One Of Florida's Best BBQ Spots Sold Out For Nearly 10 Years Straight

Florida may not be one of the states that make up America's barbecue belt (that honor goes to places like Missouri, Kentucky, and Alabama, among others), but it's still home to some excellent meat-focused establishments. Case in point: Smokin' D's BBQ in St. Augustine. This smokehouse, founded by Daryl Perritt, has been serving up smoked meats, sandwiches, and sides since the mid 2000s. It's one of the top eateries in St. Augustine according to Tripadvisor, and even in its first decade of operation, it was in very high demand.

On the business' opening day, Perritt sold out of inventory within 45 minutes, and this set a daily precedent that continued for nearly 10 years. Perritt points to traditional cooking methods as the reason for his food's high quality and, presumably, the smokehouse's success. He told The St. Augustine Record in 2015, "For millions of years we've been eating meat cooked over wood, slowly, but for some reason everybody wants to change that. Just do the hard work. Do it the way it was originally done and it will be fine."

Today, some of Smokin' D's offerings include lunch and dinner platters, family meal specials, and smoked sandwiches piled high with either pork, turkey, or beef. Customers can also snag a BBQ Bucket (or "The BBQ Parfait"), which features a layer of smoked beans, a layer of Southern yellow rice, and a choice of meat.

Despite Smokin' D's numerous food offerings, founder Daryl Perritt insists that it's not a restaurant — it's a smokehouse. As he told The St. Augustine Record in 2015, "Some restaurants sell barbecue, but a smokehouse sells meat." Smokin' D's website doubles down on this commitment to protein quality, saying that it refuses to sell customers yesterday's meat: "We sell our BBQ at its perfect moment, fresh [every day]!" In addition to pork, beef, and turkey, the smokehouse also offers whole chickens.

Customers on Tripadvisor and Yelp rave about the smokehouse's barbecue, with one Tripadvisor review describing the ribs as "Tender, tasty and just plain delicious!" Meanwhile, a Yelp reviewer highlighted the baked beans, writing, "Very true smokey flavor, and sweet but not very — just right. Perfect over their yellow rice."

We recommend eating barbecue earlier in the day, and Smokin' D's (which sells out of food quickly) only supports this theory. As one Tripadvisor reviewer wrote, "When [the meat is] gone, it's gone ... so go early but not so early they are not open yet — they open about 11 AM." The website even recommends calling ahead to secure your order. If you're nowhere near St. Augustine, you can still try our 60-plus barbecue and grilling recipes for your next cookout.