Travelling to the Best Barbecue Places in All 50 U.S. States

Throughout childhood, barbecue has always been a favorite of mine and my dad's. Our favorite place to go in my home area of the San Francisco Bay was a Texas BBQ chain called Armadillo Willy's. Due to our shared enjoyment of the wonderfulness that is barbecue, we recently came up with the idea of travelling across the entire U.S. to try what every state has to offer. Our list of which places would qualify as the best were from Food and Wine Magazine: https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/best-bbq-restaurants . Now let's see what the first states on our bucket list have to offer!

First up is the Bay State: Massachusetts. For me, Massachusetts is almost like a second home. It was the second state I had ever visited (First being my birth state of New York). The first thing I think of when I am in Massachusetts is Boston, a city of drunken Irishmen and pizza that is possibly the best in the U.S. but overshadowed by its big brother, New York.

Our location, B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge was a bit out of the way of Boston, yet luckily right on the way to my college at UMass. First thing to know is this place is BYOB. No problem for an 18 year old looking forward to some root beer like I was, but not for my father. Luckily, the best brewery in Massachusetts, Tree House Brewing Co. was only a few minutes down the road.

After getting our beer we ordered after waiting for a while in line. We decided on ordering the "Whole Hog". A smorgasbord of the trinity of barbecue meats that we expect to have during most of our trips: ribs, brisket, and pulled pork. We also ordered a few sides and some smoked chicken wings. After about 10 minutes we received our food on a nice big platter and it certainly did not disappoint. My first bite was a Mango Habanero wing, which had crispy skin and had a very subtle flavor rather than being drenched in sauce, how good barbecue should be, meat focused. Next we dug into the brisket which was nice and tender with nice amount of fat. The ribs which were rather large and didn't fall off the bone, however had an unbeatable taste that screamed that you were eating at a smokehouse. Then lastly the pulled pork which was another example of the signature unique smoky flavor that B.T.'s had to offer with all of their meats. On the side we had a cucumber salad which was cucumbers lightly pickled in vinegar. This cut the filling nature of the meat perfectly. Another point of mention is the sauce selection was on point. Vinegar, tomato based, spicy... every table came equipped with a good selection that kept every bite varied and the experience of eating the food interesting.

Overall, B.T.'s Smokehouse was the best barbecue I had eaten in my life up to that point. I have already been back there and will need to take another trip to get an official photo for my scrapbook. Well worth the journey.

The barbecue however keeps getting better! Coming soon: Florida with 4 Rivers Smokehouse in Winter Park

Isaac signing off!

[I will figure out how to upload pictures in the meantime, so y'all can see some photos of our journeys.]