and good.

Saw's (the owner's frat brothers called him Sorry Assed Wilson) has several restaurants around town. Great Q. The kind of place that will sell you a BLT made with a fried green tomato.

They have a dish called Pork and Greens. Served in a bowl. First, a base of cheese grits. Plop a big spoonful of pulled pork on top. Cover with turnip greens, and top with fried onion rings just out of the fryer. Oh my god it's sooooo good.

 

Saw’s in Homewood has become my favorite barbecue in the metro, edging past Miss Myra’s and Bob Sykes. I’ll still do Jim N Nicks for chain barbecue, but it isn’t as elite as it once was, always the curse of chains you remember “back when.”

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten barbecue at the Saw’s by UAB though. They have a sweet tea chicken sandwich good enough to fight somebody for.

 

Salt Lick? It’s both excellent and in the middle of nowhere

 

I still think Jim 'n Nick's has the best BBQ chicken in town. Dmitri's in Homewood has amazing BBQ beans. They're my go-to for my part of the tailgate. Their fried pies are top notch too.

The Saw's Juke Joint on Montclair has the biggest menu of the bunch, and it's real good. And since Avondale Brewery doesn't serve food, it's cool with them to get a to go order at the Saw's next door and eat it there with a pint.

 

That Yelp ranking is because of City Barbeque. It’s good, but pales in comparison to the actual good stuff in the south and KC.

 

Nashville's track record for BBQ is meh at best. We're great for hot chicken and there are still a few good places for various other cuisines. BBQ? Not so much.

 

I never miss a chance to go to Jack's.

 

Reminds me of a seafood place was at in the Bahamas. I got in the cab and told the driver, "Take me where you eat."
The grouper was still swimming as recently as that morning.