Savannah, GABBQ

A Memphis-trained pitmaster's Lowcountry barbecue: North Carolina vinegar, sweet Memphis, and a Savannah mustard sauce.

Wiley and Janet McCrary ran a catering company and worked the national competition barbecue circuit for nearly thirty years around Atlanta, then opened here in 2008, as the Savannah Morning News dining column recounted. Two pits smoke up to seven hundred pounds of meat each, and pork butt and brisket are held twelve to fourteen hours. Connect Savannah's barbecue day roundup notes the competition titles. Order the meatball and pimento cheese sandwich on Texas toast, the owner's own pick.

A downtown counter-service smokehouse serving brisket, sausage, turkey, ribs, and Southern egg rolls.

Part of the Plant Riverside District on the riverfront, District Smokehouse is a newer arrival to Savannah barbecue that Connect Savannah's National Barbecue Day roundup describes as a draw for tourists and locals alike. The open-air bar serves smoked meats alongside cocktails, with platters sold by the pound plus between-bread options and loaded potatoes. Order the smoked Savannah hot wings, the pork belly burnt ends or the barbecue mac and cheese.

A converted school bus parked permanently at 37th and Habersham, serving brisket and ribs Thursday through Saturday. Eat It & Like It calls it one of Savannah's worst-kept secrets, built the old-fashioned way by showing up and firing up week after week for regulars.