The Best Barbecue Near The Local, by the Record

The smoker sits in the front yard, doing its advertising before you've even parked. This Long Meadow Ranch farmhouse is a barbecue and wine country restaurant with a cathedral ceiling, old-school country music, and the kind of boisterous locals who make Napa feel briefly un-precious. The ranch supplies much of what lands on the table, and on weekends the produce stands outside mean you can take some of it home.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Darryl Bell

A chalkboard behind the counter maps exactly which farm each cut of meat came from, which tells you most of what you need to know about this counter-service BBQ shop tucked inside a Corte Madera mall. The ribs arrive with an obsidian crust and pink flesh underneath, the pulled pork is rich and salty, and a lineup of ten house condiments covers everything from Alabama white sauce to chow chow relish. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, suburban strip mall and all.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael

Cherry and oak wood smoke is the throughline at this Berkeley barbecue shop, where the char siu and the smoked chicken land somewhere between American pitmaster and Hong Kong roast house, with a detour through Indian curry along the way. The team behind Huangcheng Noodle House in Oakland built the concept around a father's love of American barbecue, and the collision of those three kitchens is less confused than it sounds.

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2. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

A mural of an angry steer watches over the counter at this Oakland BBQ shop, and the vibe tracks: the pits here are serious. Matt Horn calls it West Coast Barbecue, which means brisket, pulled pork, and sausages on butcher paper with sides like pit beans and Granny's potatoes. Lines form early and stay long. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and it landed a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant.

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
3. Esquire #5 · The Best New Restaurants in America

1. San Francisco Chronicle #41 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
2. The Infatuation #8 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants

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1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
2. The New York Times The Restaurant List
3. San Francisco Chronicle #41 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area