Best BBQ in the Southern Appalachians

All right,

I am attempting to start a thread on best BBQ joints in the southeast Appalachian area. But it would be cool if everyone could give us their favorites from other areas as well. It may help others to find some wonderful BBQ to eat on their next Swing tour. Now, for my picks... I am simply going to give opinions on beef and poultry BBQ's as I don't eat pork. I also prefer a sauce based appalachian style BBQ and try to stay away from the vinegar based sauces of the deeper south.

Best Beef Brisket (1 choice)
Mountain View BBQ
829 West Mills Street, Columbus, NC

Best Smoked Chicken (2 choices)
SouthSide Smokehouse & Grille
726 South Howard Avenue, Landrum, SC‎ -

and

The Firehouse
627 West Walnut Street, Johnson City, TN‎



Smoked, Sliced, & Grilled Beef BBQ (MY OVERALL FAVORITE)
Ridgewood BBQ (about 10 minutes from Bristol Motor Speedway)
900 Elizabethton Highway, Bluff City, TN‎
This was my overall favorite. They have been around since the 50's and are well hidden by the mountains and the new 4 lane that bypassed them many years ago although it isn't too difficult to find. Lucky is the person who finds this little BBQ haven hidden in the hills. Many a nascar driver has eaten here as evidenced from pictures on the walls. Platters or Sandwiches with slaw on the top if desired and a tall cold glass of very sweet tea. What is unique is that after the meat is smoked and sliced is that it is grilled. They will give you a huge portion. Come hungry.

Ron,


Do they deliver to California?

My favorite out here is:

http://www.eandjbbq.com/

I'm from Ilinois and we had much more BBQ out there then here but the link I gave is some really good BBQ. Thanks for starting the thread since I love BBQ and really miss the variety we had back in the midwest. This place here has had a lot of celebritries there too.

I live in Owensboro, KY, "the BBQ capital of the world" and home of the International BBQ festival in May that draws around 75,000 people. The BBQ of choice here is mutton, but they also do a lot of pork and chicken.
There are 3 good BBQ places in Owensboro, including Old Hickory, Moonlite, and Old South. All of these are locally owned.

Thomphoto,

My uncle lives in Owensboro. I wonder if he knows about all this good BBQ?

If you're in the Triangle area of NC (specifically, Raleigh), check out The Pit - it looks rather upscale when you go in, but it's some really good down-home Carolina BBQ. They're got a really good lunch special ($8+tax&tip for BBQ, biscuit, hush puppies, and a couple of side), I haven't been for dinner yet (I think it's about $4 more for the same food you get a lunch ).

Has anyone tried "Tom's BBQ and deli" in Memphis? I saw it on the food channel and the "burnt ends" looked worth a trip from NY!! Please let me know..thanks Dan

Jeff, if your uncle lives in Owensboro, he probably knows about the BBQ. If you ever visit, give me a shout and we'll do BBQ at Old Hickory.

I can agree with Ron about the Ridgewood BBQ, very good and huge portions!
Also, if you eat pig, their shredded pork is very good too.
The only bad thing is, you will probably have to wait in line to get in the place. It is worth the wait.

I found this site on the net and you can look for a BBQ joint by state. A good resource if your looking for BBQ in a certain local on one of your rides I was happy to see that Ridgewood made the Tennessee List.

http://www.bbqjoints.com/

I'm getting ready to go to Memphis for the first time in my life. Would you believe that I've lived in Northeast, TN for 27 years and have never been to Memphis. I get to Nashville more than I care to for work related meetings, but never Memphis. Memphis is quite far away. I can hit a lot of cities in other states including Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte, Lexington, Cincinnati, etc... quicker than I can get to Memphis. Tennessee is a pretty wide state. In any case, you can bet that I'll be trying out at least a couple of BBQ joints while there. I will see how they compare to whats up here in the hills in Appalachia. The wife and I are leaving out on Thursday morning. We will take I-81 & I-40 into Knoxville and then will be riding 70 south/north so as not to take the interstate and see a little more scenery. I wish we'd have time to hit the Natchez Trace Pkwy. One day that'll be on the list. For you Elvis fans, I'll give my regards to the king.

One BBQ joint down, one to go. Tonights Battle of East TN versus West TN.

The Venue..... Corkys in East Memphis (1 of the 2 top ranked Memphis BBQ's).
Selection....... BBQ Chicken & BBQ Beef Brisket
The Verdict....
Beef-The beef brisket was good (Not spectacular mind you). The meat was tender and moist and had a good smoky flavor. Absent was the crusty outer which many joints do up with a spicy rub to add to the meat's flavor. The sauce was good, but again.... not spectacular nor the best that I've had. They had a regular, hot, and apple bbq sauce. We went for the regular. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7.

