Columbus, OHBBQ

Hoggy's has a dual identity as a Bethel Road barbecue restaurant and a local catering operation. Brisket, ribs, pulled meats, and wings give the menu enough range for a mixed table. The Northwest Columbus dining room gives its smokehouse cooking a permanent home with service beyond catered events.

Ray Ray's Clintonville restaurant brings live-fire barbecue to North High Street. Brisket, ribs, and other pit staples are cooked over wood, so smoke and texture carry the meal. The permanent dining room adds space to settle in with a tray while preserving the directness of the smokehouse's outdoor-cooking roots.

Texas Steele follows a Central Texas model at its King Avenue restaurant, putting brisket and smoke ahead of elaborate presentation. Bark, tenderness, and patient cooking are the point of the meal, supported by familiar sides rather than distraction. Its Fifth by Northwest dining room gives the smokehouse a compact neighborhood home.

Hank's Texas BBQ works in the hearty register suggested by its name, pairing smoked brisket and other barbecue staples with notably moist cornbread. The North High Street dining room sits squarely in Clintonville, making this a full restaurant experience rather than a temporary truck or market counter.

Smoked On High occupies a converted house along South High Street in the Brewery District. Ribs and tender brisket anchor a traditional smokehouse menu, while the unusual setting gives the restaurant a character distinct from a roadside barbecue counter. The porch and residential scale feel unusually intimate for a barbecue dining room.