Bulletin board reviews from a diverse audience provide exceptionally balanced and reliable info on restaurants of all kinds. Look for BBQ mentions on the Boston, New England, Manhattan, Other Boroughs and Tri-state boards. A fantastic resource for info on new places.

Boston New England Manhattan Outer Bouroughs Tristate

Menu Pages

Very useful search tool and menu listings site for several large American cities, including New York and Boston. A great way to locate (participating) BBQ joints by neighborhood; New York's listings are infinitely more representative than Boston's.

Road Food

Nice site featuring mom & pop joints across the country; Connecticut-based writers; barbecue coverage is limited for the Northeast compared to the South; reviews tend to be positive-only but generally reliable. Most of the reviewed joints are in the New York Area: Big W's Bar-B-Q in Wingdale NY, Dinosaur in NYC, Georgia's Eastside BBQ in NYC, Hill Country in NYC, RUB in NYC, Second's BBQ in Amityville NY. For some reason, the search engine no longer returns several formerly available Northeast BBQ reviews, but here are some links: Bub's (Sunderland MA), Curtis BBQ (Putney VT), Uncle Willie's (Waterbury CT).

eGullet

Well-written site covering all aspects of enjoying food. Check out this preview of Bailey's Smokehouse in Blauvelt NY.

Off the Broiler

Inside the mind of eGullet founder Jason Perlow, with daily updates and an abundance of photos and multimedia. Check out his coverage of Bailey's Smokehouse in Blauvelt NY, Bourbon BBQ in Wyckoff NJ, Dinosaur in NYC, Front Street Smokehouse in Elizabeth NJ, Hill Country BBQ in NYC and video of the 2006 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.

Grub Street

New York magazine's Manhattan-centric food news and gossip site.

Eater

Clever writing with a New York City focus, it's the go-to site for NYC restaurant openings, closings and gossip.

Zagat

Web version of those popular maroon pocket guides; the opinions are not all that useful, but it's a good source for leads, addresses and phone numbers.

BBQ Pilgrim

Multimedia site with profiles and recordings of barbecue personalities. Northeast BBQ joints include Dinosaur in NY and Curtis BBQ in Putney VT.

FoodPundit

General restaurant directory for Northeast with several BBQ listings; expertise seems to be the Connecticut River Valley. Search engine is buggy but can turn up lots of results on occasion.

Phantom Gourmet

Restaurant directory by the Boston-based TV show; scope includes New England; I like the TV show but the BBQ reviews are generally not very reliable.

Serious Eats / Serious Eats: New York

This site is a must-visit for foodies, with restaurant banter (minus the gossip), food news and trends and ocasional barbecue paydirt.

BBQ Blogs with Some Restaurant Content

White Trash BBQ

Brooklyn-based blogger Robert Fernandez riffs on competitions, home cooking and news from the barbecue world, with some restaurant commentary. Check out his reviews of Blue Smoke, Brother Jimmy's (1), Brother Jimmy's (2), Bobbique, Daisy May's (1), Daisy May's (2), Daisy May's (3), Dinosaur (1), Dinosaur (2), Fette Sau, Jake's, Mo Gridder's, RUB, Spanky's, Three Brothers Butcher, Waterfront Ale House, Wildwood BBQ.

Hampton Smoker

New York blogger Matt Fisher, now the pitmaster of Wildwood Barbecue restaurant in Manhattan, focuses on cooking, with some restaurant content.

Ted Lorson's BBQ Blog

Connecticut writer from the QHaven competition team that was the NEBS 2006 rookie team of the year; focus is on competitions, with some restaurant content. Check out his reviews of Big Bubba's BBQ (1), Big Bubba's BBQ (2), Black-eyed Sally's, Chester's BBQ, The Cookhouse Café, Danny's Little Taste of Texas, Daisy May's, Hill Country, Holy Smokes, Route 7 Grill and SouthernQue.

HomeBBQ

All-around site with recipes, instruction, bulletin boards.

Restaurant Blogs with Some BBQ Content

Writing With My Mouth Full

This New York writer covers high end and ethnic fare, but weighs in on Daisy May's, Dinosaur, Hill Country, Oklahoma Smoke, RUB, Town Line BBQ and Wildwood BBQ.

Blog Soop

A clever blog compilation resource for New York restaurants: choose the cuisine, location or restaurant and see what various bloggers had to say.

Beef Aficionado

Yet another New York blogger, with a focus on beef, from high end steakhouses to burger shacks and barbecue joints. He has a love/hate relationship with Hill Country, with posts after the 2007 Big Apple Block Party, after his first visit in July 2007, an August 2007 visit, and a November 2007 visit. Also check out his recent reviews of Fette Sau (Brooklyn), the Smoke Joint (Brooklyn), Southern Hospitality and Wildwood BBQ (NYC).

NYC Food Guy

This New York writer's photo-intensive BBQ posts include the Daisy May's Big Pig Gig, Dinosaur, Georgia's Eastside, Rack and Soul and RUB.

Blog and Website Directories

Blogarama

Blog directory with many search categories.

Blog Flux Directory

Blog directory with many search categories.

Blog Top Sites

Blog directory with many search categories.

BBQ Bulletin Boards & Forums

Steve Raichlen's Barbecue Bible

Extensive postings of BBQ restaurants, some in the Northeast.

