U.S. BBQ Restaurant Index
From Texas all the way to Missouri; which U.S. city is the best for BBQ food?
Few culinary traditions evoke quite the same passion and regional pride in the US as barbecue. The beginning of BBQ goes back to the Indigenous peoples and African slaves who used smoking and slow cooking to preserve their meat, but over the years it has evolved, taking root in the southern states in particular.
From the tangy vinegar-based sauces of North Carolina to the sweet and smoky flavors of Kansas City, and the spicy dry rubs of Texas, no one can deny what an important part of food culture BBQ has become. What people do argue about however is which state has the best BBQ. Let's investigate and see where in the US comes out top.
Overall results
Which city comes out on top?
Most people wondering what state has the best BBQ might assume it would be somewhere in the deep south, but you might be surprised to learn that according to our research, it's not just the southern states that know how to slow cook their meat.
We discovered that New Jersey is actually one of the best places in the US to get BBQ. If you look specifically at what city has the best BBQ, Jersey City topped the chart, taking a joint top spot with Charleston in South Carolina, followed in second place by Newark, another New Jersey BBQ hot spot.
The southern states had a great show overall in the top ten though, with St Louis, Kansas City, Nashville and Memphis all scoring highly. The biggest surprise in the top ten best cities in the US for BBQ could well be Miami, Florida, thanks to its Cuban Little Havana district.
Which city has the most BBQ restaurants?
When it comes to the numbers, you won't be surprised to discover that some of the biggest cities in the US boast the most BBQ restaurant options. If you want to be really spoilt for choice then New York tops the bill with 183 BBQ food joints, just ahead of Los Angeles with 179.
If you factor in the size of the city though, New York's 183 BBQ restaurants for a population of over 8 million doesn't look anywhere near as impressive as our number four spot Houston - 136 places to eat BBQ for a population a quarter that of New York, or our number three place - Jersey City, which boast a staggering 175 BBQ restaurants with a population under 300,000!
The cities with the most BBQ restaurant reviews
If we're talking quality rather than quantity, then reviews are your friend. Our research looked at Trip Advisor for data and discovered that the southern states really do shine when it comes to BBQ reviews. Memphis, Tennessee topped the table with 15,812 positive reviews, followed by Kansas City, Missouri, with 13,919 and Nashville, Tennessee in third place with just over 10,000.
Jersey City may have taken the overall win, but it only managed to finish in fourth place when it came to positive reviews, racking up 8,907.
Which city has the most gluten-free options?
Because BBQ food is heavily meat-based, you'll often find there are plenty of gluten-free options available. Our research found that 90% of all the barbecue restaurants in Nashville, Charleston, Jersey City and Newark offered gluten-free options.
Kansas City and St Louis put up a good show too, with 80% of their BBQ joints catering for gluten intolerances and allergies. Great news for gluten-free BBQ fans!
