BBQ Road Trip

Every year my family and I spend a few weeks in eastern Idaho in a little village called Pinehaven on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. We also spend time in Bozeman, Montana and in Yellowstone. I usually drive there with our dog and all of our gear while everyone else flies. I get to the house a few days early, clean everything up, buy groceries and then pick them up at the airport.

The drive up there from San Francisco is about 15 hours including a few short stops for gas and food. The drive goes through the California Sierra’s, then down through Reno and into northern Nevada desert, then into southern Idaho on the way to Pinehaven. It’s long but peaceful.

With my newfound passion for low and slow BBQ, this year I decided to stop at as many BBQ places as possible to break up the drive, sample their wares, find some good ideas to tune my own recipes, and hopefully find some trusty spots to stop at on future road trips.

My route is I-80 east out of San Francisco, through the Sierras, down into Reno, through the northern nevada desert, up to Twin Falls, then Idaho Falls, then up to Bozeman.

Along the way, I ate at 10 different BBQ places. At each place, I tried to get a sample of their brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs and chicken, plus sides of cole slaw and beans.

Here they all are, with my take on their food.

1. Sneaky’s BBQ, San Francisco, CA

Got Sneaky’s on the way out of San Francisco on a Saturday night. Sneaky’s doesn’t have a permanent residence, just pop ups. This was the first BBQ of the trip and one of the best. Pulled pork was tender and they went bold with a vinegar sauce instead of the usual sweet. Brisket was all burnt ends and cubed, with a slight sweet sauce. Very nicely cooked. So far, this is the best BBQ brisket and pulled pork I’ve had in SF. Going back for more.

2. Dickey’s BBQ Pit, Twin Falls, ID

Got Dickey’s in Twin Falls the day after Sneaky’s. Got ribs and brisket. Ribs were decent but way oversauced and too sweet. Brisket was shredded instead of sliced or cubed, and completely drenched in overly sweet BBQ sauce. The shredding and the sauce were hiding badly cooked brisket. So I fed it to my dog.

3. Bar 3 Bar-B-Q, Belgrade, MT

Got this 10 days into my trip after dropping friends at the Bozeman airport. Got brisket (burnt ends were on the menu) and pulled pork. Burnt ends were shredded which annoyed me but they were pretty decent. Pulled pork also very tender and served without sauce so it was nice. Coleslaw and beans were good. Would go back here.

4. Bar 3 Bar-B-Q, Bozeman, MT

Tried the other Bar 3 in Bozeman this time, a week later. Took forever to serve. Everything overcooked and oversauced. Brisket was like a rock so I fed most of it to my dog. Hard to believe it was the same name of the place in Belgrade where food was infinitely better. Second time I’ve been here, same experience both times. Not going back.

5. Blue Smoke BBQ, Bozeman, MT

Tried to recover from the disaster at Bar 3 in Bozeman by hitting up this BBQ truck off of main in Bozeman. Has typical BBQ hours — doesn’t open properly till 4, but drove by early and they were doing limited lunch service. Only turkey was available — other stuff hadn’t finished yet. Turkey was amazing as was cole slaw and beans. Beautiful smoker outside with nice blue smoke coming out! Need to try this place again for a dinner service!

6. Beartooth BBQ, West Yellowstone, MT

The only place in West Yellowstone to get BBQ. Mostly overcooked and not that good. Fed most to dog.

7. Big Hole BBQ, Victor, ID

Stumbled on this place on my way to Swan Valley at the end of my trip. It’s in Victor, Idaho, just before you head over the US22 pass into Jackson Hole. They didn’t have any new mains ready for the day yet as it was only noon. So I got yesterday’s brisket. It was surprisingly moist and cole slaw was great. Gotta go back here again for a dinner service and give this a try.

8. Pitmaster BBQ, Idaho Falls, ID

I had a good feeling when I went into this place because there were awards on the wall.

And then I saw the owner’s photo with Harry Soo the BBQ legend — whose class I just attended.

The question then became: How much can I order???

I got ribs, chicken and brisket. Pulled pork not quite ready yet after busy lunch session. All 3 were really good as were the sides. Someone loved that food when they made it and served it! Cornbread unbelievably light and sweet. Just wrote Harry to tell him the story. Gotta go again and intro myself to Rob.

9. Coop’s Southern BBQ, Twin Falls, ID

Probably the best of the trip. 6 BBQ sauces packed up for me for my road trip: Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City, Texas, Alabama, and Grandma’s secret recipe. Brisket was perfect, pulled pork perfect and ribs just right. Sides were amazing — they threw in some hushpuppies and some potato fritters. Neither are my thing but the hushpuppies were unbelievable. The fritters weren’t for me but I totally got where they were going with it. Gotta go here every time I pass through!

10. Brother’s BBQ, Reno, NV

Everything overcooked. Fed it to my dog. Inedible. Claimed to be best BBQ in Reno. False.