6 Smoking Hot New BBQ Spots in the Bay Area

Pulled pork plate at newcomer Smoke Berkeley

By Meesha Halm

Earlier this week we showed you our top vote-getting BBQ joints in the Bay, but as we alluded to in that piece, there's a parade of pitmasters angling to dethrone them. Without further ado, here’s our list of smoking hot new BBQ joints. Do us a favor - check ‘em out and share your feedback on their Google+ page (linked below) or in the comments section.

B-Side BBQ: The A-side worthy new side venture of Brown Sugar Kitchen’s Tanya Holland in Oakland (3303 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, 510-595-0227).

CatHead's BBQ: Picking up where old guard Big Nate’s left off, this new SoMa BBQ joint brings a California sensibility to smokehouse standards (1665 Folsom St, 415-861-4242).


Cedar Hill Kitchen + Smokehouse: Texas native and former Memphis Millie’s pit master Jon Rietz smokes up the goods in the Marina and serves ‘em straight on butcher paper just like they do in the Lone Star state (3242 Scott St., 415-834-5403).

Sneaky's: After popping up in various locations for about a year, this roving ‘cue purveyor has settled down (sort of) in the Castro, where it cranks out the goods on certain nights from the back of Rebel bar (1760 Market St., 415-431-4200).

Southpaw BBQ: This late-night Mission Southern-inspired brewpub is only about six months old but it’s already got a new pit master, Max Hussey, an Emeril Lagasse protégé who comes over from Epic Roasthouse. And as a boon to diners who can’t get there personally - it just launched a new lunch take-out and bike delivery service (2170 Mission St, 415-934-9300).

Smoke Berkeley: Another new contender in the East Bay is this new Berkeley run by a California Culinary Academy grad and Texas native who brings her Dallas roots, French training and California sensibilities to her smoked goods. In addition to brisket and pulled pork, she evidently makes a mean tea-smoked salmon and chocolate pecan pie (2434 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley; 510-548-8801).