The ‘Burg’s Best BBQ
The 2025 Hub City Hog Fest is set for April 4-5, bringing the sights, smells, and tastes of everyone’s favorite barbecue competition back to Downtown Spartanburg, all benefitting Mobile Meals of Spartanburg.
The two-day, mouth-watering event will feature 40+ teams competing to see who makes the most popular pulled pork, ribs, and wings, plus live music and local vendors and activities perfect for the entire family.
But while the Hog Fest may be the crown jewel, Spartanburg’s barbecue prowess extends across the county and throughout the year.
Smoking Butt Heads sits right on Main Street near Morgan Square, offering some legendary barbecue flavors straight from the pit. Named to Southern Living’s 2024 list of Best New Barbecue Joins in the South, Smoking Butt Heads specializes in competition-style meals featuring smoked meats and traditional sides like mac-and-cheese, baked beans, greens, and more.
Carolina Barbecue has been named “Best BBQ Joint in South Carolina” by Southern Living, with its Lexington-style pulled pork, ribs, chicken, turkey, and beef brisket, all slow-smoked over hickory wood for 14–16 hours for that perfect, tender bite.
Moe’s BBQ, located on Spartanburg’s Northside – just across the street from Wofford College – is a regional chain featuring fruit-wood-smoked meats and a host of signature sauces to amp up each meat offering’s flavor.
Little Pigs BBQ is a family-owned favorite with multiple locations in Spartanburg County. It’s best known for its hickory-smoked chicken and ribs, served with a variety of classic Southern sides like hushpuppies, collard greens, red slaw, and corn on the cob.
Southside Smokehouse in Landrum is a local favorite, run by former SC Chef Ambassador Sarah McClure. Southside specializes in a hybrid of sorts, bringing together North Carolina-style barbecue and Louisiana Cajun and Creole, making an entirely new and entirely delicious menu of comfort food dishes.
Shane’s Rib Shack is a go-to spot for barbecue dishes, particularly, as its name suggests, ribs. Shane’s ups the flavor ante in several dishes, though, with lunch baskets and other options including Loaded Shack Fries and special, BBQ Shack Salads.
Rigsby’s Smoked Burgers & Wings, with its location near the Chapman Cultural Center, allows diners to savor a host of smoky, delicious options, going so far as to smoke their cheeseburgers. Rigsby’s serves up plenty of sandwiches and other upgraded pub grub, complete with innovative, barbecue-infused dishes like the Smoked BBQ Pizza.
Pig Out BBQ is a delicious, no-frills, mom-and-pop barbecue joint with locations in Inman and Drayton, where the focus is on great-tasting food over fancy aesthetics. Their menu is packed with Carolina favorites, including pork, hash over rice, ribs, and pork tenderloin.