BBQ Brethren / Forum

Comprehensive BBQ cooking resource, with an occasional restaurant mention, such as: Porky/Les on Bad Bob's in Oceanside NY; Sledneck/Steve on Big Daddy's in Massapequa; Porky/Les on Big Ed's Barbeque in Long Beach NY; Pigmaker23/Eric on Buck's Naked in Freeport ME (and other Maine BBQ); RockawayBeachBQ on Daisy May's in NYC; Cabrito/Walter on Harbor Q in Port Washington NY; Porky/Les on Hill Country in NYC; Militant Squatter/Vinny on Hog House in Merrick NY; Pigmaker23/Eric (and others) on Mo Gridder's in the Bronx; Sledneck/Steve on Mo Gridder's in the Bronx; MotoEric/Eric and MilitantSquatter/Vinny on RS Jones in Merrick NY; MotoEric/Eric on Second's BBQ in Amityville NY; MotoEric/Eric and Sledneck/Steve on Second's BBQ in Amityville NY; MotoEric/Eric on Smokehouse Grill in Sayville NY; MotoEric/Eric asking about Smokey Joe's in Stamford CT; MotoEric/Eric on Smokin' Sloe's in Northport NY; Militant Squatter/Vinny and MotoEric/Eric on Sparky's Texas BBQ in Farmingdale NY; Militant Squatter/Vinny (and others) on Swingbelly's in Long Beach NY; MotoEric/Eric and Sledneck/Steve on Tennessee Jed's BBQ in Wantagh NY; Militant Squatter/Vinny on Willie B's in Bay Shore NY.

BBQ Forum

Valuable BBQ cooking resource, including a bulletin board, blog and podcasts featuring interviews with noted BBQ personalities.

BBQ Association Websites

NEBS - New England Barbecue Society / Forum

Lots of information on New England and New York barbecue competition events, cooking classes, judging classes and barbecue events open to the public. Be sure to also check out their Yahoo groups forum.

KCBS - Kansas City Barbeque Society

Intense site geared to barbecue competitions nationwide, including schedules, rules, etc.

Northeast Competition Teams With Web Sites

IQue / see also new IQue Blog / see also Fearless Chef

I Smell Smoke

Lakeside Smokers / see also new Lakeside Blog

Lost Nation Smoke Company

Lunchmeat (photo album)

Muzzle Brake Outfitters

Purple Turtle Catering Company

Transformer BBQ

Yankee Barbeque

BBQ Restaurant Reviews Elsewhere in America

Beltway BBQ

The "premier Mid-Atlantic BBQ Review Authority" is a new site with BBQ joint reviews for the Washington DC and Mid-Atlantic area.

Holly Eats

This is an all-around hole-in-the-wall review site with a focus on hot dog joints, New England clam shacks, Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches and North Carolina BBQ.

BBQ Books, Magazines, Newspapers

National Barbecue News

Mostly geared to competition schedules and news, often with features and listings of BBQ restaurants.

Pigout Publications

The only bookstore that specializes in BBQ books.

About.com Best Joints

Interesting reading.

BBQ Sauces

Hot Sauce Blog

The go-to site for hot sauces also covers BBQ sauces.

Home of BBQ

Formerly known as BBQ Sauce Blog, Eric Devlin's site still focuses on barbecue sauces, but now also offers barbecue interviews, features, historical information and thoughts on barbecue competition.

Eric's interview with me My interview with Eric

BBQ Sauce Reviews

Very entertaining site, with subjective but scientifically-determined ratings of sauces. Good selection of large and small manufacturers, including restaurants.

Other Food-specific Food Blogs You May Like

A Hamburger Today

The lowdown on burgers, with a strong Northeast focus.

Bacon Unwrapped

This often-updated blog on barbecue's kissin' cousin is a gateway to all things bacon.

Hot 'n' Saucy Wings

This site is the Pigtrip of Buffalo wings, possibly the only food more fattening bite-for-bite than pork ribs.

Ono Kine Grindz

If you're planning a trip to Hawaii, or just want to live vicariously, this is da site, bra. The recent posts have become a little less Hawaii-centric and a lot less frequent, but there is a huge repository of info on good Oahu eats.

Tasty Island

Another Hawaii food blog, with frequent updates and a good mix of cooking and restaurant content. For some mouthwatering BBQ grindz, check out this post: Big Island Smoked Pork.

Hot Sauce Blog

The authority on hot sauces.

The Blog Nut

All doughnuts, all the time. 'Nuff said.

Starbucks Gossip

The dirt on that corporate behemoth that some love and some loveto hate.

Chefs, Barbecue and Otherwise

Dr. BBQ

Ray Lampe, now of New York City's Southern Hospitality, has a revamped site with more photos and more information.

The Fearless Chef

Andy Husbands of Boston's Tremont 647 opines on everything from fresh strawberries to airplane food to competition barbecue.

Anthony Bourdain's Blog

The travel adventures from the outspoken chef (Les Halles) and author (Kitchen Confidential).

Just Plain Enjoyable Reads

Suicide Food

A celebration of logos and other advertising where the pigs and other mascots seem to want to be killed or eaten. Fun.

Waiter Rant

This behind-the-scenes account from a waiter's perspective is funny, informative and one of the most addictive reads on the internet.

Here's the YouTube video on chicken fried bacon. That's right, chicken fried bacon. The videoclip is a television segment on Frank Sodolak's Original Country Inn in Snook, Texas. About 7 years ago (assuming the clip is current), Sodolak made culinary history by inventing the deep fried treat. You gotta love it. What's better than bacon? Battered, deep-fried bacon.