City slickers agree: For down-home barbecue near Boston, Blue Ribbon serves the prize pig. And beef brisket. And pulled chicken. Twenty years after first firing up the smoker, this Newton/Arlington duo offers highest-quality barbecue in lo-fi environs, drawing downtown diners and hot sauce-worshipping suburbanites alike. Plus, those party platters and quarts have saved our gameday parties on many occasions. File under: BBQ MVP.
Blue Ribbon BBQ
908 Mass. Ave., Arlington • (781) 648-7427
blueribbonbbq.com
Blue Ribbon BBQ
1375 Washington St., Newton • (617) 332-2583
blueribbonbbq.com
Other Winners
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Barbecue
2014 Winner: Sweet Cheeks
Skeptics wondered why Tiffani Faison, first famed as an early Top Chef contestant, would choose to feature notoriously difficult American slow-smoke barbecue...
- 1381 Boylston St., Boston
- (617) 266-1300
- sweetcheeksq.com
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Barbecue
2016 Winner: SoulFire
Barbecue is smoking hot right now, and we’re pumped for polished newcomers on the scene...
- 182 Harvard Ave., Boston
- (617) 787-3003
- soulfirebbq.com
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Barbecue
2017 Winner: The Smoke Shop
After opening the South End’s Tremont 647 nearly 20 years ago, chef/owner Andy Husbands began honing his slow-smoking skills in barbecue competitions across the country...
- 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge
- (617) 577-7427
- thesmokeshopbbq.com
Photo Credit: Holly Rike -
Barbecue
2018 Winner: The Smoke Shop
- One Kendall Square, Cambridge
- (617) 577-7427
- thesmokeshopbbq.com
Photo Credit: Holly Rike
