BEST BBQ IN SAN FRANCISCO

[Canthespam]

I'm sure that the answer to this is somewhere on Chow, but I can't find it. Not too crazy about Baby Blues or Memphis Minnie's. Hopefully your responses deliver.

Thanks

[Kim Cooper]

several years ago, the first Chowhound event we attended was a blind BBQ tasting. Memphis Minnie's won first place. Everett and Jones won both second and last place -- two different sites.
Because we had such a fun time at this tasting and made our first connection to Chowhounders, I've read most of the posts on BBQ over the years. My overall opinion is they vary so much from day to day and hour to hour and site to site, that it's almost useless to discuss. You pays your money and you takes your chances...
I've never had "real" BBQ so I have no opinion - we go to Armadillo Willy's in Foster City sometimes.

[moto]

you might find a wider range of choices on the east bay side for bbq -- of course you could fine none of it worth the trip, but if you're traveling through consider trying a different one depending on which freeway you're on. Berkeley, Lafayette, Oakland, and surrounding towns all have variations depending on where the cook learned the craft. bbq is a lot about personal preferences and sampling different ones will probably get you satisfactory results (or not) as quickly as taking another's recommendation.

[Canthespam]

We had worked ourselves in a BBQ frenzy for dinner Saturday night and that is why I made my original post. We then called Baby Blues and after we had placed our delivery order, we were told that their area stopped ONE block from our house! We even offered to walk down and meet the bicycle delivery guy on Diamond St. (the boundary for deliveries) and they said no.

The we decided to give Memphis Minnie's another try and ... guess what, their delivery area ended about 3 blocks from our house... by then we were desperate for BBQ and placed a take out order. We arrived 25 minutes later and had to wait an additional 25 minutes for our order, as it was Saturday night and the place was packed.

The food was excellent, the ribs were meaty and flavorful and the brisket was tasty without too much fat. The mac and cheese was excellent, as were the corn bread and the pecan pie.

So, we are glad that we gave them another chance - they surpassed our expectations.

[doubledeuce80]

i like gorilla bbq way better then memphis minnies. i know not in sf, but close and if u have car it is worth the drive.

[tjinsf]

I agree I like gorilla bbq when I have a BBQ craving but the worst stuff I had in southern virginia last week was still better than the best BBQ in SF.

[Civil Bear]

Although I like Gorilla's setup (cook limited quantities and sell until he runs out), I was not very impressed with his bbq the one time I was there. The single sauce offered was particularly dreadfull, and the meats did not have enough rub to be eaten without it.

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Gorilla Barbecue
2145 Cabrillo Hwy, Pacifica, CA 94044

[virtualguthrie]

The best BBQ in San Francisco can be found somewhere in Texas. Memphis Minnie's is pretty much the best we've got.

[poser]

Why don't you like Memphis Minnie's?

[Canthespam]

We took an out of town visitor there a few years back - our first time. We knew that we would be eating late and I called them the evening before to make sure that the ribs would be nice and fresh at that hour, about 9:30PM or so. I was assured that their meat was always freshly cooked. I even called back about 1/2 hour before we arrived and was given the same answer. Well.... it was absolutely horrible. Everything looked as if it had been sitting for hours and was very very dry. We were not only embarrassed, but very disappointed.

[Civil Bear]

That is a shame. Regardless of the location I always ask how is the brisket before ordering, but the response is almost always the same.

Regarding MM's, I still think they are the best in the Bay Area, with the St. Louis cut ribs being the one exception. Unfortunately they have been dry on more than one occasion.

[tjinsf]

Memphis Minnie's is horrible as is most SF BBQ. I've have never been there when the ribs weren't dry and the rest was either greasy or lacked flavour.

[Robert Lauriston]

There are lots of answers in this ongoing discussion:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/484818

[DavidT]

Have you done a search of this board for past BBQ discussions? This topic has been discussed many, many time times before. The reality is there is very little BBQ in the Bay Area that can stand up to the best you can find in Texas or Kansas City or Memphis.