Grand Rapids ranks as 17th best BBQ city

Grand Rapids is the 17th best city for the tasty, messy and meaty tradition of barbecue, according to a new ranking.

LawnStarter gave Grand Rapids a prime spot — No. 17 — on its list of 2021’s Best BBQ Cities in America, released late last month.

To “separate the top sirloin from the chuck roast of barbecue scenes,” LawnStarter ranked 199 of the biggest U.S. cities from best (No. 1) to worst (No. 199) based on their overall scores out of 100 possible points, averaged across 14 weighted hallmarks of a true barbecue hub, including award-winning barbecue restaurants and chefs, experience hosting a “master-level” competition, multiple barbecue festivals and high fan ratings, among others.

Grand Rapids’ overall score was 24.64 with a 105 for access, 19 for quality and a 16 in the events category.

Kansas City, Missouri took the top spot, Chicago came in second and Houston was third.

Top 10

1. Kansas City Missouri
2. Chicago
3. Houston
4. Cincinnati, Ohio
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Louisville, Kentucky
7. St. Louis, Missouri
8. New York City
9. Minneapolis
10. Overland Park, Kansas

Bottom 10

190. Lakewood, Colorado
191. Vancouver, Washington
192. Rockford, Illinois
193. El Paso, Texas
194. Garland, Texas
195. Anchorage, Alaska
196. Columbus, Georgia
197. Amarillo, Texas
198. Akron, Ohio
199. Aurora, Illinois