OT: Best BBQ in CT | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT: Best BBQ in CT

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nomar said:
Fette Sau is great. Hill Country (same owners as Austin's Salt Lick, I believe) is great. Just ate at Might Quinn's - also really solid. Blue Smoke is a Danny Meyer (Shake Shack) place - I also haven't had a bad meal there. Virgil's was probably the first good BBQ place in NYC -- there was a real absence of any good BBQ, but as you can see from your list (and my comments), that no longer is true. Wildwood's is regarded as second tier, but even that is pretty darn good. Brother Jimmy's is a chain. It's decent, but doesn't compete with any of the other ones I've commented on.

Honestly, if anyone says "there's no good BBQ in NY," then they either haven't tried recently or they're just being a snob. I've been to Rudy's and Salt Lick and Hill Country and Fette Sau easily hold their own.

As for CT, it's been a while. East Haven's Rib House (mentioned above) was a family favorite growing up (and I ate there a couple years ago) but the onion loaf was always more of a standout than the ribs were.

Upstater - really??? Haven't been to Brisket, but been to HC (and FS) many times, and MQ just last week. Blue Smoke is good but I'd rather hit HC, if only because of the sides. Maybe you just don't like buffet-style BBQ places?
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So , we should try Virgil's when it opens at Mohegan Sun?
 
Big Franks in Waterbury (off Route 8 just north of 84) is pretty solid. Good pulled pork.
 
suzyq said:
Chester's in Groton. Excellent brisket. I usually don't like Eastern NC barbeque, but his is very good.We only tried the Cookhouse in East hartford when it was there and we were disappointed. Maybe the hype was too much.
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Beat me to it.
 
Another vote for the Cookhouse in NM.

Love pulled pork. Love dry rub ribs. Not a fan of vingary and/or catsup based bbq sauce.

Smoke & Bones in Derby is pretty good. So is Woods Pit in Morris, which has the unique advantage of being a combination barbeque and Mexican restaurant. Nothing like an enchilada with your ribs.

There's a passable barbecue place in Rte 22 in NY called DEP'S. They also sell pizza, which comes out of a conveyor oven. I'm in there getting a pulled pork sandwich one time and a guy is looking at the menu board and asks about the pizza. The woman behind the counter says, "The pizza's not bad, but it's made by a machine, so don't expect it to be great. But I guarantee if you order the pulled pork pizza it'll be the best pulled pork pizza you ever had."
 
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nomar said:
Honestly, if anyone says "there's no good BBQ in NY," then they either haven't tried recently or they're just being a snob. I've been to Rudy's and Salt Lick and Hill Country and Fette Sau easily hold their own.

As for CT, it's been a while. East Haven's Rib House (mentioned above) was a family favorite growing up (and I ate there a couple years ago) but the onion loaf was always more of a standout than the ribs were.
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You post reminded me that about 25 years ago the best ribs were at a place called Wiley's on 1st ave. The ribs are not as good as the old days (at least last time I was there.) But NYC has some great BBQ rib restaurants.
 
I went to Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse last week. I was very impressed. I am surprise to see that Taino in Middletown hasn't been mentioned yet. I have gone twice in the past week and they give Dinosaur a run for their money. Their pulled pork is phenomenal and they have some of the best BBQ Sauce that I have ever had, better than Dinosaur in my opinion. They are starting to grow a pretty large fan base around here. Don't let their small location next to ACE Hardware fool you. This place puts out dynamite food in my opinion.
 
UConnKev said:
I went to Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse last week. I was very impressed. I am surprise to see that Taino in Middletown hasn't been mentioned yet. I have gone twice in the past week and they give Dinosaur a run for their money. Their pulled pork is phenomenal and they have some of the best BBQ Sauce that I have ever had, better than Dinosaur in my opinion. They are starting to grow a pretty large fan base around here. Don't let their small location next to ACE Hardware fool you. This place puts out dynamite food in my opinion.
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Contrary to what Texas fan said, I had some North Carolina friends (who grew up in Asheville) visit us in WNY, and I took them to Dinosaur, and they raved. They actually came up many years ago for the NCAA Buffalo regional where UConn beat DePaul. They were affiliated with Charlotte in the same regional. I was living in Rochester at the time, and so we dropped by Roch.'s Dinosaur. They were definitely BBQ people, and Dinosaur impressed them.
 
