TRUE 'CUE VIRGINIA & DC METRO

The Washington Metropolitan Area includes, for True ‘Cue purposes, the District of Columbia and adjacent areas of Maryland and Virginia. The rest of Virginia includes those areas too far a drive from Washington for lunch on a day off. This page is your gateway to finding restaurants independently certified as serving True ‘Cue.

Washington is populated by people from somewhere else. Much of Virginia, with many military bases, also is an area of many newcomers. Unlike the other states surveyed by the Campaign for Real Barbecue, the Washington area lacks any identifiable tradition of barbecue that hasn't been paved over. The rest of Virginia does have a tradition of cooking barbecue at places like King's in Petersburg, but we have yet to identify any unifying factor, such as a particular type of meat or sauce.  

What the Washington area and Virginia do have is a growing number of places that bring together traditions from all over the United States, and that cook True 'Cue in their back-home styles with care and patience..


To qualify for True ‘Cue VA/DC certification, a restaurant must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area or in greater Virginia.

  2. Cook the barbecue using wood coals or charcoal as the sole heat source.

  3. Avoid electricity, gas or any other non-wood heat source for the barbecue other than to ignite the wood, to keep the finished barbecue warm, or to re-heat the finished barbecue.

  4. Serve the barbecue on site at the location where it is cooked (exceptions may exist for food trucks and other mobile purveyors, but a restaurant that serves barbecue cooked by another business does not qualify).

  5. Offer regular business hours, with barbecue available on the menu regularly (at least monthly).

Sadly, there are relatively few restaurants in the VA/DC Metro area that meet these basic standards and serve True ‘Cue.  We need your help to change this. Please take THE PLEDGE, steer clear of faux ‘cue when possible, and patronize True ‘Cue VA.DC Metro-certified restaurants.

To the best of our knowledge, these restaurants serve barbecue that meets the True ‘Cue VA/DC Metro criteria:

GREATER VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON, D.C. METRO AREA

District of Columbia

Maryland 

Northern Virginia

Certifications are performed by our volunteer team of True ‘Cue Inspectors.  Restaurants may choose to display the True ‘Cue Real Barbecue certification on their premises, but it is not required.  If you think you know a restaurant that meets the criteria for True ‘Cue in the Washington, D.C. area or elsewhere in Virginia, let us know.  If you think a place on the list now cooks with gas or electricity, drop us a line at truecue@gmail.com and we’ll check it out (we don’t want to start a flame war, so to speak).