Local Cuisine

Taste of the Month: Barbecue!

The perfect summer food for gatherings large or small

Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q
12 Metro Locations Catering
877-7SONNYS
www.SONNYSBBQ.com

Come to your neighborhood Sonny's Bar-B-Q. With 12 metro Atlanta locations and an extensive catering department, Sonny's makes it easy to get terrific barbecue close to home. They have been serving up great barbecue for 39 years and have been awarded Best Barbecue in Atlanta.

After hours of slow cooking you can tell genuine barbecue by the smoke ring and reddish color on the ribs. It's caused by Sonny's basting sauce and the smoke from their wood fired barbecue pit. They slice their pork from the choicest cuts of lean pork. Their chicken is shipped direct to their restaurants fresh, never frozen, assuring Sonny's guests enjoy the freshest barbecue possible.

Their signature item, Baby Back Ribs can be purchased by the slab or if you are really hungry, all you can eat. Also try their Sweet & Smokey St. Louis Ribs. A very meaty cut that fills you up. They are basted twice in Sonny's famous Sweet Bar-B-Q Sauce and slow-smoked over a real hardwood fire. They offer four flavors of sauce: Original, Hot, Sweet and Mustard. Sauces are packed in bottles for purchase.

Sonny's also has a salad bar featuring garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. Their chicken and tuna salads are made from scratch using the freshest and finest ingredients available. Their hearty soups and Brunswick stew are prepared fresh each day. Sonny's is famous for their sweet tea that has people coming from across the south.

At Sonny's, your meal is served fast and friendly. They offer more than great food and excellent value. Sonny's is a favorite gathering place to share laughter, conversation and friendship over a plate of award-winning barbecue. They are a full service restaurant making Sonny's the perfect destination for a family outing or meeting with friends.

Fat Matt's Rib Shack
1811 Piedmont Rd.
404.607.1622
www.fatmattsribshack.com

An Atlanta institution for over 18 years, Fat Matt's keeps packing them in. On most nights you will find a line out the door of people eager to get to their famous barbecue.

Owner Matt Harper, who is actually quit slim, has perfected the art of Southern BBQ. Not limited to the North Carolina or Kentucky styles, Fat Matt's uses their own seasoning and cooking technique. These ribs are smoked to perfection and literally falling off the bone. Fat Matt's ribs were voted Best In Atlanta in ‘07 by INsite readers and other publications.

The ribs can be ordered as a whole, half slab, or on a sandwich. They also serve great barbecue chicken and pork. The signature side is their Rum Baked Beans, but they also have delicious Brunswick Stew, Roasted Peanuts, Potato Salad, and Cole Slaw. Fat Matt's serves 9 beers on tap and more in bottles.

They feature live blues seven nights a week. Fat Back Deluxe performs every Sunday night and has a huge following. The rest of the weeks schedule is as follows: Mondays-Pead Boy & Little Brother; Tuesdays - Crosstown Allstars; Wednesdays - Frankies Blues Mission; Thursdays - Chickenshack. Check out their website for weekend performances as well as catering information and online purchases of such things as BBQ Sauce, T-Shirts and CD's.

Ribs Etc.
4233 Roswell Road
404.843.8200
www.ribsetc.com

For those driving along Roswell Road, the Ribs Etc. roof is a landmark that cannot be missed. They have been serving the North Atlanta neighborhood at the restaurant and through catering since 1986.

With a mountain lodge atmosphere, the dining room features a large fireplace, subdued lighting and a collection of pig paraphernalia. A large bar area is good for solo diners; the main room attracts groups and families. Servers dressed in jeans and well-worn T-shirts are quick to make you feel at home.

The restaurant features “Fall off the Bone” Baby Back Ribs, BBQ Grilled Chicken - on the bone, Chopped Pork, Texas-style beef brisket sandwiches, and the best burgers in Buckhead!

Their ribs are served with two side items and toast and can be purchased as a full slab, 1/2 Slab, or 8 ribs. They have great sandwiches ranging from chopped pork, sliced beef brisket to a BLT. Salmon and fresh salads are available for those who want something different.

Ribs Etc. is open 7 days a week (Mon - Thurs 11 am - 10 pm; Fri & Sat 11 am - 11pm; Sun 12 - 10pm) and are available for catering. Check out their spacious deck for private events. No event is too big or small for Ribs Etc.

KC Pit BBQ
234 Hilderbrand Dr.
404.459.6497
www.kcpitbbq.com

KC Pit BBQ is a family owned business with the owners originating from Kansas City, MO. The Johnson Family (a husband and wife team) lived in Atlanta for several years before deciding to open a BBQ restaurant. The main Chef who has 27 years of BBQ experience moved from Kansas City as well. They convinced some more Kansas City natives to come along and have established great Kansas City BBQ at their restaurant in Sandy Springs.

