BBQ for you
Meaty & delicious
Rib plate from KC’s Rib Shack in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Y
ou don’t have to be down in Texas, Memphis or the Carolinas to grab a mouthwatering rack of ribs or a plate of smoked brisket. Get your barbecue fix in southern New Hampshire with these 11 local restaurants and food trucks, as voted by Hippo readers in this year’s poll.
1. KC’s Rib Shack Best of the best 837 Second St., Manchester, 627-7427, ribshack.net Since opening in 1998, KC’s Rib Shack has been a local staple for its hickorysmoked ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and a variety of other barbecue favorites. Co-owner Kevin Cornish first got into barbecuing as a hobby about a decade earlier when he learned about the former Curtis’ All American Bar-B-Q in Putney, Vermont, which at the time had been selling its barbecue out of an old school bus. Cornish and business partner Greg Szaban originally opened KC’s in Litchfield before relocating to Manchester a few years later. Last year, they introduced KC’s Boneyard, a private function and event room housed in the former Souper Melt building directly in front of the Rib Shack. 2. Smokeshow Barbeque 231 S. Main St., Concord, 227-6399, smokeshowbarbeque.com This Texas-style barbecue restaurant originally opened in April 2016 on Fort Eddy Road in Concord. Owner Matt Gfroerer first experienced Texasstyle barbecue shortly after moving to Texas in 2000. He worked in some restaurants in the Austin area before returning to New Hampshire, where he cooked at KC’s Rib Shack in Manchester for about four years. In March 2022, Smokeshow Barbeque relocated into a new space in Concord’s South End, nearly tripling its seating capacity and sharing a building with Feathered Friend Brewing Co. 3. Smokehaus Barbecue 278 Route 101, Amherst, 249-5734, smokehausbbq.com Dave Mielke of Amherst and his father, Harold, opened Smokehaus Barbecue together in May 2018. The duo joined forces late the year before, completely
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rebuilding and redesigning the inside of the former Burger Mill restaurant on Route 101 themselves to give it its rustic look. Smokehaus offers a menu of low-and-slow smoked meats available as sandwich or dinner plate options, from beef brisket and baby back ribs to pulled pork and pulled chicken, as well as fresh sides like collard greens, baked beans and coleslaw. The eatery carries regular selections from several local craft breweries, and also recently began offering bottles of its own handcrafted barbecue sauces for purchase. 4. Georgia’s Northside 394 N. State St., Concord, 715-9189, georgiasnorthside.com A takeout-only Southern kitchen and craft beer market, Georgia’s Northside opened in late June 2019 in the space formerly housing the Korner Kupboard general store. Owner and chef Alan Natkiel posts the eatery’s always changing menu to Facebook daily, which will often include meats from buttermilk fried chicken to barbecue ribs, smoked brisket and pulled pork, plus fresh sides like Texas caviar, potato salad, tomato cucumber salad, grilled corn on the cob or green beans with bacon and blue cheese. Prior to opening the eatery, Natkiel owned Georgia’s Eastside BBQ in New York City for more than a decade. 5. Goody Cole’s Smokehouse and Catering Co. 374 Route 125, Brentwood, 679-8898, goodycoles.com Goody Cole’s originally opened in Exeter in 2003 before moving to a larger space in nearby Brentwood three years later. They’re known for smoking their meat using an Oyler Barbecue Pit, capable of holding up to 1,200 pounds of meat at a time and cooking without gas or electricity. Popular options include the St. Louis-style pork ribs, the beef brisket, and the smoked chicken and turkey.
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