RI's best BBQ: Forget Yelp, these are the places you've got to try
BBQ conjures a treasured taste that evokes smoky aromas, tender meats, hearty side dishes and sweet or spicy sauces.
Rhode Island has a handful of delicious BBQ restaurants. You smell their food before you even get to their doors.
After that, the choices are slim. In fact, that can be said for most of New England. You'll find one or two terrific ones near Boston or in Maine, and that's it. Unlike the South and Midwest, both homes to regional styles that have deep traditions, BBQ is rare here.
If you searched for the best BBQ in Providence last week, a list of the 10 best came up on Yelp, the website and app that publishes crowd-sourced reviews. Though it said it was recently updated, their list included two closed restaurants, a shuttered pop-up business and three that are Southern-themed but not specializing in BBQ. Two places are not in Rhode Island but in nearby Massachusetts.
That's a sorry state of affairs for local BBQ on many levels.
Looking back at BBQ in R.I.
Smoke & Squeal BBQ in North Scituate closed in February after seven years. Binge BBQ in Newport shut down on Broadway a few years back (though the owners opened the popular Duck Press in Wakefield). Many fondly remember LJ's BBQ in Pawtucket, now long gone, and more recently, the shuttered Brutopia Brewery and Kitchen in Cranston, that had chef Wayne Gibson at the smoker for a time.
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For old-timers, Wes Brewton was the face of BBQ in Providence, beginning in 1976. A decade later he left his Olneyville restaurant while others continued to run it as Wes's Rib House. More than a year ago owner Michael Solomon shut the doors for a major renovation and announced he was part of a new ownership team. On Sunday he said they are still in the middle of renovations but will open soon. Will they capture the magic of the old Wes's? Stay tuned.
There is other good news. Though Gotta Q BBQ in Cumberland closed at the end of last year, pitmaster Michael Strout and wife Janet just opened a new barbecue restaurant in Smithfield called KelCarQ at 375 Putnam Pike.
The best BBQ in Rhode Island
My list of six includes four restaurants, one seasonal restaurant set to open this week, and one caterer with weekly takeout on Friday night. It's a small but mighty bunch of pitmasters.
Ohana's Backyard BBQ
Editor's note: Ohana announced in October 2023 that it was closing.
The newest restaurant is in Coventry and comes from chef Chris Dias and his business partners. Dias's grandparents, Frank and Etta Leoni, owned and operated the Duncan Fyffe restaurant in Cranston for more than 30 years. It closed in 1998 but there's a tribute to it in the entrance.
You can dine inside at large booths or tables, or outside on a large patio with heaters. The food comes quickly, arranged on the trays that are part of the BBQ culture.
The Pit Sampler is a must to have here so you can delight in baby back ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork and tender beef brisket. It comes with choice of a side, fries or mac and cheese are both fine comforting choices, and plenty of delicious cornbread. Their homemade sauces are great for dipping with the jalapeno-pineapple my favorite. Sweet sauce lovers will like the maple bourbon I bet.
Details: 1080 Tiogue Ave., Coventry, (401) 746-4262, ohanabackyardbbq.com
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Durk’s Bar-B-Q
This place has the whole package: the dining room energy, the great cocktails, the sweet desserts and both expected BBQ selections and some creative choices.
Chef Ed Davis offers not just signature smoked meats but also grilled vegetable dishes. On the night of my visit, he offered a grilled tomato slider topped with pimento cheese. What a delight.
You'll want to start with a drink and my choice will always be their Old Fashioned on draft, made with Old Overholt Bonded Rye Whiskey, smoked maple, apple bitters and smoked sea salt.
Leave room for dessert. Their puddings, Banana with Vanilla Wafers and Dirt with chocolate, are must try.
Details: 33 Aborn St., Providence, (401) 563-8622, durksbbq.com
Great Northern BBQ
With an intimate atmosphere, the dark dining room feels made for a date night. It's not so great for photographing the wonderful BBQ dishes which are served on china and artfully presented. But believe me, the food is pretty.
Their ribs are stellar as is the pulled pork. They are two of the three items on the Sampler Plate, a must order, because it also has their signature Smoked Chicken Wings which are moist and need no dipping sauce. They are brined and then smoked for three to four hours. That brings an aroma that can only enhance that wing-eating experience.
There's a nice selection of local beers here, too, and plenty of cocktail choices. They have a large patio for outdoor dining.
Details: 9 Parade St., Providence, (401) 421-1513, gnbbqco.com
Becky's BBQ
The style of barbecue at Becky's is mostly like that of the Southeast, particularly the kind that's come to be called North Carolinian or Carolinian although it's eaten throughout Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Florida as well. We're talking Southern hickory-smoked pulled pork, tender and juicy, with flavor developed from hours in the pit.
So this Middletown restaurant is the real deal with pitmaster Bob Bringhurst at the helm. This has been a success story, having opened in 1998. That's 25 years of sweet BBQ.
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You can build your own meal, enjoy a luncheon sandwich, takeout ribs by the slab and hire them for catering. A dinner special for four is a bargain at $41.
Details: 82 East Main Road, Middletown, (401) 841-9909, beckysbbq.com
Smoke House
The Smoke House is seasonal and opens officially on Friday, April 28, for another year. This is the longest-serving BBQ restaurant on the list, having opened in 1996. That's when the Newport Restaurant Group opened the Smoke House with its barbecue theme in front of the Mooring restaurant.
This is the spot you're most likely to find smoked bluefish or other local catch on the menu. That makes this something special for a dining destination. But the meats are also on the menu with ribs, pork and chicken.
All smoked meats and seafood are cooked in the Smoke House's 300-pound-capacity smoker and rotisserie barbecue pit. "The aromas roll through Newport," one chef was fond of saying.
Details: 31 Scotts Wharf, Newport, (401) 848-9800, smokehousenewport.com
Keane's Wood Fired BBQ
This spot in Pawtuxet Village in Cranston is open only on Friday for takeout. But there's a real pitmaster, Padraic Keane, at the helm so it needs to be on any list of BBQ in Rhode Island. Keane's is in the catering business but pivoted to takeout for the neighborhood during the COVID pandemic.
The takeout was a regular sellout. So now even though weddings and events are back, Keane's continues the takeout a day a week.
You can order brisket, smoked chicken thighs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, vegetable salads and more online. Pickup is during a three-hour window from 4 to 7 p.m. Don't wait 'til Friday to order.
Details:1850 Broad St., Cranston, (401) 437-6933, keaneswoodfired.com
A word about the chain BBQ
I didn't want to dismiss Smokey Bones, the national chain with a restaurant in Warwick, without a meal. Though I found the service and hospitality very nice, the food did not equal any of the spots on my list. My Bone Fire Sampler featured ribs, chicken wings, slices of sirloin, chicken breast and sausage. All the meat, save for the sausage, was largely dried out and lacking in all that smoky flavor. This was also the spot where I got out of my car and didn't smell the glorious aromas I found at the other restaurants. Even though they pledge to smoke their wings at each restaurant daily, you just wouldn't know it.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Best BBQ restaurants in Rhode Island: Six mouth-watering places to try
