all three of my kids have worked food service
my son in a supper club that was good but is now out of business.
he learned steaks and fish fries and how they jaz up a lot of what they serve but it is basically Sysco or one of about 3 food delivery services.

having worked in the kitchen of the supper club there were already a bunch of things he was like going out for them wasn't really worth it.

he had a few bbq places he thought were ok , well since I started smoking meats and he has been enjoying the home smoked meats he went with some friends the other night and he was underwhelmed.

realizing the bar for bbq is so low much like the supper club stuff was he now wants to find a really good bbq place.

he noticed when he pulled up to the place he went the other night with friends , on his motorcycle with his visor open that he could not smell the smoke.
then was like ahh it's ok but nothing special.
so he has decided , you should be able to smell a good bbq place from outside as you get off your bike and take your helmet off or it likely isn't worth going in.

what are your thoughts on that , I think he has a point.

also , what is the best bbq place you can think of , he wants to ride to good bbq places and try them. anything near WI would be great but if there is a worth it destination BBQ place he also wants to know those for longer rides.

Can't say if they are good or not but there is a place in Dundee WI, been there once was OK if you ask me but I'm not a fan of BBQ stuff myself.

Dundee Mountain BBQ and Brew House

They have had issues lately with the Gov't shutting them down for their smokers.
Not a health issue but a safety issue as I under stand it.

I guess they were getting a new smoker as a result.

I don't know if they are open now or not.

Big Guys BBQ on Wi State highway 35. Between Hudson and Houlton. I can smell it when i go by. Wife goes there.

I smelled smoke in a restaurant once. Then the fire dept showed up and watched it burn down.....

You want good BBQ you need to head south

Some of them smoke all night to be eaten during the day. All the smoke might be from midnight to 8am. They are funny about over smoking too I think. I guess there is a thing of too much smoke too.

that doesn't sound like a very good fire department if they just watched it burn down , what is the point in coming at all if you are just going to watch it burn down.

With all the traveling I do, I've been able to hit many of the places of guys (and gals) that have participated or judged Pitmasters. Additionally, I always seek out "award" winning smoke houses in various cities that are not nationally recognized, but locally are well known. For me, I like sampling others stuff and compare to my own. Many of the places you can smell from a mile away - even after the pit is done. Like your son, in many of the places I am very underwhelmed. Judging is so subjective to personal preferences that the so called best is often just blah. There are some good BBQ places in WI, but I would do a little research to match up your preferences before going.

Now that summer is here and fairs will be in full swing, look up to see if they are hosting any cook-offs. I've competed in a few and came away impressed on how many great cooks are out there. If you follow Moe Cason's travels, I wouldn't pass an opportunity for his ribs. He taught me a lot about rendering and spicing up pork and I learned a lot of the sweet of sweet and tangy from Bohgarts' in St. Louis. But that's where its easy to be over-under whelmed. I (and my family) love the subtle sweet of apricot with the medium kick of cajun but don't like a strong after taste of bitter smoke. I've had judges on the same panel complain too sweet and can't taste the sweet and the same for the kick - way too strong and another says its too blah.

Good luck on finding the right one

You mean the same way they ruin cornbread and iced tea....we talking about the same south..?

Lol whatever you say bud

thanks , so much of what we see is a smoker that is a slightly smoky oven and then drowned it in sugary sauce.

I can't do the sugar , any that I do eat is usually much too sweet. so I am looking for a depth of flavor that is seasoned and cooked into the meat and not got anything to do with drowning it in sugar sauce.

thanks

exactly

I did a chuck roast last week that was really good , only thing on it is my own seasoned salt blend.

So very true. Thats my first question anywhere I go. The best places never touch sauce

Some of the food trucks around here have the best bbq
One guy has his smoker on a trailer he pulls. Awesome!!!! I'd have to dig up his name, but his brisket and pork bellies where really good.

Pappy's in St. Louis was named best pork ribs in America by somebody on the Food Chanel. Joe's in KC is rated pretty high too. As I understand it, both are using this type and brand of smoker to make all their smoked meats.......that exact brand. Big ones......the size of a U-haul trailer. Pappy's may have 4 or 5 of them running constant and they do about 6,000 pounds of ribs per day on them. They use natural gas for heat, but the burners also ignite and burn big wood chunks. Big fireplace sized chunks that are only used for the smoke flavor........but you can smell the smoke. Joe's about the same, but heavy on the brisket. First one I saw running was in a BBQ place in west MO. Kinda snapped my head back but the guy running it said they were the best cooker to use in a commercial place. Perfect heat control, perfect smoke. No hot spots. Big joints in Texas using offsets and wood only would probably differ.

https://www.olehickorypits.com/pages/about-us

Good BBQ is expensive to make so expensive to buy and hard to get right unless you are running big like joints above, or doing it at home. Brisket in particular needs to be kept warm.......then gets carved up when ordered and goes on the plate to be eaten on the spot. Once you slice it, quality starts going downhill. So a small place that has to pull meat from under plastic in a tray in the fridge, then heat it.....is not going to be very good. Time to get out the sauce.

BTW, Pappy's says ribs are dry rub style.......they are not. They get basted with a brown sugar liquid towards the end......so look more wet than dry to me. And unlike any rib deal shown on u-tube, they are not wrapped.....not in foil, not in paper. But they do cook them for about 4 hours and they do come out really, really good. Right amount of smoke, rub and texture exactly what it's supposed to be. A good yardstick to use to measure what you make at home. Duplicate that and you have done something.

I always go for the ribs....any fool can make good pulled pork, and GOOD brisket is a crap shoot..yes, even in Texas, lol, good ribs , not dried out, or over cooked or mushy is easier to get right...even I can most of the time!

I looked at those it is basically an offset with natural gas to make sure the heat it right built into a box that makes them fit under a hood in a commercial kitchen with some electronic controls to regulate.

it would make sense in a commercial kitchen smoking a lot of meat.

BBQ sauce is a condiment, not an ingredient. If its good meat I dont even put ketchup on a burger.