17 BBQ Spots Along Route 66 To Visit On Your Next Road Trip

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Route 66 is an all-American road trip that attracts legions of fans to the historic route from Chicago to Los Angeles. It first opened in 1926, and received its most famous nickname, the Mother Road, in John Steinbeck's 1939 novel "The Grapes of Wrath". But the iconic Americana images associated with the route are from the post-war boom of the 1950s. As Americans embraced the automobile, Route 66 was a popular route for vacationers to get to the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, or a sunny California beach. The 2,448-mile stretch connected rural communities, and mom-and-pop businesses flourished with the influx of tourists. 

Eventually, the old route was replaced with interstates that whizzed traffic along and bypassed the quirky towns. But dedicated road trippers continue to trace the historic route through the quaint towns with Art Deco marquees and unique roadside attractions. Adding to the appeal is the multitude of barbecue joints that can transform the journey to a smoked meat pilgrimage. The 17 places featured here include James Beard Award winners, world champion pitmasters, and beloved institutions. Buckle up, we're smoking out the best meats on Route 66.

Chicago has several options for loading up on barbecue before starting the westward journey, but Lem's might be the most classic. This South Side institution has been serving Chicago's famous rib tips and smoked hot links since 1954. In 2025, it won the prestigious James Beard America's Classic Award, an honor for restaurants with "timeless appeal and beloved in their region for food that reflects the character and cultural traditions of its community."

A visit to Lem's uncovers some of Chicago's unique barbecue traditions. The most obvious distinction is the aquarium smoker, and Lem's is said to have the biggest in the city. The rectangular, glass-walled contraption resembles a fish tank (hence the name) and allows pitmasters to work inside during the frigid winter months. Lem's massive 64-square foot smoker is packed with rib tips and house-made sausage. Rib tips were basically a throwaway piece of meat, discarded after trimming for St. Louis-style ribs. Chicagoans turned them into a delicacy. They are sometimes called "BBQ candy," and Lem's bathes the ribs in a secret-recipe sweet and tangy sauce. Swing by this joint for barbecue as classic as Route 66 before hitting the open road.

On the other side of town, Smoque BBQ has been serving brisket and St. Louis-style ribs in Old Irving Park since 2006. The smokehouse is a proud melting pot of regional American barbecue styles and reflects influences from Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, and St. Louis. It's all done well. Chicago is a foodie city, so it is an impressive feat that Eater included Smoque BBQ in its list of the city's top 38 restaurants overall. And it's not just local media praising the smokehouse; the New York Times named it one of the top places to get brisket outside of Texas. 

Some of the Texas influence was evident when the proprietor echoed a Texan creed in a local television interview — the meat should always be the star. He makes his own sauce, but it is intended to support the meat, not overpower it. The menu also features pulled pork, St. Louis-style ribs, and creamy macaroni and cheese. Smoque's is the place to sample regional favorites under a single roof. 

Doc's Smokehouse, a highly acclaimed St. Louis area joint, was named one of the Best of the Best BBQ Restaurants in America by the National Barbecue News. Pitmaster Doc Richardson told the Edwardsville Examiner that he started smoking meat with his dad in Tennessee in the '60s and '70s. He developed an interest in competitive cooking, and was grand champion at his first competition in 2004. Doc went on to win more than 300 awards on the barbecue circuit before retiring from competition to open the restaurant.

The fork-tender, 2-pound pork steak is a customer favorite that always sells out, as do the burnt ends. In addition to smoked meats, Doc's serves burgers and sandwiches, including a ½-pound Smokehouse Burger that is loaded with American cheese, pulled pork, bacon, barbecue sauce, and fried onions. Edwardsville is one of the first towns on the route approaching St. Louis, and home to one of the best barbecue joints in the area. 

Pappy's Smokehouse is one of America's most famous barbecue restaurants, and it has been recognized by multiple national publications. Food Network named Pappy's the best ribs in America. According to Southern Living, it's some of the best barbecue in Missouri. Esquire said it is one of the 100 restaurants America cannot afford to lose. The list goes on, but the point is clear — Pappy's is a big deal.

The specialty at Pappy's is tender dry-rubbed ribs, and they're much better ribs than you can get at a chain restaurant. Customers rave about them, and many agree with the assessment of best ever. The menu also has brisket, turkey, chicken, and pulled pork. It's a popular joint: Pappy's boasts they have served over 4 million customers who flock to the smoked meat mecca. The customers come for a reason, and this is the place to sample some of St. Louis' most famous barbecue. 

Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q hasn't won a James Beard Award like Lem's, and it isn't run by a world championship winning pitmaster like some joints farther down the road. But it is Tripadvisor's top-ranked restaurant in Cuba. Just because it hasn't won awards doesn't mean the food isn't top-notch. Route 66 Roadmap, an online travel guide, listed the sampler platter (pulled pork, brisket, and ribs) as one of the must-eat dishes on the journey, and Visit Missouri claims some of the best barbecue on the entire route. 

Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q shines when it comes to atmosphere. From the log cabin exterior, which resembles a pioneer trading post, to the rustic wooden dining room with a corrugated tin ceiling, the place brims with personality that embraces the spirit of the road trip. The walls are decorated with signs and collectibles reflecting the historic route's legacy. Missouri Hick is the place for mouthwatering barbecue with a side of Route 66 charm.

Dowd's is technically a BBQ restaurant, but its specialty is Southern fried catfish, which is so delicious that most customers finish it on the spot and don't have to worry about the best way to reheat fried fish. The website proudly proclaims it is "Home of the Country's Best Award Winning Catfish." It doesn't bother to define what that award was, and we couldn't find it online, but nobody is rushing to contradict them.

While the fried catfish dinner features in Route 66 Roadmap's list of top dishes, there are options for barbecue purists, too, including hickory smoked turkey, brisket, pork, hot links, and spare ribs. The expansive menu also includes fried pickles, coconut shrimp, and cheeseburgers. You are welcome to sample the barbecue, but it is the catfish that brings most customers to this Missouri joint. Fill up, because we aren't stopping again until Oklahoma. 

Tulsa area BurnCo Barbeque requires a slight detour from the Mother Road, but it has some of the most acclaimed 'que in the area. The local gem is a celebration of all things Oklahoma. It exclusively uses Tulsa-made Hasty Bake charcoal grills, and half the beers on tap come from local breweries. The Hasty Bakes are tended by award-winning pitmasters, and burn with a charcoal fire flavored with hickory chips.

BurnCo Barbeque proudly declares on its website: "The Best BBQ in Oklahoma." That's a bold claim, but there are legions of fans who agree. The menu includes brisket, baby back ribs, pulled pork, and chicken drumsticks. The meats are smoked overnight and customers line up to order them. Although the smokehouse officially closes at 2:30pm, local favorites will sell out before that. This joint is worth the detour to sample some of Oklahoma's finest smoked meats.

Butcher BBQ Stand in Wellston is home of legendary pitmaster David Bouska, two-time world champion and member of the Oklahoma BBQ Hall of Fame. Bouska's professional meat experience started in a custom cutting meat market, and he gained 20 years of butchering experience before dominating barbecue competitions. In addition to the world championships, Bouska has won hundreds of state championships, and appeared on the reality TV shows "BBQ Pitmasters" and "BBQ Pitmasters All-Stars".

As you might have guessed from the resume, the BBQ stand is popular. Expect to wait in line, and expect items to sell out if you don't arrive early. Online reviews are nearly universal in their praise for everything on the menu without a clear must-have specialty. Order it all with confidence it will be done well. Butcher BBQ Stand is the place to sample a local legend while crossing the Sooner State.

Clark Crew BBQ is headquarters for another heavyweight Oklahoma barbecue team. The Clark Crew started competing in 2013 and have won over 700 Top 10 Awards, world championships, and several Oklahoma Team of the Year titles. The enterprise includes the smokehouse, an online store selling dry rubs, sauces, and apparel, and barbecue masterclasses. 

Unlike many barbecue restaurants, Clark Crew has table service instead of ordering at a counter, and the menu is massive. It includes unexpected appetizers like deviled eggs, cheese curds, and nachos. Then, there are burgers, chili, and even pizza, but aficionados are here for the award-winning smoked meat. Don't miss the opportunity to load up on brisket, smoked bologna, bologna burnt ends, sausages, ribs, or pulled pork before continuing west into the Texas High Plains.

You'll want to make Amarillo by morning, because Tyler's Barbeque has some of the best smoked meats in the Lone Star State. Texas Monthly is an authoritative voice on Texas barbecue, sending barbecue connoisseurs to every corner of the state to sample meats at several hundred locations. Every four years it produces a list of the 50 Best. Making the list is a prestigious honor, and Tyler's BBQ has done it more than once. 

Pitmaster Tyler Frazer got an unconventional start in the business by manning the Ultimate Smoker and Grill. This behemoth pit claims to be the world's largest transportable smoker, capable of barbecuing more than 2,000 pounds of meat at once. Frazer credits this experience with teaching him how to serve crowds and work through logistics like how many ribs are needed for a cookout. Speaking of ribs, they are one of the most popular items on the menu, but don't feel bad about focusing on the brisket, sausage, or pork — any leftover ribs are donated to the children's home of Amarillo.

Midpoint Café is the only location on this list that doesn't serve barbecue, but it is worth a stop just to take a picture with the famous sign proving you are exactly 1,139 miles from both Chicago and Los Angeles. After the photo, the café is a perfect place to mark the milestone with a slice of its celebrated pie. In addition to pie, the cafe sells huge Texas cheeseburgers and sandwiches. There'a also a gift shop with Route 66 mementos.

