SMOKIN' HOT

America's Best Barbecue Joints

Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010, 12:50 PM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: The Best Barbecue Joints in America

Slows Bar B Q in Detroit slow-cooks beef brisket and pork butt from Niman Ranch and tops sandwiches with surprising extras like onion marmalade, smoked Gouda, and Applewood bacon. (Courtesy Slows Bar B Q)
Operated by the same family since 1932, Black's Barbecue has all the standards—100 percent Angus beef brisket, fall-off-the-bone pork spare ribs, and giant whole BBQ chickens. (Courtesy Black\'s Barbecue)
At Black's Barbecue, pine walls are adorned with Texas license plates, longhorns, and hunting trophies. (Courtesy Black\'s Barbecue)
Fifteen miles down the coast from San Francisco, Gorilla Barbeque in Pacifica, Calif., serves spicy dry-rub pork ribs, pulled pork, and a Philly cheesesteak sandwich made with BBQ beef brisket. (Courtesy Gorilla Barbeque)
Snow's BBQ, in Lexington, Tex., has won people over with its ribs, pork steak, and brisket, which has a smoky, charred crust and a tender-throughout interior. (Michael Mohr)
Snow's pit master Tootsie Tomanetz, who comes in at 2 a.m. to tend the barbecue on Saturdays. (LeAnn Mueller)
At Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, Mo., guests chow down in the original cafeteria-style dining room on pork rib sandwiches lathered in the restaurant's signature spicy sauce. (Courtesy akuban/Flickr)
Lexington Barbecue in Lexington, N.C., serves up sandwiches consisting of extra-tender chopped pork, a spicy pink slaw (don't call it coleslaw—no mayo is used), and a thin, salty vinegar-ketchup sauce. (Courtesy Southern Foodways Alliance/Flickr)
The signature dish at Abe's Bar-B-Q in Clarksdale, Miss., is the legendary pecan-smoked pork, piled high on a double-decker "Big Abe" sandwich. (Courtesy abbyladybug/Flickr)
The Joint in New Orleans pleases locals with spicy Cajun-style sausages and barbecue pork ribs, rubbed in spice and smoked for hours until gaining a crisp, caramelized coating. (Courtesy Morris Brum/Flickr)