Where: Decatur, Alabama
When: year-round
If you like: dining and drinks
Why you should go: Decatur’s two locations of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q now stand among Southern barbecue royalty, but their story begins humbly, with one determined man and plenty of hickory smoke. Neighbors stopped by Bob Gibson’s backyard a hundred years ago, when the railroad worker began barbecuing in a hand-dug pit for fun. “We found a 1923 newspaper ad for a barbecue Bob threw, and it must have worked, because he opened the restaurant in 1925,” says current pitmaster Chris Lilly, who married into the Gibson legacy. Lilly has left his own mark by racking up eighteen World BBQ Championship wins, cementing the eatery and its standout mayo-based white sauce as institutions.
Today hearty sides like kettle-baked beans and creamy red-skin potato salad join BBG’s pork, beef, and chicken, which often grace North Alabama picnics, birthdays, and holiday tables. The cooking’s good all year, but a special event in March, the Pi(e) Day pop-up shop, supports the community with freshly baked pie sales to benefit the nearby Cook Museum of Natural Science.
G&G tip: Big Bob Gibson’s older Sixth Avenue location boasts a larger dining room where smiling staff provide full service, while the other is a fast-casual, seat-yourself operation. Lilly advises arriving to either location before 11:30 a.m. to beat the lunch rush. Or wait until later. “Dinner is never as crowded,” he says. And if you can’t make it to Decatur at all, look for bottles of BBG’s legendary white sauce at grocery stores across the Southeast, or order some (as well as dry rubs and even fully cooked ’cue) on the company’s website.
Jennifer Stewart Kornegay is an award-winning freelance writer and editor based in Montgomery, Alabama, with work published in Condé Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, Wildsam, The Local Palate and more. Her articles cover a variety of topics, including food and food culture, artists and makers, and travel, but the throughline is emphasis on telling the stories of the interesting people behind them all. Read her work at jenniferkornegay.com.
