For the East Coasters, The Big Apple Block Party in Madison Party in NYC is coming up on June 9th and 10th. 18 famous Pitmasters will be there cooking tons of Q. I'll be cooking with Myron Mixon at Jack's Old South if you come by, make sure and say hi.

Yeah, they seem to be working off the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" strategy.

But it seems like these places could make a lot more money if they had better service. Franklin in particular. (Kreuz's line moved a lot faster and, though they were busy, was able to handle the traffic). 2.5 hour lines have to turn people off.

Yes, it's part of the mystique. But say they added another smoker, another pitmaster, another butcher, and a cashier. They can cook more food, serve more people, maybe even be open for dinner. That would have to make them more money, right?

God this thread has made me incredibly hungry, and living in Australia = no easy access to such delicious foods :@

Decided to say FU to this attitude, and instead chose to try my hand at making something delicious here at home. Just put some ribs on the grill, going to cook for about an hour and then baste with some bbq sauce to finish cooking with.

Dryrub (cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt & pepper - as per a couple of recipes I saw on youtube):



hoping for the best!

Finished product, they ended up a little overdone on the outside but were still soft & tender on the inside





Could have been better but not disappointed at all for it being my first shot at ribs.

Thanks to a lot of the expert posters ITT for inspiration!

Not sure about the other places, but you can only smoke so much at once, so unless you invest in more equipment and more people to BBQ, you are limited on what you can sell. The line is just one way to cut into this.

Rudy's will typically have a pretty big line at lunch, but it moves really fast. But they just open more locations, etc...

I think Franklin is trying to expand (it used to just be a trailer), but there's a limit to how fast you can realistically do that. The line probably adds to the legend along with the urgency (if you can't just walk up to it, then you better make an event out of going).

subtle brag right there

Thanks for the link. I've mentioned this here before, but I ate at John Muellers all the time the last year I lived in Austin, and it was the best BBQ in town by a really, really wide margin, and that includes the original Muellers, Kreutz and Coopers (keep in mind that I have never been to whatever neighborhood in North Carolina leoslayer is from, so I don't know what I am talking about, apparently). I would make everyone I know go there, and everyone, without exception, said it was the best brisket they ever had. The place was cheap, right in the center of town, and was somehow always empty. I could never understand it. If this guy has a new joint then it would be a must visit for anyone in the area.

Corky's BBQ in Memphis is some of the best on the planet BBQ. Ate at BB King's once, had their ribs and they were fabulous also. I look for good BBQ everywhere I travel but these two seem to be the best I have ever found.

Definitely brag worthy. I'd love to order one of his smokers.

How is Myron in person? Basically, how much of him (particularly his arrogance) on the TLC bbq series was an act and how much was his real life personality?

so if I'm going to Lockhart on a regular Monday in June, do I have to worry about a crazy long wait? Especially if I'm willing to pick the shortest line out of Kruez, Smittys, or Blacks?

I went to Smitty's on a weekday at around 3 pm (early dinner). I was literally the only person in the entire restaurant.

I went to Kreuz's on a Saturday at noon and the line was really manageable (maybe 10 minute wait). And while one dining are was almost full, the was another section of dining area that was empty (it's a really big building).

this is a pretty famous spot lots of celebs go there. best in the raleigh metro (triangle) but i rank them number 4 in the state and number 2 for eastern style.

http://www.bullocksbbq.com/

Corky's really isn't that great imo.

Not sure what your experience with BBQ overall is but I know of 5-6 that are better off the top of my head.

I'd go with Kreuz.

There will never be a long line on a weekday. Even on the weekends it's never too bad, especially considering the drive most people have to make to get out there. If you have to drive an hour to get there it's not a big deal waiting for 15 minutes on a Sunday.

90% act. Myron's a great guy.

BTW, the new season of BBQ Pitmasters just started. Airs on Destination America (the new name for Planet Green. Channel 286 on DirecTV). They're airing a mini-marathon of it as I type this.

Unless you cook big parties stick with the 18.5. Most people who cook spares on the WSM roll them ala Paul Kirk or just cut them in half and rack them.

Please enlighten me with what some of those places are and where they are. I am not saying it is the best, just some of the best I have ever tried, and thanks!

Lol seriously, if it is off the top of your head it shouldn't take more than 60 seconds. Your posting shouldn't just be for nay saying, but to help others find good places.

I can't defend capone0's lack of effort, but I do defend his position. Rendezvous, Central BBQ, and The BBQ Shop are all far better than Corky's IMO. I'm sure there are others as well, but I'm not in Memphis often enough to sample them all. My first choice has always been Rendezvous.

I've got the 22". I can do 6 racks of ribs laid flat (3 on each grate) or 12 racks rolled (6 on each grate). Rolling them is really no big deal so don't let that stop you from going with the 18". You'll use less charcoal with the 18". Other than that and the size of the cooking area they are pretty much the same. I do a lot of stuff for my bar & grill so I'm glad I went with the bigger model. I'm actually looking at getting something even bigger.

BTW, if anyone wants to have a 2+2 meetup at Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor TX, we should make it happen. My wife is not the biggest BBQ fan, so any excuse I can get to go out there I will take. Saturdays would be ideal for lunch.

Totally disagree. Rendezvous is OK at best, and if you factor in service it verges on bad.

Imo the mop they add to the ribs before serving doesn't add anything at all.