good bbq (PHX)

[Toge]

i would like too mention a couple of good bbq places, and then ask for some opinions on other good bbq. i love Bobby-Q's on I-17. I also like Phoenix BBQ on 51st and Northern.

[biga290]

My wife and I drove up to Cave Creek from Central Phoenix this afternoon to try Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue for the first time. Bryan's is certainly the best barbecue in the Valley, if not the world. I had the brisket and chicken combo and my wife had the pulled pork sandwich. The brisket is like the brisket at Kreutz Market in Lockhart, TX, relatively lean, heavily smoked with those red smoke rings and incredibly tender. The chicken is served off the bone yet is firm and incredibly moist and flavorful. I tried my wife's pulled pork and it too was outstanding -- long strings, moist and flavorful and the sandwich was huge. On the side, the fries are hot and crispy on the outside and potatoy on the inside and dipping in the homemade "spicy" sauce makes them even better. The "baked" potato salad is OK but the 6 gun beans are a much better starch. As for the homemade sauces they are a mix of tomato and vinegar kind of a cross between eastern and western north carolina style and very good. the spicy sauce is not hot its just has a bit more vinegar than the regular sauce. This lunch was well worth the half hour drive. Bryan does a terrific barbecue with big portions and exceedingly reasonable prices. We are definitely going back very soon.

[mdepsmom]

I noticed this morning that Big Daddy's BBQ at 101/Shea is gone -- not sure how long ago it closed up. I never tried it but always planned to.

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Big Daddy's BBQ
8608 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260-6614

[dragonflyjd]

I love Joe's Real BBQ. It is one of my favorites. My other favorite is ONLY available at LUNCH. If you ever are in the area at lunch time, try The Barbecue Company off 36th street below Roeser in Phoenix. The have great brisket, ribs and, an amazing bleu cheese cole slaw!

http://www.thebbqco.com/index.php

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The Barbecue Company
4636 S 36th St, Phoenix, AZ 85040

[cactuschowdah]

How can we talk BBQ in Phoenix and not mention Hap's Real Pit BBQ? For my money, the best there is if you like your BBQ with super rich, smoky, thick sauce.

http://www.hapsbbq.com/

[aynrandgirl]

Rich can be good if it isn't super sweet. Do they have a real pit?

[Dmnkly]

I like BBQ that pays more attention to the meat than the sauce. How's Hap's on that count?

Good sauces are a dime a dozen, no matter what your preference is. Pulling the beauty out of the meat is where the art is.

[cactuschowdah]

Yeah, the meat is incredibly good- super moist, tender, and juicy. I usually just get a pound of brisket and chow down low-carb style.

[Dmnkly]

Got to Hap's today only to discover that I'd actually been there before, maybe a year ago.

It's... okay. I dunno, it's better than most around here I suppose, but I can't get excited about it. I have yet to find a BBQ place with a Southern Pride where the ribs don't taste more baked than smoked to me. But I realize that honest to god pitmasters are an increasingly rare breed these days, and maybe I should just adjust expectations accordingly.

Links were uninspiring, and didn't have that crisp snap that I like in a smoked hot link. Chicken wasn't bad, but had some oddly blackened skin... there's a high-heat portion of the cooking process? Ribs were okay, if a little lean and dry. Most puzzling to me was the smoke flavor. They were quite smoky, but the smoke was of a very dirty character, like when you have a cookout on a grill that hasn't been cleaned in far too long. I acknowledge the humor in complaining about smoke being dirty. But I trust that BBQ folks will understand what I'm getting at. There's sweet and flavorful smoke, and there's dirty smoke. This felt more like the latter.

Anyway, the hunt goes on.

[Dapuma]

Scottsdale BBQ Co is good

corner of granite reef and mcdonald

it is way off the road in the plaza with bashas in a corner

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Scottsdale BBQ Co
8471 E McDonald Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85250

[drewb123]

A MUST is the ptts again, the guy was on drive-ins, dives, diners on the food network. His BBQ sauce is the best of all the mentioned places so far. I highly reccomend it. Especially the pulled pork sandwich.

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The Pitts again - duplicate
phx, AZ, phx, AZ

[hohokam]

place link...