The Chicken- The chicken was overcooked and was doomed from the start as a result. Some of the best that I've had are pink in color from the smoking process. The chicken didn't seem to have as much smoke flavor as I've had from other joints. Chicken has got to be low & slow and I'm afraid this one got hurried along. Their chicken was white and overcooked almost to the point of being stringy and needing floss to pick the teeth. On a good note, I liked the rub on the outside of the chicken. Had the chicken not been overcooked, I think it would have been really good.

The Sides- Sides were excellent. The fries have a very nice crusty coating and were well seasoned. Good slaw. Excellent homeade hush puppies, and good yeast rolls. Also very good sweet tea for the southerners who can appreciate a good cold tall glass of the brewed stuff.

All in all, not bad. The chicken could have really pulled Corky's up had it been cooked properly. Given the hype of this place, I was mildly dissapointed but would be willing to try the chicken again.

Tomorrow, It is off to the Rendezvous across from the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. So far East Tennessee et al. from Appalachia has Memphis beat. It is up to the Rendezvous tomorrow to bring some respect to the Big "M". They better be on their game cause I'm a comin' in with my appetite intact and my BBQ critiquing game face on!

Round 2....

Tom's BBQ & Deli
4087 New Getwell Road
Memphis, TN 38118-6016

Dan, the wife and I were in the Southern end of Memphis around lunch and while it wasn't in our plans, we did pay a visit to Tom's BBQ and Deli. Apparently they were featured with Guy Fieri on the food network. It was absolutely fantastic. Thanks for posting about it. It blew Corky's off the map. I talked to the owner and he gave us free meat to take home with us for showering him with compliments. It is a dive. Doesn't look like much. the place is small but the food is oh so worth it. Most meals are from 8.99-12.99 and include your choice of two sides and drink.

Beef Brisket: It wasn't the best I've had but among the best. Meat was cooked well, moist, and flavorfull. The sauce was a sweet tangy style which was very tasty in my opinion. I'd certainly eat it again.

Beef Ribs: These are the best beef ribs I've had. They texture in and out was outstanding. Crispy and flavorfull on the outside while being moist, soft, and succulent on the in. Very generous portions. Left feeling very piggish. I would definitely vist again.

Good variety in choice of sides. Premium homeade coleslaw and macoroni salad were my choices. These are all homeade and fresh. Very delicious.

Overall, this place is excellent and has restored my faith in Mephis being a place that can deliver in high quality BBQ after being mildyly dissapointed in Corky's.

Now... we were planning to go to the Rendezvous tonight across from the peabody but..... I don't know if I can handle any more BBQ since I've had 2 meals in the last 2 days and the last one at Tom's was huge. If not.... Someone else on this board can get out to Charlie Vergos Renezvous in Memphis and try it out and give us a review.

If you're ever in Terrell, Texas (about 25 miles east of Dallas) try the Ranchhand BBQ restaurant. They serve buffet style (adjust your spring settings before entering) and from a menu. Either way you can't go wrong. Friendly service and good down home food.

For ribs with a very tangy sauce we like Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, AL. We have a Dreamland here in Huntsville and we make it there frequently.

When I lived in Birmingham I lived in an apartment across the street from Dreamland BBQ. It is exceptional.

Best ribs I EVER had were at BB King's on Beale St in Memphis. The town raved about the place across the street from BB's (sorry, can't recall the name), so we went there the next night. Didn't even make my list - dry, flavorless ribs. Throw in some good old-fashioned live blues while dining, and BB's is my first choice!

I've had ribs at BB's on Beale and I can't disagree.

One thing I had never eaten until I went to Memphis (hopeless northerner at the time) was Red Beans and Rice.

It changed my world.

ronjr009 wrote:

I'm getting ready to go to Memphis for the first time in my life. Would you believe that I've lived in Northeast, TN for 27 years and have never been to Memphis. I get to Nashville more than I care to for work related meetings, but never Memphis. Memphis is quite far away. I can hit a lot of cities in other states including Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte, Lexington, Cincinnati, etc... quicker than I can get to Memphis. Tennessee is a pretty wide state. In any case, you can bet that I'll be trying out at least a couple of BBQ joints while there. I will see how they compare to whats up here in the hills in Appalachia. The wife and I are leaving out on Thursday morning. We will take I-81 & I-40 into Knoxville and then will be riding 70 south/north so as not to take the interstate and see a little more scenery. I wish we'd have time to hit the Natchez Trace Pkwy. One day that'll be on the list. For you Elvis fans, I'll give my regards to the king.

Brother, don't mean to dissuade you, BUT - the Natchez Trace Pkwy is one of the most BORING rides I have EVER done - especially in Miss. Mostly flat with very little variation in terrain. But, if you must . . . . . . .

DuggleBogey wrote:

One thing I had never eaten until I went to Memphis (hopeless northerner at the time) was Red Beans and Rice.

It changed my world.

You can buy them in some grocery stores under brand name MAHATMA - comes dry in a gold pkg. And yes, they're awesome!