Yelp this week released their list of the Top 10 Cities for BBQ in the U.S. and Charleston was tabbed as the country's 5th best spot. Greenville slotted just behind the Holy City at No. 6.
To name this year’s top cities for barbecue lovers, Yelp ranked them using a blended metric including consumer interest in BBQ, total business count, and average business rating.
Here's what the website had to say about the Holy City's BBQ offerings:
Charleston’s barbecue scene leans towards traditional Lowcountry styles — featuring meats (often pork) cooked directly over hardwood coals — and is heavily influenced by coastal South Carolina traditions, such as a vinegary sauce. The result is a unique take on Southern smoked meats. With a mix of historic BBQ joints like Poogan’s Smokehouse and modern, pitmaster-driven spots like Palmira Barbecue, Charleston blends time-honored smoking techniques with innovative flavors that Yelp users love. Restaurants like Rodney Scott’s BBQ showcase the art of pit-cooked whole hog, while newer spots like Lewis Barbecue, which was #3 on Yelp’s 2023 list of Top 100 Restaurants in the Carolinas, bring Central Texas-style brisket to the region.
You can see the full list, which was topped by Austin, Texas, here.