Little Miss BBQ Is the Only BBQ in Phoenix Worth Waiting in Line For
Little Miss BBQ would be the best BBQ restaurant in most cities in Texas. Maybe not Lockhart, and maybe not Austin, but it’d be on the shortlist anywhere else. I say this as an ex-Texan. What you really want though—if it’s not sold out—is the pastrami. Sure, it’s not traditional BBQ, but it’s stupid good. Or just get the brisket—either fatty or lean—and prepare to need a nap. There’s nothing quite as special as a brisket nap on a hot summer day.
Where: Sunnyslope, and the original on University by Sky Harbor
Website: littlemissbbq.com
Reservations: Nope
Tip: The University location sells out of food faster than you’d imagine, so be sure to get in line early.
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Little Miss BBQ Has 6 Yumpoints
FEB 13, 2024 / NIKKI BUCHANAN AND CHRIS MALLOY
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Scott Holmes’s indoor-outdoor barbecue joint by the airport stars Central Texas-style meats — simple but sublime — cooked low and slow on giant offset smokers Holmes designed himself. Naturally, beef is king here, whether it’s fatty brisket, short rib, or pastrami, but everything is top-notch, including house-made sausage links, creamy mac and cheese, and smoked pecan pie. The larger satellite location on Seventh Street features an enclosed patio.
FEB 1, 2024
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Little Miss BBQ is a popular barbecue restaurant — a very popular barbecue restaurant. It is the kind of joint where, while waiting in line, a piece of tape may get slapped over an item on the large displayed menu, exacerbating your order anxiety. But that's all part of the experience. If you're not on your feet, standing with strangers waiting patiently to order, your nose filled with the fumes of grilling meat, your stomach sucking up against your spine — well, you're not doing it right.
JAN 24, 2024 / LAUREN TOPOR
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Head to the original University location of this Texas-style barbecue spot for some of the best pork ribs, sausage links, and brisket in Phoenix. Sure, you’ll likely have to stand in line before calling dibs on one of the outdoor picnic tables, but that’ll give you some time to sort out your game plan: sandwich or a plate? Pulled pork or ribs? When they’re on the menu, get the oversized beef ribs and try the pastrami brisket. And whatever you do, don’t skip the sides—we love the jalapeño cheddar grits, red potato salad, and ranch-style beans.
JAN 16, 2024 / FELICIA CAMPBELL
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As a general rule, I don't wait in line for food. Let alone an hour and a half. Yet, there I was on a hot summer day, praying they wouldn't run out of brisket before I reached the front of the line. Some days, I miss out on the pastrami special, sometimes I'm too late for the meltingly tender Texas-style brisket, but whatever's left when I get to the order counter is good enough to make me forget about the wait.
JAN 13, 2024 / LAUREN MILLINGTON
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While Phoenix is no mecca for barbecue, you can in fact enjoy some of the best, award winning central Texas-style barbecue at Little Miss BBQ, one of the best restaurants in Phoenix. We will always have a soft spot for the fatty brisket, but true Texas barbecue is more than just brisket so we recommend trying a little bit of everything (leftovers are never a bad thing).
JAN 3, 2024 / LAUREN MILLINGTON
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A good pastrami sandwich is hard to come by in Phoenix, and to make them even more elusive, the maker of the best pastrami sandwiches only serves them up once a week. But if you are craving this East Coast classic, you can get your fix at Little Miss BBQ every Thursday. They swap the rye bread for a warm Noble bun and the mustard with a mustard barbecue sauce, but the meat, easily the most important part, is prime!
DEC 12, 2023 / CHRIS MALLOY AND LIZBETH SCORDO
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In a tiny lot by the airport, several giant smokers welded from old propane tanks emit the smells of woodsmoke. Even in the summer heat, a line of an hour-plus stretches, unless you’ve arrived at least 20 minutes before the 11:00 a.m. opening time. Laidback music plays, some people wait at picnic tables, watching pit masters (who have been on the clock since not long after midnight) check on papered brisket—all signs scream that you’ve entered an intense temple of barbecue. Scott Holmes serves barbecue in the Central Texas style: beef-centric, meat seasoned minimally and plated without sauce.
JAN. 30, 2023
Tasting Table: The 50 Absolute Best BBQ Restaurants In The US
You'd never think that a name like Little Miss BBQ was inspired by a dog, but lo and behold, it was a pooch that helped launch the Phoenix, Arizona barbecue company. But, there's nothing little about the food that owners Scott and Bekke serve. The husband-wife duo slings massive amounts of meat hunks, spare ribs, and sausage through Little Miss — and that's not even the biggest reason to visit the stand. Little Miss BBQ is famed for serving red chile and green chile burritos. Customers get a one-pound, handheld, foil-wrapped vessel of tortillas that's been stuffed with smoked green chile, barbecue meat, ranch-style beans, and cheddar cheese.
