I’m partial to Squealers in Indy - I haven’t had any better in the area. And being stingy on sauce may be to their benefit - their sauce isn’t all that great. Could be a toss-up with GT South’s, though they’re not jumping off the plate either. (I noticed the other day they have an old Indy Star review up in their lobby where they clearly redacted some less-than-complimentary clause in the headline. Would have been something like “Great Ribs, Not-so-great Sides”, since they lambast the sides later in the article. Funny.)
Edit: I just remembered Hank’s Smoked Brisket. I take everything above back - Hank’s is the best BBQ in the state.
Never been to Pappy’s. I’ll try to give it a shot next time I float through St. Louis, but it’s hard to believe a St. Louis place serving up Memphis-style is going to rank above Bryant’s, Jack’s Stack, LC’s, Heywards or BB’s.
Gates is the one I’ve noticed in a severe decline. My last two trips to Bryants in the last year, I haven’t noticed anything. You really need to stay away from their burnt ends though - they’re awful. And with ends getting so much more attention lately, I bet more people are ordering them there, resulting in more poor reviews.
I finally managed to make it to Joe’s on a Monday last year, as I’m rarely in town during the week. You can only get burnt ends there Monday and Saturday for lunch - and they’ve always been sold out on the Saturdays I’ve been. They were the greatest pieces of meat I’ve ever eaten, period.
IANOE on barbeque…nor have I sampled nearly enough as I would like, but the family did stop at FL’s top pick, Four Rivers Smokehouse after it came up via Yelp while roadtripping.
It was extremely good, considering the place had as much of a "Chipotle"vibe as a 'que restaurant.
When you go to Pappy’s, get there early in the day. Or more accurately, ‘not late’ in the day. They always run out of burnt ends late in the day, and when they’re out for the day, they’re out for the day. I think they usually have enough to carry them through the lunch rush.
I think it’s safe to say that Maryland is known for steamed crabs, not BBQ, so it’s no surprise to me that I never heard of the place they claimed is the state’s best. I do know that the BBQ place in my county that all the locals rave about pretty much wallows in mediocrity.
The only thing I miss about living in Florida was being a mile away from Woody’s BBQ. You can have the rest of the state, but Woody’s smoked turkey was paradise on a plate. Pardon me while I sob to myself…
Where is Blue Ribbon BBQ? I haven’t had luck with places in MA. I’ve been to Salvage BBQ (Portland, ME) and really liked it, despite the incongruity of a BBQ place having vegan collard greens.
I miss the places I’d go in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, the really good one is now closed.