Zella's Cafe opened in the late 1940s and was the first restaurant to operate in the location. There have been a handful of owners since then, including Fran House, who ran the restaurant from 1990 to 2012 and was the inspiration for Flo in Pixar movie "Cars". The name was changed to Midpoint Café in the '90s, and the current owner, Brenda Hammit, started as a cook in 2013. She bought ownership five years later and continues to run the place. In her estimation, it is the people that make Route 66 quirky, fun, and keeps road trippers returning. Swing by for breakfast or lunch — the kitchen closes at 3pm.

Watson's Bar-B-Que refocuses on barbecue in a big way. This celebrated joint has been featured in New Mexico Magazine, named one of Travel + Leisure's Top 25 BBQ Restaurants in America, and has raving reviews from customers. Watson's is located inside Tucumcari Ranch Supply Store, which has an expansive collection of knick-knacks, gifts, and assorted ranch supplies.

The store opened in 1980 as a rural ranch supply store and continued in that vein until 2008, when competition from box stores and online retailers drove it to the brink of failure. The owner adapted by adding a barbecue pit and slow-smoking meat the way his dad taught him. Part of the store was converted to a dining room and picnic tables were added outside. It's been serving juicy barbecue to locals and hungry road trippers every since. Stop in and eat a plate of meat in the road trip themed restaurant. 

Whole Hog Cafe is a venture from award-winning pitmasters. The founders started as a barbecue team named "The Southern Gentlemen's Culinary Society" competing in the 2000 Memphis-in-May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The team won second place in the ribs division, and a world championship in the whole hog category. 

Memphis-style barbecue is the specialty here, and when New Mexico Magazine named it one of the best barbecue restaurants in New Mexico, it praised the assortment of sauces alongside the meat. The pulled pork is a signature dish, but there are also ribs, chicken, brisket, and sausage. Don't sleep on the potato salad, which is also a specialty. This is the final stop in New Mexico before heading west to Arizona, where McDonald's changed the color of its arches. 

Williams, Arizona, aka Gateway to the Grand Canyon, is a road tripper's retreat with a six block entertainment district with Route 66 and Wild West themes. Cruiser's is a nostalgic 1950s roadside cafe that embraces the heyday of the Mother Road with neon lights and antique metal signs. In addition to food, there is a full bar, TVs tuned to sports channels, and live music. There are plenty of outdoor tables to enjoy the surprisingly moderate climate in this part of Arizona. Williams is a whopping 6,770 feet above sea level, and the monthly high rarely tops 82 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The smoker at Cruiser's is stuffed with brisket, ribs, chicken, pork, and sausage, but the expansive menu has something for every weary traveler, from steak and burgers to chicken wings and nachos. One of the signature items on the menu is a pulled pork mac: elbow macaroni tossed in a green chile cheese blend and topped with pulled pork. Cruiser's a place for a good meal, and a good time, at a scenic diner.

Some may recognize Barstow from the opening line of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". It was on the outskirts of this desert town that a hallucinogenic episode forced the good doctor to pull the red shark onto the shoulder. The city's a well-known pit stop — Barstow is not only on the road between Los Angeles and Vegas, but since the dawn of the automobile it has been at the junction of major roadways (including Route 66), and the town adopted the motto: Crossroads of Opportunity.

Don't miss the opportunity to try Southern Twist in the heart of downtown. You'll find fall-off-the-bone ribs and Southern classics like fried fish, oxtail, and turkey wings at this unassuming restaurant. Southern soul food is the specialty, and sides include cornbread, collard greens, and black eyed peas. The restaurant advertises that every meal feels like coming home, but don't get too comfortable because there is a final leg to complete the journey. 

The astute reader realizes this is the 11th stop on the odyssey that includes a variation of "barbecue" in the restaurant name, and the fifth different spelling we've seen. To set their mind at ease, it is time to point out that there is no universally correct way to spell the word. Each of the variations encountered on this trip is technically valid and if there are other variations floating around, those are valid, too. 

But Moo's isn't included on the list to trigger musings on the etymology of barbecue. It's included because it is arguably the best barbecue in Los Angeles, no matter how you spell it. It is Michelin Guide-listed, included on both Eater and Infatuation's lists of best in the city, and is the top answer on a recent Reddit thread on the same topic. Moo's slings Texas-style barbecue out of its Lincoln Heights location, and is one of the hottest names in LA barbecue. Expect lines.

Bludso's BBQ is the ideal location to end the journey. It is run by celebrity pitmaster and James Beard Award winner, Kevin Bludso, a native Angeleno who grew up in Compton, but spent summers in Texas working at his granny's barbecue stand. He opened his own joint in Compton in 2008 and currently has three locations in Los Angeles. Lucky for us, one of them is near the terminus of the route in Santa Monica. 

Bludso's specialty is Texas-style barbecue, and it was included on both Eater and Infatuation's best of lists. Bludso's serves platters of brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and hot links in a lively, sports bar-like environment. From Bludso's, it is less than 2 miles to the famous Santa Monica pier. Time to give a satisfied smile as you pose with the end of the trail sign while the sounds of arcade games and carnival rides ring in the air.