Miami's Top Ten Barbecue Restaurants: Dry Rubs, Jerks, and Ponies

8. People's Bar-B-Q
This Miami institution has been smoking meat over oak wood since 1962, which is probably longer than your mother has been alive. Just off I-95 in Overtown, People's Bar-B-Q proffers down-home Southern barbecue at its finest. Loosen your belt and dig into ham hocks ($8.50), a slab of ribs ($23), barbecued chicken ($16), and barbecued beef ($8). Leave room for sides such as macaroni 'n' cheese ($1.50), collard greens ($1.50), black-eyed peas ($1.50), and candied yams ($1.50), before they wheel you out in a food coma.

7. Bulldog Barbeque
Top Chef alum Howie "Bulldog" Kleinberg's little barbecue shop in Aventura might look a bit too suburban and clean to house the kind of 'cue that sets your heart aflutter. But don't sell Bulldog Barbeque or the chef short, because his operation is neat and well lit. St. Louis-style ribs are messy, sweet, and tangy ($7 to $22), while beef brisket falls apart in your mouth like bovine cotton candy ($11 to 19). A barbecue platter with three meats and cornbread ($24) is plenty to share, and the place is attractive enough to bring a date or your mom -- as long as she's a carnivore.