Northeast Florida BBQ eatery ranks among top 50 nationwide; find out which one and where
Craving classic "Southern-style low and slow" smoked brisket, ribs, pork, turkey, chicken plus freshly made homemade sides like Datil Baked Beans, collard greens or creamy mac and cheese?
Just 30 miles south of Jacksonville, some of the nation's best barbecue is being served at a small roadside restaurant in Orangedale near St. Augustine.
Woodpeckers Backyard BBQ at 4930 N. Florida 13 ranks 42nd in the Top 100 Barbecue Spots 2024 nationwide, according to Yelp, an online site for crowd-sourced restaurant reviews.
"We cook fresh daily. All the meat — brisket, chicken, pork, ribs, turkey and sausage — are made daily by one of the pit masters," owner Lisa Marston told Times-Union sister newspaper The St. Augustine Record in 2018. "… All the food is quality, and we make our own award-winning datil sauces. We keep it simple, and you sauce it yourself."
Marston noted their barbecue style is "Southern low and slow" and that she wanted Woodpeckers to be known for its meat.
"We take pride in our cuts and take extra time to pull out the fat," she said. "We serve five homemade sauces to complement the meat — datil barbecue, datil mustard, Alabama white, sweet hickory Carolina and mustard."
'All-time best' barbecue joints
Yelp described its 2024 rankings as "an all-time list of the Top 100 Barbecue Spots in the U.S."
"We identified businesses in the Barbecue category with a large concentration of reviews mentioning 'barbecue,' then ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning those keywords. If a business with multiple locations appeared on the list more than once, we only included the highest-rated location," it said of the selection methodology.
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Six other Florida barbecue establishments also made Yelp's 2024 list:
No. 9: Hot Spot Barbecue, 901 E. La Rua St., Pensacola
No 48: Al’s Finger Licking Good Bar-B-Que, 1609 Angel Oliva Senior St., Tampa
No. 73: Artman Country Smokehouse, 6900 SE. Highway 42, Summerfield
No. 75: Hate Mondays Tavern, 12461 SW. 130th St., Miami
No. 76: Crydermans Barbecue, 401 Florida Ave., Cocoa
No. 86: Texas Best Barbecue, 801 S. Indiana Ave., Englewood
Jacksonville named among 2023 Top 10 best BBQ cities in the United States, study says
Woodpeckers opened in 2014, state records indicate. Since then, Yelp posters have left little to no doubt about their opinion of the barbecue eatery.
One man summed it up by posting "Barbecue perfection!"
Another posted "If you like BBQ in a friendly, family-run business, this is your place. Period. Just let the food do the talking. Whether takeout or dining in, you cannot go wrong. Get there early as there is always a line waiting to get in."
In addition, posters praised staff for their warm hospitality and service.
Woodpeckers is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, according to Yelp.
The barbecue restaurant's recognition comes just a few weeks after Yelp recognized another Jacksonville-area restaurant. Last month Carmines Pie House ranked No. 2 in Yelp's Top 25 Spots for Chicago-style Pizza.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Yelp ranks Woodpeckers Backyard BBQ in St. Johns County in top 100