Kansas City barbecue is known for how it slow cooks beef brisket until tender, and for the outside meat trimmings known as "burnt ends". These are sweet and moist, not overly "burnt." All that and more is available here. The ribs here are served as a slab, 1/2 slab or as a plate consisting of 3 ribs and 2 side items. They also offer beef short ribs, chopped or sliced pork, sliced beef brisket and sliced turkey. Their extensive menu also includes great Smoked BBQ Chicken, Pork Rib Tips, BBQ Lamb Ribs, Smoked Sausage and even seafood including Grilled Salmon, Jumbo Shrimp, Talapia and Fried Catfish.

Most of their meats can also be served as sandwiches and they offer platters for large parties. KC BBQ offers a kids menu and lunch specials. The restaurant is a WI FI “Hot Spot” with multiple flat screens. Wednesday nights offer “All you can Eat” Fish from 5-9PM. Thursday has “All you can Eat” Pork Ribs from 5-9PM. They are open Mon - Thur. 11am - 9pm; Fri & Sat 11am - 10pm; and Sunday noon-9pm. Full catering menu is available.

Slope's BBQ
200 Johnson Ferry Rd.
404.252.3220
www.slopesbbq.com

Slope's BBQ is Georgia home grown. They started out in 1991 with a little store in Roswell. The McDaniel brothers opened a location in Alpharetta in 1998 and then the Sandy springs location in 2002. They along with their partner have made BBQ a way of life and continue to prepare the famous " Slope's Style" BBQ everyday. Slope's is an experience from the counter to the table, and even if your just getting take-out or catering, you'll feel like you've stepped back in time into an old neighborhood BBQ joint.

All of the BBQ at Slope's is pulled and chopped daily, and their smoker is always running. You can smell the smoke before you can see the restaurant. The Ribs and Chicken are the best around and the secret sauce whether hot or mild is a perfect compliment. The menu is simple at Slope's; they don't do it all but what they do they do right. Slope's has great sides; they say they sell as many southern style veggies as anything else. So for an experience that harkens back to the good old days when Andy Griffith was all the wisdom we needed, come on over to Slope's BBQ, chomp on a homemade pork rind, and say hey! (or check their site at slopesbbq.com)

Dreamland BBQ
10730 Alpharetta Hwy.
678.352.7999
www.dreamlandbbq.com

Since John "Big Daddy" Bishop first opened the original store back in 1958 in Tuscaloosa AL, the legendary ribs live on at Dreamland's various locations spotted across the southeast.

Big Daddy ensured regardless of which restaurant you are at, you'll always be welcome. In addition to the legendary ribs and sauce found at the original restaurant, the menu at the Roswell location is expanded to include such items as pulled pork, BBQ chicken, hickory smoked sausage, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, house salads served with their own BBQ house dressing and a true Southern favorite for dessert; banana pudding.

Opened in January 2000, the Roswell store offers an expansive dining area plus outdoor patio seating. This popular location goes through 22 tons of hickory wood every ten days! In celebration of Dreamland's 50th Anniversary, they are offering specials throughout the summer. In the fall this location carries the NFL and ESPN College Game Plans. For those heading to the games call Dreamland about their tailgate packages. Signed photos from local celebrities adorn the walls. Here you see Mark Richt, Nick Saban and Chan Gailey. If the BBQ here is good enough for these college football icons who are we to disagree.

Fox Bros. BBQ
1238 Dekalb Ave.
404.577.4030
www.foxbrosbbq.com

This popular Candler Park eatery will be celebrating its One-Year Anniversary this summer. They offer “Southern style” barbecue and all their meats are hickory smoked. Their signature Smoked Chicken Wings are cooked on the barbecue for 4 hours and dipped in their homemade sauce. Another favorite is the Tomminator; tater-tots topped with brunswick stew and melted cheese.

Fox Bros. BBQ offers daily specials. These include: Monday, Catfish Day; Tuesday, Meatloaf Day; Wednesday, Porkchop Day; Friday and Saturday, and Smoked Beef Tenderloin (dinner only). they offer Happy Hour on Monday - Thursdays 4-7pm with half priced appetizers and drink specials. There are desserts including the Dr. Pepper Oatmeal Spice Cake.

Fox Bros. BBQ is located on the corner of Dekalb Ave. and Elmira. They have plenty of indoor seating and offer a large outdoor patio dining area which is popular on summer nights. Fox Bros. is open Monday - Thursday 11am - 10pm; Friday 10am - 11pm; Saturday Noon - 11pm; and Sunday Noon - 9pm.

«HOME