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Thee Pitts Again
5558 W Bell Rd, Glendale, AZ 85308

[texasredtop]

I thought the pulled pork was just okay. The sliced smoked beef was good. Not brisket like we do here in Texas but still good. Much better than the pork IMO.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Plan yourself a road trip to beautiful downtown Wikieup (halfway between Phoenix and Vegas) some time, and go to Eat At Joe's Barbecue. The BBQ there is absolutely phenomenal. It's one of the main reasons I never fly to Vegas.

[Firenza00]

Our fave is out in the hinterlands in Gilbert, Joe's Real BBQ. We love their sauce.

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Joe's Real Barbecue
301 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85234

[azhotdish]

and their beans. i'm a big fan.

[nyomi]

and cheesy potatoes, don't forget the potatoes.

[Jess321]

Love Joe's!! I moved about a year ago out of AZ and I miss this place a lot (and I didn't even live nearby-it was a 45 minute drive that I happily took often). If anyone's interested, noca is doing a throwdown with Joe's Real BBQ on Aug 15th, should be amazing!

[johnseberg]

Check the Sunday Simple Supper Schedule on Noca's website for details of the "Food War" (BBQ Brisket and also Cupcakes).

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Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

[Rubee]

We finally got to Joe's Real BBQ this week, and count us in as fans too. E being from Texas was impressed with the brisket, while I ordered the chicken at Joe's suggestion. Loved it, especially with a little of the "We Dare You" bbq sauce (habanero). Hot links were excellent as well. My favorite side was the BBQ pit beans, though cheesy potatoes and coleslaw were also very good. Now I wish we had ordered some to-go as it's a bit of a drive for us (but worth it!).

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Joe's Real BBQ
301 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert 85234

[ethereal]

First of all, are the reviews for Joe's Real Barbecue still accurate? I know I've pulled up an older post.

Visiting Scottsdale for the first time this weekend. Husband loves some good BBQ, and our area is distinctly void of it (PNW). So if we drive out to Gilbert for lunch...is the road at all scenic? Is there a scenic way to go?

I am sure my husband would think the destination justified any means, if these reviews still hold true, but since it's my first visit would love to make the journey enjoyable too.

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Joe's Real Barbecue
301 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85234

[Firenza00]

Joe's is still a great as ever. We were just there Friday night.

There really aren't many scenic roads in Phoenix metro. Mostly highways and 2-3 lane side roads.

[AnonymousWaitress]

The road will be all freeway and not scenic...and depending on where you are in scottsdale anywhere from 30-45 minutes probably. I really like Joe's but don't know if I would drive that far for it when there's so many other great options in scottsdale, but is all depends on how much he loves bbq, I'm by no means a connoisseur so it'd be tough to get me to drive 45 minutes for bbq :)

[avandelay]

If you are in North Scottsdale, you may be somewhat close to Bryan's Black Mountain BBQ in Cave Creek, which is fantastic.

[johnseberg]

I haven't tried all of the BBQ in Phoenix, but, I have been frustrated going to several places that were reportedly good or great. While not anything like good BBQ, the carne adovada at Dick's Hideaway and Rokerij is a load of smoky, spicy pork. And, the cochinita pibil at Barrio Cafe is also something you don't see everyday. Just a thought.

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Barrio Cafe
2814 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85006

Dick's Hideaway
6008 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Rokerij
6335 N. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016

[Seth Chadwick]

I have quite enjoyed the BBQ at Restaurant 28 in Glendale. It is a family run place and is housed in a dumpy strip mall, but the BBQ was wonderful (as were the side dishes, especially the Hush Puppies).

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Restaurant 28
5023 W Olive Ave, Glendale, AZ 85302

[Firenza00]

They took over the old Shish Kebab House location in the same little strip mall, so they should have a much larger space now.

[azhotdish]

i would recommend stacy's smokehouse at 17th st / indian school, just west of the 51 in a purple building. they do a sweeter sauce, so if that's not your thing, ask for it on the side. the pork ribs fall off the bone, but the pulled pork is my favorite. they do fried chicken on the weekends, which is quite good. sides are not their strong suit, but i'd recommend the fried pickles or onion rings. service is a little slow, and it's cash only.
http://www.stacyssmokehousebbq.com/

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Stacy's Smokehouse
1650 E Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ

[vimacai]

I really like Stacie's. They do take cards now. The greens are really good, too.