134 Best Restaurants in USA

DCity Smokehouse continues to be a beloved neighborhood barbecue spot. Located in residential Bloomingdale, the restaurant serves a variety of meats smoked in-house. Carnivores come for slices of savory brisket, decadent smoked chicken wings, and of course, a classic D.C. half-smoke sausage with chili. On a nice day, have your meal at their picnic benches, order a beer, and people-watch.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's origins are in Upstate New York, but its massive Harlem location brings smoked, homemade barbecue to the Big Apple. Big appetites will be happy with the huge platters of St. Louis–style ribs, Memphis-style ribs, and pulled pork and brisket here, as well as sides like mac'n'cheese, Asian cucumber salad, corn bread, slaw, and barbecue baked beans. Smaller appetites can opt for chicken wings, sliders, sandwiches, fried green tomatoes, salads, or Creole deviled eggs.

Lance Eaker hails from Texas, his wife Boo is Korean, and they have combined their impressive culinary talents to cook up some of the best barbecue in Texas at this award-winning, mesquite-smoking barbecue joint, which started as a food truck in Houston. The classics, from Texas dry rub pork ribs to moist prime brisket, are all excellent, but what makes it so unique are the succulent Gochujang ribs, fried kimchi rice, homemade kimchi, and other Korean-inflected dishes that reflect Boo's heritage. Leave room for Boo's BOOzy banana pudding; it's a knockout.

At Edley's it's first come, first served for their mouthwatering brisket. If you miss the brisket, there are plenty of other delectable Southern barbecue favorites, quickly made to order and enjoy on polished-wood picnic tables inside or on the large patio; you can wash it down with a local craft beer or their signature Bushwacker, a chocolate rum milkshake. There are also locations in 12South and Sylvan Park. 

The original location of this family-owned Nashville institution is always busy for lunch and dinner, but they don't take reservations, so plan accordingly. Known for its award-winning barbecue, the menu includes lots of smoked meats as well as a number of Southern sides like cornbread bean salad, mac and cheese, and banana pudding—you've got to love a place that includes banana pudding as a side rather than a dessert. Remember that the portions are large, and a kids' menu is available. There are locations in East Nashville, Sylvan Park, Donelson, and Franklin.

Drop by this unassuming storefront eatery in Kingman's historic downtown for wood-fire pizzas and tender, perfectly seasoned, and smoked barbecue. Pulled pork sandwiches, Cajun-style andouille sausage platters, and racks of hickory-smoked pork ribs are favorites with sides of mac 'n' cheese, baked beans, and chunky potato salad. The wood-fire oven turns out popular pizzas, like the pizza with chicken toppings and a mixture of garlicky barbecue sauce, but you can also make your own. Rotating beers, including selections from local Black Bridge Brewery, are on tap.

This bare-bones, counter-service barbecue joint serves up diabolically delicious, house-brined and smoked meaty fare along with sides of "dirty" fries with decadent toppings (sweet Thai chili sauce, wasabi-garlic, and so on). The burgers and sandwiches are delicious, but if you have the appetite for it, consider the sampler of pulled pork, smoked chicken breast, baby back ribs, brisket, and tri-tip with a couple of sides.

Down-home Texas barbecue is prepared ranch-style—mesquite-smoked and served with tasty red sauce. Patrons young and old line up on the sidewalk to eat at picnic tables on the covered patio. A standard order is the chopped-beef brisket sandwich on jalapeño-cheese bread. Don't skip the celebrated pecan pie for dessert. Goode Company Hamburgers and Taqueria across the street serves—no surprise here—hamburgers and tacos, as well as great weekend breakfasts. And for some honky-tonk atmosphere, shuffleboard, dominoes, pool, and lots of cold beer, check out Goode's Armadillo Palace next door. You can't miss the place: it's the building with the giant stainless-steel armadillo standing guard out front.

