The Daily Meal, a website that claims to produce “more culinary content than any other resource,” has awarded Birmingham, Alabama-based Jim N’ Nick’s the top spot on their new list of “The 10 Best Barbecue Chains in America.” Not far behind is Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based Moe’s Original BBQ, coming in at number 9.
Not only did an Alabama company win the top spot on the list, the Yellowhammer State was also the only state to claim more than one slot.
Roll Tide / War Eagle and pass the sauce, y’all.
The Daily Meal’s full top 10 list is below, along with the descriptions they wrote for the two Alabama companies.
10) Old Carolina BBQ Company, Ohio
9) Moe’s Original BBQ, Alabama
With more than 30 locations centered in Alabama and Colorado, Moe’s is doing barbecue right. It was founded by three friends from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and since 2001, it has grown from a small slopeside catering operation to a barbecue destination. They still offer catering, but a trip to any of their restaurants is sure to be a good time, and is also a great primer in Alabama-style barbecue. Pork and chicken are their showcased items, topped with the signature Alabama white barbecue sauce, but the Angus beef brisket, hot links, St. Louis spare ribs, and fried catfish are also worth saving room for.
8) Billy Sims BBQ, Oklahoma
7) Calhoun’s, Tennessee
6) Smokey Bones, Florida
5) Famous Dave’s, Minnesota
4) Dickey’s BBQ Pit, the world’s largest BBQ franchise, currently operating in 43 states
3) Red Hot & Blue, Virginia
2) Dinosaur BBQ, New York
1) Jim N’ Nick’s BBQ, Alabama
If you’re going to open a chain of barbecue restaurants in the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Colorado, you better make sure that your product is on-point. A visit to Jim N’ Nick’s, which was founded in 1985 by a father-son duo in Birmingham, Alabama and now has 30 locations, will show you that this is the real deal. Perennial exhibitors at best-of-the-best showcases like New York’s Big Apple BBQ Block Party, they’re smoking their own pork (sold pulled or chopped with a vinegary Carolina-style sauce), spare and baby back ribs, house-cured bone-in ham, legendary housemade pork hot links, chicken, turkey breast, and beef brisket, all served with a big dose of Southern hospitality. They also offer a killer hickory-grilled burger and pimento cheese sandwich, but honestly, you’re going to want to reserve all the room in your stomach for this crazy-good barbecue.
What do you think about The Daily Meal’s list? Let us know in the comment section below or by tweeting @YHPolitics.
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