It’s easy to spot Four Rivers when you’re driving down Fairbanks Avenue; just look for the place with the line outside. Folks are happy to queue up for this ‘cue, especially the brisket. But the pulled pork is pretty darned tasty, too. There is no indoor seating, just some picnic tables on a covered patio. But no one seems to mind.

This location, the third in a growing mini-chain, was the first to incorporate a sweets shop into the design. They do a particularly good job with ice cream, but barbecue, specifically brisket, is still the reason most people come here.

 A second location for the wildly popular Winter Park barbecuerie. This one has better parking and indoor (read: air-conditioned) seating. But the barbecue is the same — excellent. Lines are just about as long here, too, but with two cash registers it moves a bit faster. Try the brisket, a house speciality, or the ribs. The baked cheese grits are pretty tasty.

A quick-serve version of a Manhattan restaurant.

Opened in 1992, Cecil’s is an Orlando Classic. The ribs are worth having.

Pleasant place with a good blend of Southern/Soul and Caribbean style cuisine.

There’s a lot to like about Pig Floyd’s, the self described Urban Barbakoa, beginning with the whimsical name. I also like what they’ve done to the place. The tiny freestanding building at 1326 N. Mills Ave. has never looked better.
And I liked most of the food I sampled, though I have to tell you that I have no idea what the speciality is here.
It was only the ribs that truly disappointed. The half slab, served on a pig-shaped cutting board, I had on my first visit had a heavily charred crust, which is not necessarily a bad thing when we’re talking about barbecue. But beneath the char the meat had turned nearly to mush.

From the owners of the area’s popular Ravenous Pig, this Disney Springs quick-serve specializes in barbecue and cocktails on tap.

Git-N-Messy BBQ has certainly had a head-spinning trajectory in its relatively young life.

Started in 2019 by Chuck Cobb in a Sanford gas station, it moved to another gas station on Hall Road in Orlando last year before partnering with Red-Eye Sports Tavern in late 2020 and moving to that Winter Springs location.

Cobb and his barbecue gained a loyal fanbase that willingly followed, and he earned national attention, appearing on the ABC talk show “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” preparing his outrageous concoction of Southern poutine.

Smoke & Donuts, the barbecue and oil-boiled dough specialty that started out as a food truck, finally made the move to the brick and mortar store they had been planning for a couple of years. I don’t know what took so long – it certainly wasn’t waiting for the flooring to go in. The space, which was previously occupied by a gourmet popcorn shop, looks sort of like an excavation site.

But the focus is the food, the duality of basic barbecue and gourmet donuts.