YinzBurgh BBQ, Pittsburgh

YinzBurg BBQ is known for its Southern-Style smoked BBQ brisket where in the restaurant, the main focus is the meat. And that takes long hours of slow-cooking the meat that is rubbed with one of their proprietary spice rubs and smoked low over hardwood. Only when the meat is in the customers' hands, and they've tasted the smokey flavor and decided what would balance it to their tastes, does one of the six homemade sauces come into play.

But long before customers add their splashes of vinegar-, tomato-, or mustard-based goodness, YinzBurg's team rubs on a special blend of spices, which combined with the hardwood smoke brings out the juiciness of the meat. Pulled pork, beef, chicken, and baby-back ribs all emerge ready for pitmasters to serve up alongside classic sides such as coleslaw and cornbread. And vegetarians aren't forgotten about, either: YinzBurg also smokes tofu.