The Top 10 Surprisingly Great BBQ Cities In America

Just in time for Labor Day Weekend, Livability.com, a national website that highlights more than 500 of America’s best places to live and visit, has released a list of the Top 10 Best BBQ Cities – Surprisingly Great Places for BBQ.

Much has been written about the smoking, saucing and rubbing going on in places like Memphis, Austin, Chicago and Kansas City – those cities by which all other barbecue is measured. So for their list of the best places for BBQ, Livability.com editors purposely strayed from the herd, instead concentrating on those lesser known cities with a large and loyal local barbecue fan base.

To narrow down the list, editors looked at the number of barbecue restaurants, joints and shacks in a city as well as the quality of those establishments based on customer reviews – and in some cases, a little messy hands-on research.

“Part of what we do at Livability.com is uncover those hidden gems in cities and help them shine. So when a list of the best BBQ cities was proposed, it was decided that we wouldn’t take the easy route of listing the usual suspects. Instead we’d go mining for those gems that the rest of the country might not yet have discovered,” said John Hood, spokesman for Livability.com.

While some barbecue aficionados tend to favor one region over another – Texas brisket versus North Carolina pulled pork, for example – Hood is quick to point out that the quest for good barbecue knows no boundaries. While the entries on the Best BBQ Cities list might not pop up first on a Google search, they are sure to stir up plenty of delicious conversation.