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Curtis' in Ludlow. VT. Not CT, but not NYC either. It's unbelievable! Curtis' mom was a sharecropper who came to VT with the harvest. Curtis stayed and started the BBQ. His pit is the size of 2 cars! He's been at it for 35 yrs, and 'may get the hang of it in another 5'.

Go out of my way to hit it. 1+ hrs from Hartford. 1/4 mile from exit 4 on I-91 in Ludlow, VT.

http://curtisbbqvt.com/
 
Had dinner at a neighbor's house last night and they served ribs from the Meat House, a chain of butcher/grocer stores that has two Connecticut locations, Avon and Branford. The ribs were hands down the best I've had in Connecticut. They were apparently pre-cooked (assuming they were smoked from the taste/texture) and dry-rubbed, and they bought the Meat House BBQ sauce to slather and reheat them at home before serving them. Big, meaty, fall-off-the-bone and melt-in-your-mouth good. Not a hint of gristle.

We've had a lot of other products from the Meat House before and all have been excellent, especially the steak tips and chicken breast in the Meat House marinade. Will definitely be getting the ribs for ourselves now, too.
 
No particular opinion because I don't eat BBQ that often. But I've been to the Dinosaur in Syracuse and wasn't blown away. Had very good ribs somewhere in Arkansas off of I-40 I don't remember the name of on a cross country drive. I can't recall that I've ever been to a CT BBQ place. If so, it didn't stick to my ribs or in my minds. My BBQ preference is brisket, so maybe I'll try that place in Westport some time.
 
Bobby Q's in Westport is the best I've had in CT. And I've had BBQ from Memphis, Carolina, KC, Texas...and all over the south. My wife is from the south and raves about how good Bobby Q's is...and she's a very tough critic.

I have not tried Dinosaur yet...I guess I should.
 
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UConnKev said:
I am surprise to see that Taino in Middletown hasn't been mentioned yet. I have gone twice in the past week and they give Dinosaur a run for their money. Their pulled pork is phenomenal and they have some of the best BBQ Sauce that I have ever had, better than Dinosaur in my opinion. They are starting to grow a pretty large fan base around here. Don't let their small location next to ACE Hardware fool you. This place puts out dynamite food in my opinion.
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Went to Taino Smokehouse for the first time last night for dinner with the family. Tremendous BBQ--easily the best I've ever had in CT (I have not been to Dinosaur in Stamford; only the Syracuse one). Agree that their sauce is excellent, but the meat alone is also top notch imo. Great smoke. Thought the pulled pork was the standout, but the beef brisket was also excellent. I would skip the chicken next time. Not bad, but not as special as the pork and brisket. Did not get to try the ribs because they were sold out; next time.

Had both the Cajun dry rub and traditional wings and thought both were excellent--again, nice smoky flavor to the meat, perfect texture, perfect size, and well-flavored.

All the sides were also very good, including mac & cheese, collard greens, creamed spinach and corn bread. We wanted the garlic mashed potatoes, french fries or sweet potato fries but they were out 0f all of them, so they'll have to wait until next time, too.

One word of warning for anyone checking this place out: They sell out of everything every day, so call ahead and reserve what you want. It is great that everything is made fresh every day, but that also means that they are dealing with a limited supply.

They also had a few decent beers on tap.
 
Uncle Willie's in Seymour and West Haven is pretty good. Very good pulled pork. And make sure to get some hush puppies too.
 
UChusky916 said:
Love me some good ribs or a pulled pork...

Dinosaur BBQ in Stamford is really good.

And honestly, Chili's baby back ribs are always solid.

Where's everyone's favorite place for some BBQ?!
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Joey C's in Milford.
 
