Little Miss BBQ | Southwest BBQ At Its Best | Phoenix, Arizona

Review by: Michael Stern

The Great BBQ of Phoenix

“At last, Phoenix has great barbecue,” proclaimed a lady across from me at one of the communal picnic tables in back of Little Miss BBQ. As she spoke, she waved a flap of brisket in the air to make her point. But the fragility of the brisket caused it to fall apart in her fingers. Most of the meat sailed through the air back over her head. She gave a momentary thought to turning around and picking it up off the parking lot where it fell. It inspires that kind of food lust. I can’t say for sure if she was right to anoint this as the first great barbecue in town. But I can say with certainty that when you come here, you will eat southwest BBQ at its best.

What to eat at Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix. AZ

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Brisket

Succulence defines the brisket. Slow-smoke-cooked, it wears a coat of coarse pepper that partners perfectly with the protein wallop of the beef. When you order it on a plate, by the pound, or in a sandwich, they will ask if you want lean or fatty. The lean slices virtually melt in your mouth. The fat ones literally do.

What’s Your Favorite Meat?

You can buy a sausage whole or sliced. Enough hot pepper infuses these taut tubes of beef and pork to make every bite buzz. Butter-soft, subtly smoky pulled pork wants only a dash of house-made sauce. Thursday, they add pastrami  to the menu; Friday and Saturday: beef short ribs.

On The Side

Swell side dishes. Beans come so freighted with meat (cutting board scraps of beef and pork) that the beans themselves become a secondary note. Cheddar cheese and bits of hot jalapeno pepper enliven thick, creamy grits. For dessert: individual smoked pecan pies with wicked-crisp crust. Toasty nuts crown the powerhouse filling.

Meat-Market Style

Like so much southwest BBQ at its best, service is meat-market style. Stand in line (there always is a line!) and tell the counterman what you want. Now, salivate as he slices the brisket and piles the pork on a bun or disposable plate or stacks meats of choice on a butcher-paper-covered tray. Select your side dishes and beverage. Now carry the meal to one of the indoor tables or to a patio out back.

Little Miss opens at 11am and stops serving food when the day’s meats run out mid-afternoon. To avoid a long wait in line, many people arrive a half hour before opening.

What To Eat

Brisket (pound)

DISH
Grits

DISH
Two-Meat Plate

DISH
Smoked Pecan Pie

DISH
Pulled Pork Sandwich

DISH
Sausage Link

DISH
BBQ Beans

DISH

Little Miss BBQ | Southwest BBQ At Its Best | Phoenix, Arizona Recipes

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What do you think of Little Miss BBQ | Southwest BBQ At Its Best | Phoenix, Arizona?

One Response to “Little Miss BBQ | Southwest BBQ At Its Best | Phoenix, Arizona”

David

December 30th, 2022

I have not been to this restaurant in a very long time. Every meat that I ordered had so much sodium in it that all you could taste was the soda. The quality of meat was very poor.

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