1660 Gadsden Highway, Trussville (and other locations)
661-3100
Hours: Sun.-Thurs., 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.;
Fri.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
www.jimnnicks.com

Atmosphere: Visually, Jim ‘N Nick’s brings a clear sense of what a barbecue place should look like, and then they add some corporate touches to make it feel a bit more upscale. Southern barbecue from the imagineers at Disney, if you will. But the place looks and feels great. Servers are scurrying around like they can’t possibly treat you any better, any quicker. And they probably can’t. The big black and white, Birmingham-centric photos on the wall kick the authenticity up a notch.

Sauce type: Red sauce that we always think does just the right job in enhancing the meat without overpowering it. Dish to die for: Hands down, the little cheese biscuits, though as the space between the booth bench and the table seems to have been reduced we’ve begun to wonder the caloric count of one of those tiny morsels of goodness. Signage: We are particularly enamored with the pig with wings, napkin over one hoof and covered dish that glorifies the to-go menu.

Reach: Jim ‘N Nick’s has been particularly prolific in spawning new outlets over the last few years. Eight locations in greater Birmingham and two in Montgomery are just the beginning. You can find Jim ‘N Nick’s in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and even in Colorado.

Our favorite surprise: The ease with which we received the seemingly easily served, yet difficult to pull off, halfsweet/ half-unsweet tea. The beautiful combination was poured into our glass simultaneously from two pitchers, and with an almost theatrical flourish. The combination was a perfect mixture—as if it had been sweated over for months in a lab down at UAB.

525 25th St. S. (The original Southside location)
324-1007
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Other locations in Hoover, Inverness, Valley Avenue,
Alabaster, Tuscaloosa, Fultondale and a McCalla location
opening in October.
fullmoonbbq.com

Atmosphere: From the tiny, cinder block building tucked away in Southside, to the moon mural covering an entire exterior wall and the smoke billowing out of the chimney, you know you’re in the right spot for some good ‘que when you pull up to the self-proclaimed “Best Little Pork House in Alabama.” Every inch of wall space is covered with the obligatory Alabama and Auburn paraphernalia. At lunch you’ll wait in line (with patrons sporting crisp suits or muddy work boots) to order at the counter and sit in close quarters at chairs and tables covered in green vinyl—perfect for easy sauce clean-up.

History: Full Moon opened its doors in Southside in 1980. In 1991, brothers Joe and David Maluff bought the restaurant from the original owner. Since then the Maluff brothers have slowly expanded the business to include six locations in the Birmingham area and one in Tuscaloosa. David says their success comes from sticking to the things that made folks love Full Moon in the first place: meats cooked “low and slow” over a hickory wood-fired pit; sides, baked goods and even sauce made fresh, in-store daily; and signature items such as their chow chow and of course, the half-moon cookies. Six employees have even been with Full Moon since the doors originally opened nearly 30 years ago: Linda Collins, Sam Scroggins, Wilma Austin, ReRe Wesley, Robert Caples and Dot Denson.

Soak up the sauce while you’re there: You can find sauces from other barbecue joints for sale in local grocery stores, but Full Moon Co-owner David Maluff says you will never find their sauce packaged on the shelf. That’s because each Full Moon restaurant makes their sauce using fresh ingredients, every single day. “We can’t and won’t substitute quality over profit,” explains David.

Only at Full Moon: “The chow chow sets us apart,” says David. This spicy, sweet relish—a staple of Southern kitchens and county fairs—is served as a complement to any meat (even fish) served at the restaurants. Full Moon also serves a slightly sweet, apple cider vinegar-based slaw. Don’t miss dessert: This year alone Full Moon expects to sell between one million and a million and a half of their famous half-moon cookies—chocolate chip cookies, half-dipped in chocolate. But the carrot cake is also a customer favorite, especially around the holidays.

1427 14th Ave. S.
933-2133
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat.,
10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
dreamlandbbq.com

Regional appeal: Tuscaloosa natives and Alabama grads often feel a special pull to Dreamland, which originated just miles from the Alabama campus. But it’s become an institution in the state, and the appeal has spread to Birmingham, Northport, Mobile, Huntsville and two Georgia locations.

Atmosphere: Dreamland combines the comfortable kitsch of barbecue restaurants that have been around forever with the air of a modern sports bar. License plates from across the country adorn the walls, declaring football allegiances (see how many Alabama fan tags you can find!) and providing reading material while you wait to place your order. After all, the menu—mounted on the wall at several spots throughout the restaurant—won’t take but a minute to read. If that’s not enough, advertisements on the table top or half a dozen TVs are guaranteed to keep you busy.

Sauce type: Dreamland offers one choice, a spicy, vinegar-based red sauce. Dish to die for: At Dreamland, it’s all about the ribs. The original location in Tuscaloosa still offers only ribs, white bread, Golden Flake potato chips and banana pudding, and ordering sides at other locations is anathema to some fans. (OK, I’ll admit it: I’m one of them. Give me an order of ribs and a plate of white bread, and I’m happy.) The meat and sauce create the perfect salty, savory combination. History: The Birmingham location opened in May 1993 in Five Points South, but the legacy of Dreamland dates back much further. The restaurant was founded more than 50 years ago in Tuscaloosa and is still not much more than a shack on a hill on the outskirts of town.

