7 BBQ Chains With the Best Meals Under $20
If you are dining on a budget, barbecue is a solid bet. Most BBQ restaurants serve a plate of smoked meats and sides, usually with a roll or cornbread, for under $20 per person. Whether you are craving ribs, brisket, chicken, or pulled pork, you can feast like a King or Queen for less than other types of cuisine. Where should you go for a great and filling barbecue meal? Here are 7 BBQ chains with the best meals under $20.
Famous Dave’s
Famous Dave’s, a nationally beloved BBQ chain for ribs, brisket, and award-winning sauces, is a great place to dine for under $20 per person for lunch. For dinner, if you don’t want to spend more than $20, your best bet is to stick to a sandwich. “It’s the only ‘chain’ BBQ restaurant I’ll eat at,” one Redditor says.
Sonny’s BBQ
Sonny’s BBQ is another popular chain serving hickory-smoked pork, chicken, and ribs at fair prices, with almost everything under $20. The chain is famous for pulled and sliced pork and ribs cooked in multiple styles, wet, dry, St. Louis-style, or baby back. It also features smoked beef brisket, chicken, and turkey breast, a bottomless salad bar, burgers, wings, pulled-pork egg rolls, and delicious sides.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit
Dickey’s Barbeque Pit is a Texas-based chain that uses wood-burning hickory pits and has long roots in barbecue. Customers love that it offers complimentary ice cream and rolls with meals. One Redditor called it “solid” in a review. “Very good, my wife and I go to smokehouses all over the USA. Certainly for the offerings you will get here. It’s pretty good.” An example of an under-$20 fare? Get a 6-piece rib meal for $18, or a “regular” sized plate for $18, which comes with your choice of two meats, two sides, bread, and sauce.
Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q serves up high-quality meats and scratch-made sides for reasonable prices. For under $20, you can enjoy a plate of any meat aside from brisket, which is $21.99. The meal comes with two “trimmings” and two of the chain’s famous biscuits.
Red Hot & Blue
Red Hot & Blue only has five locations in four states–Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia- but has amassed a cult following over the past three decades due to its delicious Southern sides and a fall-off-the-bone brisket. “I’m from CA, and every time I’m in the area we always stop here to get bbq. From the first time we came, I was so impressed with the service. The waitress we had was super helpful and recommended things to try. Generous portions! Delicious bbq sauces. Meat was tender and practically falling off the bone.” One of the most popular items is the ribs, and a half slab is just $19.99, served with two sides. You can also enjoy a two-item sampler $16.99 or a three-item sampler for $18.99.
City Barbeque
City Barbeque serves fresh-smoked meats in generous portions, with locations in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In addition to the tender brisket, the St. Louis–cut pork ribs are “bite off the bone” perfection, and you can get a half slab plus sides for just $17.99. “We don’t limit ourselves to any particular region or style, but instead try to showcase the breadth and depth of barbecue found across the country,” the restaurant says. Another solid choice at $19.99 is the three-meat sampler, which includes your choice of meat plus two sides.
Mission BBQ
Mission BBQ is a solid barbecue joint with patriotic flair serving up meat in 23 states. “The food was the best I had ever tasted. The brisket was incredible and the pork was seasoned really nicely,” one diner says. The majority of menu items are under $20, including the brisket meal, which comes with an entree serving of meat and cornbread for $14.19, and five baby back ribs for $14.79. Sides are served a la carte, with most priced around $3.50.