TRUE 'CUE VIRGINIA & DC METRO
The Washington Metropolitan Area includes, for True ‘Cue purposes, the District of Columbia and adjacent areas of Maryland and Virginia. The rest of Virginia includes those areas too far a drive from Washington for lunch on a day off. This page is your gateway to finding restaurants independently certified as serving True ‘Cue.
Washington is populated by people from somewhere else. Much of Virginia, with many military bases, also is an area of many newcomers. Unlike the other states surveyed by the Campaign for Real Barbecue, the Washington area lacks any identifiable tradition of barbecue that hasn't been paved over. The rest of Virginia does have a tradition of cooking barbecue at places like King's in Petersburg, but we have yet to identify any unifying factor, such as a particular type of meat or sauce.
What the Washington area and Virginia do have is a growing number of places that bring together traditions from all over the United States, and that cook True 'Cue in their back-home styles with care and patience..
To qualify for True ‘Cue VA/DC certification, a restaurant must meet the following criteria:
Be located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area or in greater Virginia.
Cook the barbecue using wood coals or charcoal as the sole heat source.
Avoid electricity, gas or any other non-wood heat source for the barbecue other than to ignite the wood, to keep the finished barbecue warm, or to re-heat the finished barbecue.
Serve the barbecue on site at the location where it is cooked (exceptions may exist for food trucks and other mobile purveyors, but a restaurant that serves barbecue cooked by another business does not qualify).
Offer regular business hours, with barbecue available on the menu regularly (at least monthly).
Sadly, there are relatively few restaurants in the VA/DC Metro area that meet these basic standards and serve True ‘Cue. We need your help to change this. Please take THE PLEDGE, steer clear of faux ‘cue when possible, and patronize True ‘Cue VA.DC Metro-certified restaurants.
To the best of our knowledge, these restaurants serve barbecue that meets the True ‘Cue VA/DC Metro criteria:
GREATER VIRGINIA
Ace Biscuit & Barbecue, 600 Concord Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903. 434.202.1403
Alamo Barbecue, 2202 Jefferson Avenue, Richmond, VA 23223. 804.592.3138
Allman’s Barbecue, 1299 Emancipation Highway, Fredricksburg, VA 22401. 540.373.9881
The BBQ Exchange, 102 Martinsburg Avenue, Gordonsville, VA 22942. 540.832.0227
Bar-Q, 1901 East Ocean View Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23503. 757.952.6533
Beale’s Brewery, 510 Grove Street, Bedford, VA 24523. 540.583.5113
Bean’s Barbecue, 117 S. Main Street, Edinburg, VA 22824. 540.325.3738
Big Bad W Pit BBQ, 3249 Jefferson Davis Highway, Stafford, VA 22554. 540.720.7100
Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue, 8205 W Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23294. 804.346.4227
Second location at 1119 N Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23230. 804.355.6055County Smoak, 7423 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502. 434.215.3311
Country Boys BBQ, 121 W. Main Street, Louisa, VA 23093. 540.500.9778
Country Boys Barbeque, 1601 Bridge Road, Suffolk, VA 23433. 757.745.7005
Dave’s BBQ, 1781 Virginia Beach Boulevard, Virginia Beach, VA 23454. 757.434.6093
King’s Famous Barbecue, 2910 South Crater Road, Petersburg, VA 23805. 804.732.0975
Northern Neck BBQ, 16829 Kings Highway, Montross, VA 22520. 540.604.4709
Old City Barbeque, 700 York Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185. 757.378.5125
Paulie’s Pig-Out, 7376 Rockfish Valley Highway, Afton, VA 22920. 434.361.2001
Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que, 447 E. Rochambeau Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23188. 757.565.2955
Redemption BBQ, 3420 Lauderdale Drive, Henrico, VA 23233. 804.716.2456
Redwood Smoke Shack, 2001 Manteo Street, Norfolk, VA 23517. 757.624.1000
Second location at 2476 Nimmo Parkway Suite 126, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. 757.624.1000
The Original Ronnie’s, 2097 New Market Road, Varina, VA 23231. 804.507.1917
SMoHK RVA BBQ, 3112 W Leigh Street, Richmond, VA 23230. 804.278.6326
Smokin’ Jarhead, 629 S. Main Street, Woodstock, VA 22664. 540.335.1662
Two Drummers Smokehouse, 8864 Richmond Road W, Toano, VA 23168. 757.250.3839
Vision BBQ, 249 Ridge McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903. 434.443.4352
ZZQ Texas Craft Barbecue, 3201 W Moore Street, Richmond, VA 23230. 804.528.5648
WASHINGTON, D.C. METRO AREA
District of Columbia
Rocklands Barbecue, 2418 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007. 202.333.2558
Maryland
2Fifty Texas BBQ, 4700 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737. 323.761.4535
Chad’s BBQ, 158 W. Central Avenue, Edgewater, MD 21037. 410.956.7774
The Federalist Pig Fedmobile, 5504 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD. No phone
Pinky’s Eatery, 7995 Solomons Island Road, Owings, MD 20736. 443.550.3203
Randy’s Ribs & Barbecue, 7732 Leonardtown Road, Hughesville, MD 20637. 301.274.3525
The Rolling Rib Part 2, 9423 Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. 301.599.0099
Smokehouse BBQ Shack, 29084 Three Notch Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659. 301.884.9529
Smoker’s Delight BBQ, 4550 Crain Highway, Suite 103, White Plains, MD 20695. 240.349.2065
Sweet Blue Smoke, 21030 Point Lookout Road, Callaway, MD 20620. 240.496.6674
T&J Bar-B-Que 2nd Generation, 7670 Hawthorne Road, La Plata, MD 20646. 301.392.9933
Uncle D’s Grill, 21600 Great Mills Road, Lexington Park, MD 20653. 240.237.8460
Northern Virginia
Hammerdown Barbeque, 41153 John Mosby Highway, Aldie, VA 20105. 703.542.8692
Monk’s BBQ, 251 N. 21st Street, Purcellville, VA 20132. 540.751.9425
Odd BBQ, 4520 Daily Drive #102, Chantilly, VA 20151. 202.677.3829
Old Blue BBQ, 4580 Old Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304. 703.552.4544
Rocklands Barbecue, 25 S. Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314. 703.778.8000
Rocklands Barbecue, 3471 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201. 703.528.9663
Ruthie’s All Day, 3411 5th Street South, Arlington, VA 22204. 703.888.2841
Shaffer’s Barbecue & Market, 8140 Valley Pike, Middletown, VA 22645. 540.508.4274
Sloppy Mama’s Barbeque, 5731 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22207. 703.269.2718
The Pit Stop, 46230 Cranston Street, Sterling, VA 20165. 571.926.8199
(and a booth at the Gilbert’s Corner Market in Aldie, VA)
Certifications are performed by our volunteer team of True ‘Cue Inspectors. Restaurants may choose to display the True ‘Cue Real Barbecue certification on their premises, but it is not required. If you think you know a restaurant that meets the criteria for True ‘Cue in the Washington, D.C. area or elsewhere in Virginia, let us know. If you think a place on the list now cooks with gas or electricity, drop us a line at truecue@gmail.com and we’ll check it out (we don’t want to start a flame war, so to speak).