Make it at home: Dreamland now offers a banana pudding kit guaranteed to satisfy customers even when they can’t get to the restaurant. The kit is available online for $14.49 and includes everything you’ll need to replicate the popular dessert, minus bananas.

1724 Ninth Ave. N., Bessemer
426-1400
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat.,
10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
bobsykes.com

Atmosphere: Think classic barbecue place in the South. Quintessentially homey with booths, tables, a counter with high stools and plenty of exposed brick and paneling, Bob Sykes enhances the aesthetic with the essential element—the open pit right in the heart of the restaurant with the meat slowly turning into unparalleled Southern sustenance.

Sauce type: Red sauce with a kick. Dish to die for: The lemon pie is famous here—the perfect combination of tangy and sweet washed down with tea.

Press: Roadfood.com said it best: “This smokehouse has been a barbecue beacon.”

Slogan: “50 years, three generations, one recipe.” History: Bob and Maxine Sykes opened a hamburger and ice cream stand in the Central Park neighborhood of Birmingham back in 1957. That was the start of a family tradition that continues today at Bob Sykes Bar- B-Q, now operated by their son, Van. Grandson Jason Jewell also works in the business. At one time, the company had up to 14 franchises in North Alabama and Tennessee, but the family retrenched in the mid- 1970s to focus on the restaurant in Bessemer.

Our favorite surprise: We have not been to Bob Sykes in a while, and when you pass so many barbecue places on your daily travels sometimes they kind of meld together (you know, like the meat on a finely chopped plate). But all we had to do was turn the corner off 19th Street and we remembered the sign. How could we have forgotten. It should be a national monument— the classic barbecue joint sign. Happy pig.

Garish yellow and red. An angled arrow pointing the way. Sign with a pithy message. In short, a classic sign designed for a classic place.

245 Summit Blvd.
980-3300
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.;
Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun.,
10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
sweetbonesalabama.com

Atmosphere: If you ever wanted to consume tremendous barbecue, from ribs to pork plates, in a really nice place that feels upscale yet casual, Sweet Bones Alabama is for you. But honestly, we’ve never liked the name. Still, we got past it because the food is so good and the experience at this Summit restaurant has everything you could ask for—from the food to the atmosphere to the service.

Amenities: Eight plasma screen televisions, full bar, screened patio, private dining.

Dish to die for: We had the pork plate during a recent visit. It was perfectly prepared and yet one of the best things on the plate was the flat cornbread that anchored the plate.

The taste was out of this world.

Why it is different: Barbecue is probably the most egalitarian of foods. The neatest thing about the experience at Sweet Bones Alabama is that it is the best place in town to feel upscale and down-home at the same time.

History: John Cowan (once managing partner at Fleming’s in Birmingham) and Jimmy Taylor Sr. opened Sweet Bones Alabama at The Summit, in the former On The Border location. They also plan to open other Sweet Bones restaurants in other states.

3278 Cahaba Heights Rd.
967-6004
Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat.,
8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Atmosphere: Though it’s now just down the road from Whole Foods Market, the atmosphere of Miss Myra’s calls forth a time when Cahaba Heights was an out-of-the-way corner of Birmingham. This is traditional barbecue dining, with Alabama and Auburn football memorabilia competing for wall space with pig paraphernalia. It’s Southern dining at its best.

Sauce type: White sauce and a tangy red sauce

Dish to die for: Miss Myra’s does many things well, but it’s the mayonnaise and vinegar-based white sauce that keep people talking. We think it pairs especially well with the ribs. The peppery flavor of the sauce brings out the smokiness of the meat, creating an unforgettable combination.

Press: Southerners are proud of their barbecue, we know, and so many different states tout their variety as the best. But if media attention is any gauge, Alabama restaurants have done well. Many of our local restaurants have shown up in the national press, but Miss Myra’s even enticed a reporter to take a special trip south. Following a 2007 12-state barbecue tour, Wall Street Journal reporter Raymond Sokolov received a letter from Charles Perry, a Miss Myra’s fan so impassioned, Sokolov decided he must travel to Alabama to visit the restaurant. (He was suitably impressed, and with Perry also visited Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and Archibald’s in Northport.)

Southern goodness: We’re used to seeing potato salad and coleslaw on barbecue menus, and Miss Myra’s is no exception. But the restaurant also emphasizes barbecue’s place as a Southern favorite with down-home side items like green beans and deviled eggs.

Our favorite surprise: We couldn’t walk away from Miss Myra’s without sampling a piece of pie. We settled on peanut butter pie, and were pleasantly surprised by how light it felt. The dessert offered plenty of flavor without weighing us down after a heavy meal. Perfect.