Fox Bros Bar-B-Q

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q has been running its Dekalb Avenue original since 2007, and the place still argues its case the same way: tender brisket, pulled pork that doesn't need the sauce it comes with, and a room papered in Atlanta and Texas memorabilia that feels lived-in rather than styled. The mac and cheese is properly creamy. The Brunswick stew earns its reputation as a required order, not a courtesy one.

What's notable is that the expansion hasn't dulled the original. Fox Bros. has spread to the Battery and Upper Westside, and the quality holds across locations — a real trick in barbecue, where a second location usually means a worse smoker and a thinner product. The Dekalb Ave spot still draws the crowds and still earns the wait.

That wait is the one honest complaint. This is a packed house at prime hours, and getting a table takes patience. But the payoff is smoked meat that's stayed consistent for close to two decades in a city with no shortage of barbecue competing for attention. Local press has kept it on best-of lists for a reason. Go hungry, go early, and don't skip the stew.