Pulled pork, white sauce and a line out the door: a Baldwin County barbecue scorecard
Ask a room of Gulf Coast residents to name their favorite barbecue and you will get a friendly argument that lasts all afternoon. A recent informal survey of readers — restaurants, meats, styles, sauces and sides — ahead of a Memorial Day weekend confirmed what anyone who has argued about brisket already knows: the opinions are strong, the loyalties are local, and the sides are where everyone quietly agrees.
The restaurants locals love
Several names came up again and again. Moe’s Original BBQ, with locations throughout the coastal area, drew multiple votes — a brand that began in Vail, Colorado but has roots solidly planted in Tuscaloosa and Athens, Alabama, the same North Alabama territory that gave the state its signature white barbecue sauce, a tangy condiment best drizzled over poultry.
In Fairhope, Original Ben’s Jr. received a lot of love, as did Pirate’s Pit BBQ, with the Battles Wharf Mini Mart also mentioned. Down the highway, L.A. BBQ in Summerdale and Bama Bob’s BBQ on Dauphin Island Parkway picked up votes, and Shotgun BBQ along the Tensaw River in Bay Minette drew multiple mentions — including a ringing endorsement from a self-proclaimed barbecue aficionado. One respondent kept it simple: their favorite place was “at home with beer.”
Pulled pork wins going away
On meat, the verdict was decisive: pulled pork finished well ahead, followed by brisket, ribs and smoked chicken. The style question revealed how wide the map runs. Carolina style topped the list — one of the oldest methods of slow-cooking the whole hog over coals, finished with a vinegar-based sauce built on salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, often with mustard. Memphis and St. Louis style, typically dry-rubbed and slow-cooked until the meat gives up entirely, took several votes. Texas, naturally, earned nods for brisket. Southern and South Alabama styles — wet or dry, tomato-based and molasses-sweet or thin and vinegary — all had their defenders, and the honest conclusion is that everyone is right.
For the bread basket, buns and cornbread tied, with white bread third — sopping duty, mostly.
And the sides
If the meat arguments never resolve, the sides bring peace: coleslaw and baked beans won the day outright, with collards and turnip greens running close alongside potato salad. The ambitious table adds deviled eggs, squash casserole, macaroni salad and butter beans, and in season, fresh corn — on the cob or folded into corn salad. Chips and fries go without saying.
The season for outdoor cooking runs long on the Gulf Coast, but the stretch from Memorial Day onward is its ceremonial start. Whether the answer is a beloved roadside joint, a smoky chain with Alabama roots, or a backyard smoker and a cold drink, the consensus of the survey holds: around here, the best barbecue is the one in front of you.