Signs of a Good BBQ place

I’ve eaten at about 20 BBQ places this summer.

There are a few things you can look for or ask about that will give you a little info about how good the BBQ is, before you order.

None of these are 100%.

Weird hours are a good sign. Because when the freshly cooked BBQ runs out, you don’t want them to dig out leftovers from the day before just to keep the place open. And for a dinner service you don’t want them to serve you the stuff that they served in their lunch service then kept warm under a heat lamp for 8 hours. A good question to ask for your meats is when they came off the smoker.
Running out of a meat may be annoying to you, but it’s a good sign that the BBQ restaurant isn’t going to serve you some scrappy leftover or some rush job BBQ that tastes terrible.
Places that serve 1, 2, 3 or 4 meat tasting plates are a good sign. They aren’t afraid to let you taste the meat minus sandwich housing. It’s also a good sign when a BBQ place lets you buy in 1/4 pound increments — 1/2 pound as smallest increment ends up being too much food if you get >1 meat.
Saucing meat right before it is served can go either way. At a minimum, you should be on alert if they sauce it or ask for the sauce on the side. Because saucing right before serving is a great way to hide overcooked or badly seasoned BBQ. It can go either way — some of the best pulled pork I’ve ever had came with a nice vinegar sauce already on it. Just be aware.
Beware shredded brisket. Brisket is hard to cook well, and shredding it and saucing it are great way to hide overcooked meat. If you’re just getting a meat plate, you want it sliced, or maybe cubed if you are getting the burnt ends. I guess shredded can be ok in a sandwich… just be aware.
See BBQ contest awards on the wall? GREAT sign.
Beware of chain BBQ restaurants.
Any BBQ place that has sauces labeled according to where they came from (Kansas City, Memphis, etc) — very good sign.

I’ll try to think of more.