Best/Worst Cities for Barbecue HAHAHAHAHA

Best barbecue cities: Ranking without Texas, Kansas City causes stir

Top cities for barbecue in the U.S.

1. New Orleans, LA- 4.31
2. Oklahoma City, OK- 4.26
3. Charlotte, NC- 4.25
4. Wichita, KS- 4.25
5. Virginia Beach, VA- 4.25
6. Columbus, OH- 4.24
7. Seattle, WA- 4.23
8. St. Louis, MO- 4.21
9. Miami, FL- 4.18
10. Newark, NJ- 4.18

Worst cities for barbecue in the U.S.

1. Anchorage, AK- 3.60
2. Plano, TX- 3.82
3. Boston, MA- 3.82
4. San Antonio, TX- 3.86
5. Aurora, CO- 3.90
6. Jacksonville, FL- 3.92
7. Houston, TX- 3.93
8. Philadelphia, PA- 3.93
9. Omaha, NE- 3.93
10. Fort Worth, TX- 3.94

 

Three Texas cities in the bottom 10? And aren't these based on Yelp reviews or something? What the fuck does someone in Columbus, Ohio, know about good barbecue?

 

Portuguese BBQ is a thing?

I'm willing to go with a couple of those oddball cities in the top 10. Miami and New Orleans have so many good, high-end restaurants of every type that it's plausible they'd have enough great BBQ joints to qualify.
But Seattle? Virginia Beach? Seriously?
And then that bottom 10 could almost be confused for the top 10. This list makes no sense.

 

So ... I'm going there. Beef? Pork? Mongolian?

If it's pork, this top list is FOS. Charlotte isn't even one of the five best cities in North Carolina to get pork barbecue. And beef barbecue is not listed in that area, certainly not the way we are accustomed to seeing debates in places like Kansas City, Texas, etc.

 

We always get barbecue in Texas, and it is hands down the best brisket I've ever eaten. Or as in Florida, I tend to not eat much barbecue here. We've got a couple of joints, they're average at best. I have never eaten barbecue in Miami though.

 

New Orleans is infamous in the region for having shockingly sub-par barbecue.

My theory is places like Memphis or Austin have so many great choices that they aren’t going to just toss out stars like Mardi Gras beads. Whereas someone in Newark may be clinging to the one oasis they’ve found.

 

My brother who has lived in Northern NJ both growing up Nd for the last 20 years says here is no good BBQ in Jersey. They have the best Italian food, pizza, deli. The Chinese food is often very good. He said even a Mission BBQ would be an upgrade

 

Yeah - From someone who moved from New England to Texas, this is almost certainly a fault with the methodology. Like, yes, Texas has some absolutely -shitty- BBQ and Mexican places that drag down the average, but that's just because there is a Mexican place literally every block where I live. (And, this is just counting proper brick-and-mortar, not taco trucks or gas stations that also sell tacos.) If there are 100 places in Texas, then you'll have the bottom 20 dragging down the average, when the Top 20 are still going to kick the ass of anything from back home.

 

I feel like @doctorquant has both the mathematical chops and the burning motivation to write up the defining rip job on this atrocity.

 

Two words (expressed in my native patois) sum up what I think about it: They Godamighty.

 

I'm sure New Orleans has a couple of great places. Every city does, right?
But, yeah, on the whole it's not the first thing you think of when you think about New Orleans food. It's not even the second, third, fourth or fifth thing you think of. Out of all the famous restaurants I've ever seen in the French Quarter, I can only think of one that specializes in BBQ and it's a bit off the beaten path.