Posts
8962
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Mesa, AZ
US
Edited Date/Time
4/17/2026 11:04am
There's some decent barbecue places in Arizona but this is one of my favorites Caldwell County.
This sandwich is called the GENERAL. Triple meat--beef brisket, pulled pork and smoked sausage and two very tasty sides of your choice.
It's a MONSTER! I can only eat half right now, YUM....😜
When I first came here three years ago.It was fourteen dollars now it's up to nineteen yikes!
I have a new doctor and he's been sending me to a lot of different tests for heart and cardiovascular CT scans etc so when I got out I thought of this place! 😂
Check out the FOUR HUGE smokers they have! 
That looks awesome!!
Carolina BBQ is some of my favorite. And some vinegar based slaw-fugettaboutit.
Unfortunately, I think that the best BBQ places up here are not quite as good as the middling BBQ places in Texas.......
Not all of the big, hyped up BBQ places were as good as people claimed, but they were still pretty damned good. Expensive, though! $40 for the average beef rib at Terry Black's!!!
I might never go to a BBQ joint again unless I head back down there to visit. Just that short time in Tejas ruined me for bad BBQ.
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Phil's in San Diego is the go to place!
You can never go wrong with a good plate of BBQ occasionally! 😝
We are fortunate to have some good BBQ shacks here in the Land 0’ the Redneck that is Oklahoma too!
Some are a little overhyped & overpriced around here as well, BUT there is a local BBQ shack owned/operated by a fellow who was originally from Killeen Texas named Darrol Ray! After he completed his collegiate play at the University of Oklahoma and 12 years or so in the NFL, he returned to Norman Oklahoma and opened his first BBQ store in an old Pizza Hut location!
His BBQ is very good, and is always consistently/reliably tasty and thankfully, very reasonably priced!
There is a lot of cool memorabilia from his playing days and it’s quite common for him to be on-site as a hands on owner who does his own cooking! He is a fabulously down to earth & friendly guy who routinely walks around in his apron during quick breaks away from the smoker, getting to know his customers and sincerely expressing his gratitude for your business!
Thankfully he recently opened a 2nd location just 2 miles from our house, so Ray’s BBQ is our go-to anytime we have a friend or family gathering and BBQ s on the menu! 🤪 👍❗️
Yes, I have heard texas barbecue is very good.
Never been to Texas. I only driven through it once on the way to Loretta Lynn's in 2004.
Ray sounds like a cool dude. 😎
Even Sonny's, the McDonald's of Barbecue is OK.
A damn BBQ desert around here.
Even our place in N.Carolina is lacking.
Closest town is Boone, nothing.
Two places in Texas that no longer exist were, Fat Man's BBQ in Pasadena.
Man, they had everything, brisket, ribs, links, loaded baked potatoes with a generous amount of your choice of meat.
The other was a former gas station at the entrance to Ellington field.
Pe-Te's barefoot Cajun.
Great BBQ, and Cajun food.
Astronaut pictures lined the walls, and was never a surprise to see a few of them in there around lunch time.
Again, around here it's just chain BBQ.
Nothing but pulled pork, no links, poorly cooked brisket and ribs.
And it's wretched.
Joey, you need to come down the mountain on 181 to Morganton, hang a left ( east) on I-40 and go 8 miles to exit 113 at Connelly Springs. JD’s Smokehouse is the best in the area. Open Thurs - Sat.
I agree. But I have been known to devour a McRib on occasion😉
Awesome neighbor, will do.
Plus, it's not like 181 coming back up the mt. isn't a rippin' little drive. (In her acura, not the 4runner)
Yep, 181 can be fun!
Catch me free on a Friday after the grandkids’ baseball/softball season and I’ll buy.😎
We've found a couple spots around here that have been good. Pete's in Ramona
Pete's BBQ - Ramona, CA
And Grand Old BBQ in Flinn Springs
Grand Ole BBQ | Central Texas BBQ
The Grand old bbq in Flinn springs has a big outdoor patio in the back with live music. It's out in bumfuck though. There's a train museum out that way where they have train rides for the kids around holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, A Polar Express one at Christmas time etc. Now we go back just for the bbq lol.
Honestly…. Is there anything much better to eat than Good BBQ and all the delicious sides?!!!!!💯
BBQ? Never heard of it...
Gary thanks for the tip on Caldwell County, I had never heard of it but googled it and they have another new location in downtown Peoria. We are in far north Peoria so that is about 20 miles away, but will give it a try next time we are out that way.
And Appleman mentioned Terry Black's in Texas (numerous locations), we hit the Waco location whenever we are visiting our grandson. Excellent BBQ.
Pit Row
Very few BBQ places here so I just prefer to make my own. Mostly ribs and pork butt. Sauce are typically the various Carolina styles I use a Weber kettle over lump, no bs
Haha!!!! 🤣
Damn you! Now I'm hungry!
And for all you that go to Pala (AKA Fox) when leaving, cross over the freeway (15) and hang a right, in the same lot as Nessy, there's a place that's pretty good too. I've been known to stop there a time or 2 after a track day and bring some home for the family.
I'll 2nd Phil's - that is, if you cannot get out to Texas and eat at Hard 8. Holy smokes, it's like nothing else I've eaten.
Kind of like you have to come to San Diego to get the best Mexican food, you have to go to Texas for the best BBQ.
EDIT: I had the wrong restaurant name in Texas. Hard 8 is the place.
That’s some good work right there Son!💯👍🏻
Since you’re still alive to tell about it, I’ll try one on their next run…….Little scared though!
I think you have a Phil's in Temecula now right?
Don't bother.
That is some fine, fine work, thank you for sharing those pictures
😂
I might be wrong but that place looks like they bake their own bread, always appreciate a restaurant that emphasizes their love of food more than the bottom line, and this looks like a bomb version of one of those places
Post a reply to: Who likes good BBQ? 😜