No one would describe D.C. as a barbecue town on the classic sense. JFK famously described Washington as “a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.” And being in this regional middle ground also means that D.C. doesn’t have a smoked meat style to call its own. Thankfully, we have our fair share of imports, from beefy Texas brisket to piquant North Carolina pulled pork to St. Louis style ribs. Below are our best bets for decent ‘cue around town, building off a previous list from 2013. Let us know your favorites in the comments.
Photo by Jen Morrissey.
AMERICAN ICE COMPANY: While American Ice Company is probably best known for outdoor seating and being really crowded, it’s also a great place to get Texas-style barbecue and some barbecue inspired-eats—namely swachos, the barbecue pork nachos in gooey white cheese covered with jalapeños. They also have more traditional BBQ options: a sandwich with slaw (which in my mind should always go on the sandwich), a platter with slaw and beans, or a combo with two meats plus the slaw and beans. And they are all pretty tasty, though to me the brisket and its pink smoke ring shines. There’s also a delicious hot sauce, a couple of solid sausages, salad, snacks, and the all-nighter sandwich: white bun, pulled pork, and melted cheese. It’s only available late at night but they sometimes run out. —Andrew Wiseman
American Ice Company is located at 917 V Street NW.
BBQ BUS AT DENIZEN’S BREWING:If only every brewery could have an attached BBQ joint and a large outdoor patio! That’s the magic formula discovered by Denizens Brewing Co. In addition to house-made belgian-style quadrupels and dunkels (which are in fact beers, and not basketball moves), you can get pulled pork or chicken in the form of tacos, sandwiches, or sliders. Kudos to Denizens and BBQ Bus for making a lovely outdoor hangout near Montgomery College’s art campus and the former Canada Dry bottling plant. Also, there are fried pickles! — Josh Kramer
Denizen’s Brewing is located at 1115 East-West Hightway in Silver Spring, Md.
DCITY SMOKEHOUSE: Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s hard to miss DCity Smokehouse. Located on the corner of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue NW, the less than two-year-old barbecue outpost draws in hungry crowds with pitmaster Robert Sonderman’s solid offerings of pork ribs, brisket, and chicken among other specialities. If you’re looking for Texas barbeque, this isn’t your place. Kansas City style? Try somewhere else — and hopefully it’ll be in Missouri. DCity Smokehouse’s barbecue is in a class all its own that showcases Sonderman’s training as a chef. He’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with stints at Bistro Bis and Cambridge, Mass.-based Craigie on Maine. Before opening DCity Smokehouse, he was pitmaster at Penn Quarter staple Hill Country Barbeque. Each cut of meat—whether a spare rib, a brisket, or one of the restaurant’s unforgettable pit wings — is moist and fresh. While the house-made sauces are excellent, you really don’t need them. The food here is just that good. It’s easy to put yourself in a meat-induced food coma, but don’t neglect the sides. For $3, a heaping order of crispy Brussels sprouts are a standout of the lineup. Spicy collards are also a must-have, prepared with just the right hint of heat. D.C. still may not be a barbecue town, but DCity Smokehouse is a great step in the right direction. — Juana Summers
DCity Smokehouse is located at 8 Florida Avenue NW.
FAT PETE’S: The Post recently ranked Fat Pete’s among the best barbecue in the city, and while we’re not sure it’s #1 (rankings are pretty arbitrary anyway, right?), it’s still pretty tasty. Weirdos Fans of North Carolina’s vinegary brand of ‘cue will find a home here, with Carolina-style pulled pork sandwiches topped with coleslaw and a bottle of the state’s signature thin, tangy sauce at every table. Fat Pete’s trades in a lot of sauces, including the more unusual mustard-based BBQ sauce, as well as Alabama white sauce—highly recommended atop their moist, flavorful pulled chicken. There’s also a melting 18-hour smoked brisket and two types of ribs: baby back and St. Louis-style pork ribs. — Alicia Mazzara
Fat Pete’s is located at 3407 Connecticut Avenue NW.
GARDEN DISTRICT: If the packed tables are any indicator, barbecue just might taste better when eaten outdoors. Despite the almost complete lack of an indoor space, Garden District manages to serve up a moist, juicy brisket sandwich, best washed down with one of its giant mugs of German beers. Aside from the standard sandwich fare, be on the lookout for specials, including a whole smoked pig’s head. Eating pig face is not for the faint of heart, but I can’t imagine a better way to eat ears, jowls, and snout than with some barbecue sauce. —Alicia Mazzara, from our 2013 best BBQ list
Garden District is located at 1801 14th Street NW.
Photo by LaTur.
HILL COUNTRY: We know, we know, it’s Texas-style barbecue from New York City, a place not typically associated with this uniquely American tradition. But I’ll be damned if my brisket isn’t perfectly moist and tender every time. And you should be ordering brisket, as it’s the specialty of the house. Other Lone Star touches—like the selection of Shiner Bock, Blue Bell ice cream, Kreuz sausages, and absurd portion sizes—are enough to make a homesick Texan feel right at home. — Alicia Mazzara
Hill Country is located at 410 7th Street NW.
KANGAROO BOXING CLUB: Come for the pulled pork, stay for the maple butter johnny cakes and addictive falafel balls. This tiny beer-and-barbecue spot smokes its pork for 16 hours over hickory and applewood for a deep flavor and melting texture. KBC also makes a solid brisket and its own pastrami, available on its own, in a reuben, or ground into a burger named for Seinfeld character George Constanza. Despite all of this, the restaurant also has a number of delicious vegetarian options, including crisp smoked falafel and the Veg and Egg, a mash-up of roasted and sauteed vegetable, quinoa, and barbecue sauce so satisfying that you might almost forget there’s no meat in it. Don’t worry though, there’s always the option to add pulled pork. And be on the lookout for drop-ins by NBC4’s Tom Sherwood, whose son, Peyton, runs the place. —Alicia Mazzara, from our 2013 2013 best BBQ list
Kangaroo Boxing Club is located at 3410 11th Street NW
SMOKE AND BARREL: Oh, sure. DCist has praised this beer, bourbon, and barbecue-filled bar at the mouth of Adams Morgan plenty of times before, and it deserves another round of plaudits here. Every night, chef Logan McGear’s kitchen turns out trays of brisket, pork, chicken, and ribs, all available dry rubbed, sauced, or “muddy” (a combination of sauce and rub, i.e., the way to go). Smoke also serves up pork wings—pig shanks mounted on lollipop skewers—and vegan wings, which even the most carnivorous diner should order up every now and then. And then there are the sauces, from mild but hardly simple barbecue to fresh concoctions such as maple habañero. —Benjamin R. Freed, from our 2013 2013 best bbq list
Smoke and Barrel is located at 2471 18th Street NW.
ROCKLANDS BARBEQUE AND GRILLING COMPANY: This small chain, with only four locations, is spread out across D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. I always order the pork ribs (they also have beef ribs), but I hear good things about the brisket and pulled pork too. The sides—baked beans, corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, fried okra—are also tasty. And your dog will love it too. Rocklands’ Arlington location will gladly give out leftover bones for you to take home to your furry friend. And the Alexandria location is only a few blocks from Port City Brewing Company, setting up an easy summertime beer-and-barbecue jaunt. —Elisabeth Grant, from our 2013 2013 best bbq list
Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company is located at 2418 Wisconsin Avenue NW; 3471 Washington Avenue, Arlington; 25 S. Quaker Lane, Alexandria; and 891A Rockville Pike, Rockville.
