What does barbecue mean to you? Is it a pile of Carolina pulled pork doused in spice and vinegar? Maybe a plate of burnt ends coated in a thick, sweet sauce? Or perhaps you prefer smoked chicken with white sauce, or a slab of spice-coated ribs, hold the sauce. No matter which barbecue style has your loyalty, it's undeniable that many of the best barbecue joints in the world are found in the South.
For the past four weeks USA TODAY 10Best readers have been casting their votes for the Best Southern BBQ, and the results are in!
It was a tough fight throughout between Kansas City- and Texas-style barbecue, but in the end, KC came out tops, with Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que winning the most reader votes and the title of Best Southern BBQ.
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, runner-up for Best Southern BBQ, serves up a mouthwatering variety of traditional Texas-style smoked meats in the tiny Texas town of Llano. Texas and KC racked up every spot in the top five, as well as seven of the top 10 spots!
The top 10 winners in the category Best Southern BBQ are as follows:
- Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que - Kansas City, Kan.
- Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que - Llano, Texas
- Luling City Market - Luling, Texas
- Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse - Dallas
- Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue - Kansas City, Mo.
- Skylight Inn BBQ - Ayden, N.C.
- Scott's Bar-B-Que - Hemingway, S.C.
- Dreamland Bar-B-Que - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Arthur Bryant's Barbeque - Kansas City, Mo.
- Black's Barbecue - Lockhart, Texas
A panel of experts picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Larry Bleiberg (LarryBleiberg.com), Tanner Latham (AuthenticUsStories.com) and Lacy Morris (10Best Editor) were chosen based on their extensive knowledge of travel in the American South.
Other nominees for Best Southern BBQ included Archibald & Woodrow's BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala.; Cozy Corner Barbecue in Memphis; Franklin Barbecue in Austin; Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q in Kansas City, Mo.; Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas; Miss Myra's Pit Bar-B-Q in Vestavia Hills, Ala.; Saw's BBQ in Birmingham, Ala.; Smitty's Market in Lockhart, Texas and Wilber's Barbecue in Goldsboro, N.C.
10Best and USA TODAY extend their congratulations to all the winners. The contest was promoted on 10Best and USA TODAY.
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The Experts
Larry Bleiberg
Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with... Read More
Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with magazine, newspaper and web experience and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, has spent much of his career living in, and writing about, the South. The Virginia native is former travel editor of the Dallas Morning News and Coastal Living magazine and founder of CivilRightsTravel.com. He served on a Pulitzer Prize team, is a seven-time Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award winner, and was honored for producing the best newspaper travel section in North America. Learn more at LarryBleiberg.com or facebook.com/larry.bleiberg.
Larry Bleiberg

Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with magazine, newspaper and web experience and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, has spent much of his career living in, and writing about, the South. The Virginia native is former travel editor of the Dallas Morning News and Coastal Living magazine and founder of CivilRightsTravel.com. He served on a Pulitzer Prize team, is a seven-time Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award winner, and was honored for producing the best newspaper travel section in North America. Learn more at LarryBleiberg.com or facebook.com/larry.bleiberg.
Tanner Latham
Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and... Read More
Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and multimedia storyteller. Before becoming a contributor to NPR and other publications, he worked for 10 years as a travel editor with Southern Living. Tanner’s latest book is called Country Music’s Greatest Eats, and he hosts a nationally distributed culture and travel podcast called Authentic US. To listen and learn more, visit AuthenticUsStories.com.
Tanner Latham

Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and multimedia storyteller. Before becoming a contributor to NPR and other publications, he worked for 10 years as a travel editor with Southern Living. Tanner’s latest book is called Country Music’s Greatest Eats, and he hosts a nationally distributed culture and travel podcast called Authentic US. To listen and learn more, visit AuthenticUsStories.com.
Lacy Morris
Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in... Read More
Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in Kansas or the wooded hollers of the Appalachian mountains, where Lacy grew up, cultivated her deep longing to see the world and experience how others live their life. Lacy followed up her childhood by somehow staying put long enough to craft a degree in journalism, focusing on both travel and photography. A stint as the travel and culture editor for Southern Living magazine took her through every nook and cranny of the South, from glitzy South Beach to the horse farms in Kentucky. Though she is now loving being a fulltime resident of New York City, she sure does miss the friendly faces you’ll find below the Mason-Dixon line.
Lacy Morris

Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in Kansas or the wooded hollers of the Appalachian mountains, where Lacy grew up, cultivated her deep longing to see the world and experience how others live their life. Lacy followed up her childhood by somehow staying put long enough to craft a degree in journalism, focusing on both travel and photography. A stint as the travel and culture editor for Southern Living magazine took her through every nook and cranny of the South, from glitzy South Beach to the horse farms in Kentucky. Though she is now loving being a fulltime resident of New York City, she sure does miss the friendly faces you’ll find below the Mason-Dixon line.