BBQ in the DC Metro Area - 2011 on

[weinoo]

With a year and a half of traveling to DC on a fairly regular basis, I don't really have an opinion on what's the best barbecue anywhere in the DC metro area. So much of what I've tried is pretty bad; bad enough where I have no remembrance of the names.

There was some place up on 14th St NW that sucked. Badly. It had the appearance that it might be good - big stack of logs in the window. Just a window behind bullet-prof glass where you order and pick. To no avail.

There's Hogs on the Hill. Which may have been good on one of my visits, but was really not on my next time back. A few others. And then there was this, which I stumbled upon one afternoon while taking a drive to have lunch...

Remember, we were going to lunch, so we didn't stop.

We stopped on the way back instead. To greet this guy, who was manning the smokers...

And selling his wares out of this portable unit...

It's The Tender Rib, which is evidently in this parking lot, in the middle of nowhere out near RFK Stadium, on Thursday and Saturday afternoons. He fortunately has a website and a bricks and mortar operation as well, since we'd just had lunch and didn't order anything.

But he ran over to the car and insisted we try his ribs...

How were they? Simply, the best ribs I've tried in the area. And actually, maybe as good as any others I've tried. Pink ring, nice and smoky, Tender, juicy with just the right amount of chew. A rub that's not overpowering but complimentary to the flavor of the pork. There wasn't any sauce on these samples; they didn't need any. I can't wait to try out all of his stuff out of restaurant. Soon.

Interesting enough, there's another guy who operates his smoker in a parking lot and out of an old bus parked off of Rhode Island Avenue. In a Safeway parking lot. Mr. P's Ribs and Fish. Supposed to be good. Last time I stopped there, he was closed.

And I can't forget, of course, that the big news is that Hill Country has opened a huge restaurant, two weeks ago in Penn Quarter. It has a lot of people confused, both on the quality and the whole ticket shebang. I'll let it settle in before I head over there for some damned good brisket.

[DTBarton]

I've been going to Dotson's barbecue in Glen Burnie, MD for many years. They can be a bit inconsistent, but the ribs and chicken are usually very good. Variety of sides. Located at 7317 E. Furnace Branch Road in Glen Burnie.

[DTBarton]

Update on Dotson's barbecue. A few days ago, I went to Dotson's for the first time in a couple years and they are no more. This surprised me as they had been an institution in that Glen Burnie neighborhood for many years. They had a cook shack across the street from the restaurant and it appeared to have burned down at some point.

[cegadede]

I'll be in DC for the first time this October. I don't know if I've watched too many episodes of "house of Cards" but I'm really in the mood to try the kind of ribs the main character keeps eating all the time.

Any recommendations?

Edited July 27, 2015 by cegadede (log)

[weinoo]

There really aren't any "best" ribs in DC.

 

This place does a fair job...The Tender Rib.

 

Tim Carman ranks bbq here.

 

Older, from DCist.

 

There's also Hogs on the Hill - I've gotten lucky there once in a while.

[curls]

Yes, weinoo is right, DC is not a great place for BBQ. Maybe you would like some other recommendations... we do have a lot of good restaurants.

[weinoo]

I think your best all-around spot for barbecue, in a tourist area, coming in at under $100 per couple, will be Hill Country.

 

The brisket can be very good - ask for fatty!

[Hassouni]

Haven't been yet, but people are raving about DCity Smokehouse

[weinoo]

Haven't been yet, but people are raving about DCity Smokehouse

Some of the pictures look good, but man, that is a neighborhood that is not high on one to visit, if the OP is only in DC as a tourist for a short time.

[Hassouni]

Some of the pictures look good, but man, that is a neighborhood that is not high on one to visit, if the OP is only in DC as a tourist for a short time.

 

Yes, very true. It's not even high on the list for a resident.

[weinoo]

Unless the resident is the president, like the one on House of Cards.