Best BBQ: Pit Masters and Grill Geniuses

Southern-style barbecue has infiltrated every corner of the country. Here’s a coast-to-coast guide to the latest places, plus new spots that bring live-fire grilling into the kitchen.

B Side BBQ’s Phil Surkis and Tanya Holland. Photo © Lisa Keating.

Bobby Flay protégé Tanya Holland brought quality food to gritty West Oakland when she opened Brown Sugar Kitchen in 2008. The new B Side BBQ furthers her mission with spot-on barbecue. Still, the French-trained chef can’t resist adding upscale touches, like the thick-cut pain de mie for her pulled-pork sandwich. 3303 San Pablo Ave.; bsidebbq.com.

Television personality Joanne Weir’s Mexican menu centers around chicken cooked on a spit over an open fire, plus the agave-nectar margaritas she perfected while writing a book about tequila. 739 Bridgeway; copitarestaurant.com.

Napa starchitect Howard Backen partnered with entrepreneur Leslie Rudd on this cozy restaurant, where customers gather around fireplaces. Chef Philip Wang mans a giant wood-fired grill, cooking Cal-Med dishes like chorizo and mushrooms over polenta. 1429 Main St.; frenchbluenapa.com.

At Ox in Portland, OR, then Dentons grill Argentinean-style. Photo courtesy of Ox.

Gregory Denton and his wife, Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton (formerly of Metrovino), just opened this Argentinean-inspired spot. They use an adjustable grill in the middle of the dining room to prepare dishes as delicate as maitake mushrooms or as primal as whole lamb. 2225 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.; oxpdx.com.

Insider’s Tip While waiting for a table at Ox, customers can pass the time playing bocce on the patio.

The Tasting Kitchen’s Casey Lane has two new restaurants. At Itri, which opens this month, he will cook meats and seafood (including octopus) on a four-spit, Italian-made rotisserie and grill. 7274 Melrose Ave.; itrionmelrose.com.

At this Mission spot, the chicken is brined in whiskey, the hams hail from Tennessee pig man Allan Benton and beers are made in stainless steel tanks near the kitchen. 2170 Mission St.; southpawbbqsf.com.

Sandwiches at San Francisco’s Cedar Hill are named after top barbecue towns, like Decatur, AL and Lockhart, TX. Photo © Liz Caruana Photography/Courtesy of Cedar Hill.

Pamela Schafer and Richard Park took over Big Nate’s space and remodeled it using old barn beams. Now they serve sweet tea-brined chicken and their namesake biscuits. “They’re as big as a cat’s head,” Schafer explains. 1665 Folsom St.; catheadsbbq.com.

Chef Jon Rietz’s menu is autobiographical: The smoked chicken gumbo reflects his New Orleans training; trips to South Carolina inspired the pulled pork; and his Texas upbringing informed the brisket. 3242 Scott St.; cedarhillsf.com.

Masu chefs use robata-grilled fish in sushi rolls. Photo © Lars Swanson.

Local resident and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern loves this grill-focused joint, decorated with blinking Pachinko machines (a Japanese arcade game). 330 E. Hennepin Ave.; masusushiandrobata.com.

Matthias Merges, the former chef at Charlie Trotter’s, owns this Japanese restaurant specializing in small plates, like beef tongue and veal sweetbreads cooked over long-burning, low-smoke pressed charcoal. 2853 N. Kedzie Ave.; yusho-chicago.com.

After selling his signature pulled-pork sandwich at local markets, Elias Leisring opened this bare-bones spot. His signature move: using a pizza cutter to chop the pulled pork extra-fine. 3313 Riverside Dr.; elisbarbeque.com.

Co-owner Tad Curtz built this place by hand, from the wood bar to the picnic tables. The menu features barbecue classics, plus a few dishes with German inflections, like bratwurst with sauerkraut. 1801 14th St. NW; standarddc.com.

Pork Barrel BBQ is known for amazing smoked brisket. Photo courtesy of Pork Barrel.

Competitive pit masters Heath Hall and Brett Thompson use their signature combo of oak and hickory chips to smoke brisket, which they serve both on its own and as sausage. 2312 Mt. Vernon Ave.; porkbarrelbbq.com; 703-822-5699.

The owners of this seafood shack harvest their own Chesapeake Bay oysters, serving them raw, in chowder or grilled right on the porch, with a side of tomatillo cocktail sauce. One exception to the seafood rule: lamb ribs, sourced from nearby Border Springs Farm. 784 Locklies Creek Rd.; rroysters.com; 804-204-1709.

The Inn at Easton’s Andrew Evans competed on the barbecue circuit before opening the Joint in 2010; he serves ribs, brisket and smoked-turkey-and-cranberry sandwiches. A second location is due this year. 216 E. Dover St.; andrewevansbbqjoint.com; 410-690-3641.

Mark Coates smokes pork on the truck, mixes in North Carolina-style sauce and serves customers a giant portion on a bun. “Then I watch ’em struggle with it,” he says. thesmoketruck.com.

Sugar & Smoke chef Nicole Davenport smokes bacon for her breakfast menu. Photo courtesy of Sugar & Smoke.

Nicole Davenport, one of the few female pit masters on the competitive circuit, bemoaned the dearth of great desserts at barbecue joints. So she opened this homage to meat (pulled pork in a peach-flavored sauce) and sweets (German chocolate cake, in honor of Fredericksburg’s Teutonic heritage). 249 E. Main St.; sugarandsmoke.com; 830-307-3051.

John Mueller is Texas royalty: He grew up in his family’s famous restaurant, Louis Mueller BBQ. At his new trailer, there’s a perpetual line and, often, free beer and live music. “When you’re standing in line, you’re going to have a good time,” says Mueller. 1502 S. First St.; jmuellerbbq.com.

The Franklin truck launched in 2009 to instant fame and moved into a small cinder block building last year. Customers know to arrive early: The brisket, sausage and smoked turkey sell out by 2 p.m. 900 E. 11th St.; franklinbarbecue.com.

Tim Love’s Woodshed Smokehouse boasts custom grills and other gear. Photo courtesy of Woodshed.

Tim Love’s sixth Texas restaurant, overlooking Trinity River, has custom-made spits, grills and smokers. The menu lists the type of wood used to smoke each dish; the showstopping beef shin is cooked over hickory chips. 3201 Riverfront Dr.; woodshedsmokehouse.com.

A new Mexican quick-casual spot from the minds behind Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q restaurants. The tortillas are homemade from fresh-ground masa and the animals are smoked whole, then braised in a wood-burning oven. 2821 Central Ave.; thelittledonkey.com; 205-703-7000.

At this tiny storefront, Cody Taylor and Jiyeon Lee prepare dishes inspired by Korean barbecue (ribs rubbed with gochujang, a spice paste), which they say “predates American barbecue by about 3,000 years.” 2243 Akers Mill Rd. SE; heirloommarketbbq.com.

Winemaker Karl Wente shares his favorite bottles to pair with barbecue.

Wente Vineyards hosts the Central Coast’s best cookouts. Here, winemaker Karl Wente’s favorite barbecue matches.

“I drink Syrah for its almost pork-like smokiness.”

“A big Cabernet has enough acidity to handle rich beef.”

“Pinot Noir is light but spicy, like good barbecued chicken.”

B Side BBQ serves St. Louis-style ribs in Oakland, California. © Lara Hata

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