8893 said:
Went to Taino Smokehouse for the first time last night for dinner with the family. Tremendous BBQ--easily the best I've ever had in CT (I have not been to Dinosaur in Stamford; only the Syracuse one). Agree that their sauce is excellent, but the meat alone is also top notch imo. Great smoke. Thought the pulled pork was the standout, but the beef brisket was also excellent. I would skip the chicken next time. Not bad, but not as special as the pork and brisket. Did not get to try the ribs because they were sold out; next time.

Had both the Cajun dry rub and traditional wings and thought both were excellent--again, nice smoky flavor to the meat, perfect texture, perfect size, and well-flavored.

All the sides were also very good, including mac & cheese, collard greens, creamed spinach and corn bread. We wanted the garlic mashed potatoes, french fries or sweet potato fries but they were out 0f all of them, so they'll have to wait until next time, too.

One word of warning for anyone checking this place out: They sell out of everything every day, so call ahead and reserve what you want. It is great that everything is made fresh every day, but that also means that they are dealing with a limited supply.

They also had a few decent beers on tap.
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I drive by that plaza often and never at a time to stop by for take out. In fact, i figured it was of a take out joint. Thanks for the review. Been wanting to sample them.

I hate when these specialty restaurants run out of stuff. I remember a place in Middletown called Jerkfish...good food while it lasted. Always out of the delish sides.
 
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I second Smokin' With Chris.

And its so nice to see these threads again, especially after a NC.
 
UChusky916 said:
Love me some good ribs or a pulled pork...

Dinosaur BBQ in Stamford is really good.

And honestly, Chili's baby back ribs are always solid.

Where's everyone's favorite place for some BBQ?!
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Flagstead Smokehouse in Farmington
Wilson's BBQ in Fairfield area was Dinner Drive ins and Dive's favorite BBQ place in the entire USA. Even over places in TN, NC TX, Kansas City, St Louis, ect. Granted the owner is from down south.
Southington has 2 good BBQ places.
No chain (Chili's) should EVER make the list of Best any kind of food!
 
Dove said:
I drive by that plaza often and never at a time to stop by for take out. In fact, i figured it was of a take out joint. Thanks for the review. Been wanting to sample them.

I hate when these specialty restaurants run out of stuff. I remember a place in Middletown called Jerkfish...good food while it lasted. Always out of the delish sides.
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Yeah, I didn't realize where it was until we went there yesterday. I had only heard of it and knew it was in Middletown, so I figured it was close to downtown, which I go to often. I always take route 80 to 81 to 9 to get to downtown Middletown, and that's what I did to get there yesterday; but when I saw where it was I realized I made the trip several miles longer than just taking 79 to 17, which is the route we took home. Definitely much shorter/quicker that way.

Taino is clearly primarily a take out place, but they have around six to eight tables if you want to eat in. We called in the early afternoon to reserve a table and that was when they warned us that they make everything fresh every day, and that as a result they sell out of everything every day, so we were advised to place our order in the afternoon lest there be little left when we arrived. And they were right, because we wanted to add a half-rack of ribs, fries and/or mashed potatoes and they were out of all of them by the time we arrived at 7:00 p.m.

For our family of five we ordered two BBQ platters and 20 wings. It was way too much food--so much that our leftovers will be tonight's dinner.
 
asuwish said:
Flagstead Smokehouse in Farmington
Wilson's BBQ in Fairfield area was Dinner Drive ins and Dive's favorite BBQ place in the entire USA. Even over places in TN, NC TX, Kansas City, St Louis, ect. Granted the owner is from down south.
Southington has 2 good BBQ places.
No chain (Chili's) should EVER make the list of Best any kind of food!
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Don't go to Wilson's. I've been there multiple times and to call it mediocre would be very kind. It really doesn't even come close to standing up to places like Bobby Q's, Smoking with Chris, or Dinosaur.

I've been to 4 places from that series I think and only one really lived up to expectations, one was good but not great, and two were very disappointing. Wilson's is bottom of the list.
 
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