Best of · BBQ & Southern food
The best BBQ & Southern food in the Tri-Cities
Smoked meats, meat-and-three, and the home cooking worth the drive — anchored by a Bluff City legend that's been doing it its own way since 1948.
The Tri-Cities table
The defining institution sits in tiny Bluff City: Ridgewood Barbecue, open since 1948 and famous statewide for a singular style — thin-sliced, hickory-smoked pork ham instead of the usual pulled pork. Around it has grown a healthy mix of from-scratch smokehouse veterans, newer Texas-style brisket joints, and the broader Southern table of meat-and-threes and breakfast diners. Here's where to eat.
The list
Ridgewood Barbecue — Bluff City
The region's one-of-a-kind legend (since 1948, third generation): hickory-smoked sliced pork ham in a closely guarded sweet-tangy sauce, with a cult blue-cheese dip to start. 4.4★ on Tripadvisor and the #1 restaurant in Bluff City. Closed Sunday and Monday — plan around it.
The Firehouse — Johnson City
From-scratch hickory smoke in a converted firehall since the early 1980s — pulled pork, brisket, ribs, and a much-loved pimento cheese and smoked mac. 4.6★ on Google across 1,400+ reviews.
Southern Craft BBQ — Johnson City, Kingsport & Bristol, VA
The polished downtown smokehouse, repeatedly voted Best BBQ in the Tri-Cities — burnt-end brisket is the signature, plus award-winning ribs and wings and a full bar (with an in-house brewery at the Johnson City location). Well over 500 Yelp reviews and consistently strong.
Phil's Dream Pit — Kingsport
Family-run and hardwood-smoked daily since 2008, near the I-26/I-81 split — best known for tender brisket and ribs and a “true” banana pudding. 4.6★ across 3,000+ reviews on RestaurantGuru. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Project BBQ — Johnson City
A food-truck-turned-restaurant doing central-Texas brisket, ribs and pulled pork off big on-site smokers, with sides like corn casserole. 4.6★ across ~900 reviews. Open Thursday through Saturday only, and it sells out — go early.
Pop's Restaurant — Kingsport
The Grandma's-kitchen diner of the list and a Kingsport fixture for decades — biscuits and gravy, country Benedict, fried chicken, hearty plate lunches. About 4.6★ on Google.
Janie's Place — Bristol, TN
Genuine Southern soul food and meat-and-three on Bluff City Highway, run by Janie and her siblings — country-fried steak with sawmill gravy, smoked turkey, fried green tomatoes, daily vegetable sides. A consistently-praised home-cooking gem; open five days a week, so call to confirm the day.
Also worth knowing
- Pal's Sudden Service — Kingsport & across the region. Not barbecue, but a true local emblem: the drive-thru-only chain founded in Kingsport in 1956, and the first restaurant ever to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Order a Big Pal and Frenchie fries.
- Cootie Brown's — Johnson City. A funky, globally-minded restaurant rather than a Southern specialist, but the BBQ nachos are a genuine local signature.
- Smokin' Pig BBQ — Johnson City. A well-liked pulled-pork-and-brisket trailer (Wed–Sat) when you want it to-go.
We don't rate places ourselves — the star numbers above are public review-site averages (Google, Tripadvisor, and the like) as of June 2026, and they move around. Hours and menus move faster. Every spot is linked, so check before you make the drive, and tell us at hey@tricitieswhat.com if we have one wrong.