This turn-of-the-century home at The Pearl is one of the new hot spots to discover the pleasure of slow-smoked meats and barbecue. A counter-service barbecue joint by day and a brew pub and full-service restaurant serving globally-inspired barbecue plates by night, the Granary is for those with a Texas-sized appetite for meat. On any given day you'll find anything from house-made pastrami to thick-cut Niman Ranch smoked pork butt on the menu here. Soulful sides include crispy grit fritters and a version of Texas Toast griddled with a smear of beef tallow and served with a side of butter infused with drippings straight from the smoker. The house beers are pretty good as well, especially the Belgian-style Rye Saison and the dark and stormy Brown Ale. And you can't beat a cold mug of homemade root beer made with pure cane sugar and sarsaparilla.

This North Park spot is an authentic and eclectic stop for Texas-style barbecue with patio dining to preserve the feeling of a backyard fete, even if someone else is cooking. Meat is served by the pound (or half- or quarter-pound—there's no minimum order when you're selecting between brisket, hot links, smoked turkey or ribs) or available as a sandwich, for those who prefer some carbs with their protein.  Every Sunday is Asado Domingo, with popular Argentine barbecue specials like morcilla with chimichurri and polenta.

Savory, slow-cooked smoked meats are the draw at this casual eatery with wooden booths and an old-fashioned sports bar. The traditional Southern-style sides—collard greens, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, flaky biscuits—are other reasons to come. Add in homemade desserts, towel napkins, and house-made barbecue sauce and you have one of the most popular restaurants in Kingston for local families and tourists alike.

Few who stop by this bustling hive of smoky brisket and gooey ribs can deny it does Texas meat right. This is evident in the pay-by-the-pound ethos that lets you sample one slice of lean beef and one scoop of gooey white shoepeg corn pudding alongside a succulent turkey breast. But this family-friendly retreat becomes a social destination come happy hour and beyond, when margarita pitchers reel in the twentysomethings, and Wednesday becomes a rollicking country western love music night. 

Part barbecue joint, part seafood shack, Hog Heaven has a wonderful smoky aroma that perfumes U.S. 17 as you approach. Pulled-pork barbecue has the tang of vinegar and the taste of long hours in the pit. Although sandwiches are available, the buffet, which includes fried chicken, greens, and sweet potato casserole, is the main event. Add on all-you-can-eat shrimp, or, during winter, local oysters, for a true surf-and-turf feast.

This bar and restaurant swiftly earned the endorsement of even the old-school barbecue set (the restaurant's newfangled pork tacos notwithstanding), and Home Team has done so with time-honored adherence to the oft-preferred technique of low-and-slow grilling, producing St. Louis–style ribs and traditional smoked pork and chicken. Side offerings are a good measuring stick for any barbecue joint, and they deliver with mashed potatoes, collard greens, red rice, baked beans, poppy-seed slaw, and potato salad. West Ashley's location is the original, but Home Team has grown—there's also a downtown location on Williman Street, an outpost on Sullivan's Island, and a satellite operation in Aspen, Colorado.

From its creekside perch in the shadow of the Austin Convention Center, this spot caters to name-tagged conference attendees, construction workers, and thoroughly starched-shirt office workers alike. Dependable house specialties include pepper-crusted smoked pork loin, tender brisket, and Flintstones-sized beef ribs. Wrought-iron grills, forged here when the building was an ironworks, hang from the rafters. It's a charming (albeit slightly raucous) slice of laid-back Texas fare, even if it's not the best barbecue joint within the city limits.

For those craving authentic Texas barbecue, head to Kelly’s where they are serving up brisket, ribs, smoked turkey, and chicken out of an Airstream with a picnic table or two on the outskirts of town (the smoker is right outside). Sandwiches, fully-loaded plates, brisket by the pound, and barbecue tacos are all extremely popular, and if you don’t want to miss out, get there early before the mac ‘n’ cheese, brisket, and ribs are gone.

