There are many fine restaurants in and around Richmond Va that have great barbecue but I am looking for the finest Richmond Va barbecue. We are not talking about a restaurant that has BBQ as a side dish but one that really specializes in great BBQ. Like a family recipe that spurred enough interest for the owner to take the biggest risk of their lives to open their own place and serve it to the masses. It takes a special person to do this and still be able to run a successful business as well. In my experience some of the best places to get fine barbecue are actually the cozy places with the smoke coming out of the back.

A Memorable Experience

I remember a trip I took skiing back in college way up in the mountains in the middle of “nowhere”. We stopped to get gas and next to the gas station was a shack, a dirty shack at that, with a big pile of wood on one side and a big chimney on the other billowing smoke. I just had to go inside after all it said BBQ on the front somewhere. I stepped inside to find a rickety wooden floor and a counter. In the backroom where there was a curtain I heard the unmistakable sound of a cleaver hitting a chopping block. A gruff older man threw back the curtain with cleaver in hand and I could see the slab of meat on the table he was preparing. Wow! I was in the right place! Backed beans simmered on the fire and an order flew out of watering mouth. That was some of the best barbecue I ever had and it still is stuck in my mind to this day. I am still looking for that place here or near Richmond Va for that very special and memorable barbecue.