1 Southwest Florida Barbecue Hot Spot Made The List For Best Barbecue In The U.S.
Southwest Florida Barbecue is a passion of mine, partly because we’re not really known for it. You think seafood. But people that have moved here, as transplants they brought their barbecue love with them. And because of that, Southwest Florida Barbecue varies greatly based on where you go. And I love most all of it. The only one I steer clear of is that Eastern Carolina style that’s vinegar based. Heartburn city, baby.
Because there’s not enough time to travel the entire country trying everything, Yelp did it for us. And then ranked them to see where they all stack up.
Yelp broke down the Top 100 Barbecue spots in the country and released the list earlier this month. They started off by combing through all their reviews for the keyword “barbecue.” Then they analyzed those reviews with a number of factors including how often the word was mentioned and the ratings on those reviews. For good measure, they checked to make sure the businesses were still open and that they got a good health score. Here’s the top 10 in the country, including one right here in Florida:
- Wright’s Barbecue – Johnson, Arkansas
- Eric’s Family Barbecue – Avondale, Arizona
- CorkScrew BBQ – Spring, Texas
- Tyler’s Barbecue – Amarillo, Texas
- Fox Smokehouse BBQ – Boulder City, Nevada
- Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que – Kansas City, Kansas
- Haywood Smokehouse – Waynesville, North Carolina
- Firehole Bar-B-Que – West Yellowstone, Montana
- Hot Spot Barbecue – Pensacola, Florida
- Delauders BBQ – Gatlinburg, Tennessee
I’ve never been to Hot Spot Barbecue in Pensacola, but this place looks right. A house they converted into a restaurant, a truck out front where they hang the banner (cheaper than a sign), and some smokers that look like they’ve been out in the weather for quite awhile. It’s top 10 in the country, but it’s quite the drive from here in Southwest Florida.
Southwest Florida Barbecue
Coming in at number 87 on the list is Southwest Florida Barbecue spot Texas Best Barbecue in Englewood. This place is always top 5 on our lists and is now getting some national recognition. Texas Best is run by a family who moved to Florida from Texas, so it’s not just a name – it’s life. Their hours? Open ’til 8pm or when they run out! So place your order ahead, and bring cash. Your bill is less if you pay in cash. People love this place.
Have a look at their website and see what I mean.
Other somewhat nearby barbecue spots on the list are the Hate Mondays Tavern in Miami, Florida at number 76 and Al’s Finger Licking Good Bar-B-Que in Tampa which came in at number 48.
Our Rankings For Southwest Florida Barbecue
We used Trip Advisor to help complete our rankings, so when they cross over with Yelp you know you’ve got a good one. The Southwest Florida Top 20 has Texas Best at number 5 and a Fort Myers gem at number 1.