The long lines, rain or shine, at this east-side food truck make no secret of its epic Texas barbecue. The cheesy brisket kolaches wrapped in mouthwatering sweet dough (only sold on Sunday) have been lauded by everyone, including the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, who samples the fiercest and finest BBQ all across the state. Thankfully, the standard Texas plates heaped full of pork ribs, hot links, and prime Angus brisket, plus contemporary sides like blue-cheese coleslaw and jalapeño-dill potato salad, are also heaven-sent.

Beef brisket and St. Louis ribs are the hits at this saloonlike, order-at-the-counter joint whose house-made sauces include espresso barbecue, South Carolina mustard, and the sweet-and-sourish KIN blend. Along with the expected sides of potato salad, cornbread muffins, and baked beans (the latter bourbon-infused), the spiced sweet-potato tater tots and Granny-Smith-and-horseradish slaw stand out.

This favorite east-side spot, which started as a humble trailer before moving into this expanded Cesar Chavez location, remains another top spot for Texas barbecue. Portions of their prizewinning offerings are Texas-size, including their popular El Sancho Loco sandwich with sausage, pulled pork, and chopped brisket topped with pickled red onions. Lines are to be expected, but service is friendly and swift.

Lamberts draws a broad range of downtown business crowds, local foodies, and Second Street tourists for its stylish take on Texas barbecue. You know this isn't your father's barbecue joint when you hear Belle & Sebastian coming from the speakers instead of Willie or Waylon. For further evidence, there's Chimay beer on tap and an Ahi tuna ceviche on the menu. Appetizers range from crispy wild boar ribs to broiled Gulf oysters with apple-smoked bacon. The restaurant, housed in a two-story 1873 brick building, features a lovely whitewashed brick interior, leather booths, and an upstairs bar with more dining space and a stage for live music.

Finding this place can seem like a culinary scavenger hunt, but the search is worth the effort. Just look for a yellow Leatha's sign and smoke rising behind the Dairy Queen to lead you to baby back ribs and chicken that fall off the bone, pulled pork that melts in your mouth, and sauce that's good enough to drink. Although Ms. Leatha passed away in 2013, her two daughters are carrying on her legacy of down-home hospitality served up as generous portions of consistently good food. The pecan pie makes a perfect conclusion to the meal. Parties of six or more should call ahead for seating.

This "new school barbecue" joint debuted its brick-and-mortar location in south Austin in 2024 after years of slinging its choice cuts of smoked meats at a nearby food truck lot. Die-hard fans were ecstatic to see their beloved barbecue pitmasters expand their menu into exciting new territory, with inventive takes on tacos, burgers, and mouthwatering extras like hog fat cornbread and kale Caesar slaw.

The town of Lexington is the base for Carolina's sweet, red-sauce style of barbecue. At this mainstay where locals line up daily for takeout, meat is pulled from smoked pork shoulders and served up as a sandwich in a soft bun topped with red slaw. Finish with a traditional fruit cobbler.

Enjoy the laid-back Southern atmosphere at this Carolina barbecue joint. Grab a plate, get in the buffet line, and load up on brisket, pulled pork barbecue, fried chicken, ribs, and fried fish, along with fixings such as collards, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese.

Michael Symon, TV celebrity chef and the man who revived the Cleveland culinary scene, took his show on the road to Las Vegas with this meat-centric spot at the Palms. "Pig Parts" (crispy ears, tails and cracklin's) may seem like a novelty to some, but there's no doubting the seriousness of his pork, beef, poultry, and carefully conceived sides, as well as the long list of brews to go with them. The airy, two-level space takes on a sports-bar vibe for high-profile games, complete with a "Tailgate Menu."

A hickory smoke oven was imported from Louisiana to give authentic flavor to the Southern-style cooking found here. Slow cooking takes on a new meaning when meats are smoked for 4–15 hours. Hearty dishes of pulled pork, ribs, chicken, and crab cakes are served with your choice of two sides; the cheese grits and collard greens are popular.