Craving barbecue in summer is as natural as hoarding rosé, treating the farmer’s market like your second home and indulging in ungodly amounts of frozen treats. The best way to assuage the yen for smoky, succulent, pink-rimmed, fork-tender bites? Take it easy (it is summer, after all) and leave the cooking to the professionals who do it best. From authentic Texas-style to unique local takes, Toronto has ribs, brisket, smoked turkey and more to suit every taste, young and old.
Barque
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Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with brunch on weekends, this relaxed Roncy darling is the place for family-friendly barbecue. All the usual suspects (think Angus beef brisket and sticky, saucy baby backs) are present and accounted for. But so are smoked duck tacos, Cajun cornmeal-crusted salmon and sides, like smoked asparagus with crispy pancetta and charred corn succotash, good enough to hold their own.
Adamson Barbecue
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but judging Central Texas-style barbecue by its beef brisket is just the way things are done. With its requisite smoke ring, meltingly tender bite and dry-rubbed, smoky bark Adamson’s brisket is proof-positive of its pit master’s talent. Try Adamson’s other offerings, from turkey and spare ribs to sausage and more, and you’ll see there’s nothing these guys can’t smoke to perfection. Just like in Texas, platters come with pickles, white onions and plain white, sliced bread for sopping up run-away juices.
Big Crow
Leave it to maverick restaurateur Anthony Rose to create a barbecue spot that hits all the classic notes while veering precariously off track. Cornbread, crowned with pimento cheese, kissed with maple syrup and hot sauce is an uplifting way to start. Though purists may quibble with the basil pesto and blistered cherry tomatoes adorning the baby back ribs, they sell out for good reason. The kitchen’s steak offerings, including a two-pound Porterhouse, sound lavish but trust us — they’re the stuff summer memories are made of.
Carbon Bar
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Offering a unique take on the classic bbq formula, comfort food meets signature cocktails, upscale presentations and polished service at this cavernous Queen east resto. Southern-inspired dishes, including seafood boils, fried green tomatoes and crocodile bites served alongside Alabama white sauce, compete for attention with the kitchen’s popular dry-rubbed ribs and brisket. For two or more, the “Pit Master Platter,” featuring St. Louis cut pork ribs, brisket, fried chicken and sides, is the only way to go.
Cherry Street Bar-B-Que
Follow the smoke wafting through the Port Lands and you’ll likely find more than mere fire. At Cherry Street Bar-B-Que, there are southern-style meats, local craft beer and potent cocktails. Sandwiches, made from white-oak smoked pulled pork, chicken, brisket and more, are the perfect barbecue vehicle for little hands. Still, don’t be surprised if you see tiny fingers sneaking saucy baby back ribs, lacquered bbq chicken, mac and cheese or home fries. After all, it’s all too delicious not to sample.
The Stockyards Smokehouse and Larder
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A relative veteran on the Toronto dining scene, the Stockyards is where Toronto’s fascination with authentic barbecue truly took root. Opened in 2009, this is where we collectively learned about smoke rings, that rib meat shouldn’t actually fall off the bone, and that all barbecue is not created equal. Here, saucy, South Carolina-style smoked ribs and chicken are only available Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays: and when they’re gone, they’re gone. You could take solace in some of the city’s crunchiest, most-deeply-seasoned fried chicken set atop a waffle as big as a plate. Or, you might opt for a pulled pork or pastrami sandwich. But plan accordingly, and you can have it all.
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