BBQ from Coast to Coast

The southeastern United States is home to many great barbecue restaurants. If you are taking a trip to Atlanta, or just passing through, Fat Matt's Rib Shack is definitely worth a visit. Located at 1811 Piedmont Avenue, Fat Matt's is a local Atlanta tradition since 1990. Fat Matt's Rib Shack, as the name implies, is very casual. The ribs are delicious, but my favorite is the chopped pork barbecue sandwich that comes with chips for only $3.95. The sandwich, along with a side of their mouth-watering, rum baked beans will fill you up without breaking the bank. Fat Matt's Brunswick stew and pecan pie are also tasty choices. Their iced tea, which they simply refer to as tea in the south, is also excellent. You help yourself to the tea, so I like to mix half sweetened and half unsweetened tea for the perfect blend. In addition to getting your Q on, you can also get your blues on, because Fat Matt's features live blues bands nightly. It's hard to beat great barbecue and live blues music at low prices seven days a week. For more information online, check out: www.fatmattsribshack.com

The secret to Everett and Jones Barbeque lies in the sauce. The smoky, tangy, tomato-based barbeque sauce smothers all of the meat that is served at Everett and Jones. The sauce and the restaurant were the creations of Dorothy Everett, an Alabama woman, who relocated to California with her family. Dorothy could not find good barbeque in the San Francisco Bay Area, so she decided to make it herself in 1973. Since then, Everett and Jones has grown to six restaurant locations and its Super Q sauce is sold in restaurants throughout the Bay Area. My favorite menu item is the sampler plate, which feeds two people. The sampler plate comes with beef brisket, chicken, sausage, and ribs all covered in that wonderful barbeque sauce. The sampler plate also comes with two side items and a choice of bread. My favorites are the baked beans, collard greens, and cornbread. Of the six locations, three are in Oakland, California and you can get more information online at:
www.super-que.com

The award-winning Whole Hog Café is a must try destination for barbecue lovers traveling through Little Rock, Arkansas. What's special to me about Whole Hog Café is the six different delicious sauces to choose from. Whether you prefer Kansas City style, Memphis style, or (my personal favorite) mustard-based Carolina style, it's all right on the table for you to choose from. And you don't have to stick to just one, you can sample all of them right in front of you. That is, unless you want to try their secret "volcano" sauce, which you have to special order at the counter. I guess it's too hot to have lying around with the other sauces. The variety does not end with the sauces. Whole Hog Café offers a wide selection of tasty, barbecued meats including pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken, pork loin, and ribs. Their baked beans, coleslaw, brownies, and pecan pie will also make your mouth water. The good news is they are no longer located in just Arkansas. Whole Hog Café now also has locations in Memphis, New Orleans, and Santa Fe. Until you get to eat at Whole Hog Café, you can check them out online. Their address on the internet is: www.wholehogcafe.com

Well, by no means are these the only great barbecue restaurants in the United States. These are simply the best of the ones that I have stumbled across in my travels. If you have your own personal favorite, please list it in the comments section after this article. I am always on the lookout for great barbecue restaurants that I have yet to sample. Thank Q.