Explore St. Louis

Did you know that St. Louisans are the nation's top consumers of barbecue sauce? At home we grill pork steaks -- a marbled cut of meat from the pork shoulder found only in St. Louis --on our Weber Kettles and smother them with Sweet 'n Smoky Maull's sauce (made locally in St. Louis).

But, if you're visiting and can't get an invitation to someone's back yard, don't fret. There are some terrific places to get a taste of The Lou's top BBQ. And no matter how you choose to spell it -- Q, 'Cue or 'Que -- barbecue is a tasty St. Louis tradition, Don't leave town without trying our take on America's favorite food at these recommended restaurants:

Bite into the barbequed Salciccia at BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups. Charbroiled with Q Sauce and Served with grilled Green Peppers and Onions, the sandwich comes along with a side of St. Louis Fries and some of the best live music in town. Nearby in the Soulard neighborhood -- best know for its blues music clubs and friendly restaurants -- Hammerstone's serves a Barbecued Pork Steak that is smoked and then grilled in their special sauce. Soulard's Restaurant barbecues ham and tops the tasty sandwiches with cole slaw for its happy customers. A barbecued shrimp appetizer is served with petit biscuits. Cajun BBQ Shrimp makes an appearance on the menu at the Broadway Oyster Bar where visitors will find bands playing on the popular patio most evenings.

At Blueberry Hill in The Loop neighborhood, you can savor a Barbecue Beef sandwich and enjoy the Rock 'n Roll memorabilia that fills the popular restaurant and club where St. Louis-born superstar Chuck Berry plays to the crowds. Smoked Baby Back Ribs and a BBQ Burger are served across the street at Fitz's, a root beer microbrewery and restaurant in The Loop. The neighborhood's Mirasol Restaurant offers Antichchos -- skewered and grilled appetizers of chicken and chorizo with a guava barbecue sauce. At Riddles Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar whole pork butts come from happy pigs that are raised hormone and antibiotic-free by family farm owners in Missouri's Ozark Mountains. The meat is dry-rubbed two times then slow-smoked over hickory wood in the restaurant's kitchen for nine hours before being served with Blackstrap Bar-Be-Que Sauce and fresh cut Homegrown Cabbage Slaw.

Boogaloo, located in the Maplewood neighborhood, gives barbecue a Caribbean spin with Cajun Barbecued Shrimp on the tapas menu and Jamaican Jerk Chicken among the restaurant's popular entrees. Maplewood's Schlafly Bottleworks smothers Pulled Pork in a Chipotle-Pale Ale Sauce and pairs hickory smoked and glazed Baby Back Ribs with White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes.

At the two locations -- Downtown and Westport -- of Dierdorf & Hart's barbecued shrimp are served covered in a Cajun butter by the former St. Louis Cardinals' football stars Dan Dierdorf and Jim Hart. Another sports celebrity, Cardinals baseball broadcaster Mike Shannon, prepares a barbecued chicken breast at his establishment overlooking the new Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. The Baby Back Ribs at J.Buck's four locations come with an Sweet Apple Jalapeno Glaze, onion rings and cole slaw. Barbecued chicken also graces a pizza with sour cream and cilantro at the restaurant named for the late, great Cardinals baseball broadcaster Jack Buck and his family.

Downtown in the Washington Avenue loft district near the convention center, Copia Urban Winery offers a House Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich served with a Roasted Green Chile Mango BBQ sauce and covered with cheddar cheese on the lunch menu and a House Smoked Rack of Ribs for dinner.

In the Laclede's Landing entertainment district, Hannegan's Restaurant was built as a replica of the U.S. Senate dining room. Their Jack Daniels Bar-B-Qued Chicken, which is marinated, hickory smoked, flame grilled and basted with Jack Daniels BBQ sauce is the real thing. A full slab of Baby Back Ribs gets the JD treatment too and comes with a side of garlic roasted mashed potatoes. Also on the Landing, Jake's Steaks pairs BBQ pork with nachos for a wild west appetizer. Smoked Beef Brisket soaked in a red barbeque sauce and covered with cheddar cheese and bacon also make the grade at Jake's. BBQ Chicken and Smoked Pork Ribs come with an Apricot Jalapeno Glaze at Jake's and Grilled chicken Breasts are also served with a white barbecue sauce. Any entree can be ordered St. Louis Blues style with a layer of Blue Cheese. At the neighborhood's Morgan Street Brewery, the Barbecued Shrimp are simmered in Cajun spices and the brewery's own Red Lager. Show Me's on the Landing serves their St. Louis-style ribs in five-bone, 10-bone or 20-bone servings. Smoked pork ribs, BBQ pulled pork and chicken and ribs are on the menu at Skeeter's Eatery on the Landing.

The Hard Rock Cafe, located in St. Louis Union Station, serves a Pulled Pork Sandwich that is hickory smoked and hand-pulled before being basted with a vinegar-style sauce. A Hamburger becomes a stand-out menu item with the addition of hickory sauce, bacon and melted cheddar cheese. A full rack of Baby Back Ribs and a Chicken & Ribs combo round out the barbecue menu.
Nearby, Harry's updates the sandwich with house-smoked pulled pork served on an asiago bun, with pepperjack cheese and caramelized onions.

The menu changes seasonally at Harvest where the chef prides himself on using locally produced foods. Barbequed Shrimp n’ Grits pairs the shellfish with Vermont White Cheddar Grits and a Housemade Barbeque Sauce. Pulled Smoked Pork with Caramelized Onions and BBQ Sauce heads the lunch menu at 1111 Mississippi, a wine country bistro in the historic Lafayette Square neighborhood.

Recess is calling and so is the barbecue at Dave & Buster's. You can enjoy their famous Barbecued Chicken and slowed-cooked and tender St. Louis-style Pork Ribs while playing on the arcade games at their suburban Earth City location during lunch or dinner.

Max & Erma's serves the classic ribs and chicken combination with onion rings and cole slaw from their downtown St. Louis restaurant and Tanner B's downtown delivers St. Louis Ribs - pork ribs dry rubbed and slow smoked cooked with a hickory BBQ Sauce -- to the table. For lighter tastes, the menu offers a BBQ Pork Loin Sandwich - a Grilled Pork Loin topped with Caribbean BBQ Sauce.

For more on St. Louis' dining scene, check out all the restaurants on Explore St. Louis.