We traveled 1,375 miles all over the state in search of Alabama's Best BBQ Ribs, and before we name the Reader's Choice winner on Tuesday and our favorite on Wednesday, we are taking one last look at the Final 15.
Here are a few things you should know about Archibald's Bar B.Q. in Northport.
A little history: George Archibald Sr. and his wife, Betty, first start selling barbecue pork out of a little cinder-block building just outside the back door of their red-brick home in 1961. George Sr., who is now deceased, passed the torch down to his son, George Archibald Jr., and daughter, Paulette Washington, who kept the fire stoked until about a year ago. Now it is Tray Archibald -- George Sr.'s grandson, George Jr.'s nephew and Paulette's son -- who is carrying on the Archibald's family tradition,
About the ribs: While the low-and-slow method of smoking pork meat may be the favored technique of many a Southern barbecue cook, it's not the way they do it here at Archibald's. If you know what you're doing, 45 minutes over a bed of hot hickory is plenty of time, Tray Archibald says. The ribs are grilled in a well-seasoned brick pit that's just behind the front counter of the cozy, five-stool shack. They are served with a thin, atomic-orange sauce with that deceptive little kick of heat.
How they made the Final 15: Archibald's finished first in AL.com's Tuscaloosa-area readers' poll.
A word from one of the Archibald's: "We have customers who have known me since when I was a kid," 43-year-old Tray Archibald says. "They still come here, and their kids come here."
Ambiance: Those white cinder blocks surrounding the smokestack are now streaked with black soot, a lasting reminder that Archibald's has not only stood the test of time, but as barbecue joints go, they don't get much more authentic than this. But if haven't been to Archibald's in a year or so, you might be surprised to find that the front porch has been closed in, adding three small tables and six chairs to more than double the seating capacity to 11 – not including about a half-dozen picnic tables outside.
Address: 1211 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Northport.
Phone number: 205-345-6861.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.