USA Today ranked the 20 tastiest ribs in America just in time for one of the best rib-eating holidays, July 4th. Archibald's in Northport received a lofty sixth-place ranking from the newspaper and represented the only Alabama restaurant on the list.

How were the ribs judged? According to USA Today, "The only criterion that we provided these panelists was that their picks needed to be bone-in ribs best eaten with your hands and a pile of napkins."

Here's why Archibald's was chosen

"I love the pork ribs at Archibald's," John T. Edge told us. "They have a great char, come slathered in an orange-hued vinegary sauce, and require — as great pork ribs do — a tug of the incisors to loosen meat from bone." The restaurant has been run by the Archibald family since it opened in 1962, and today it's run by George Archibald Jr. who sticks with the same recipe his father used. Ribs are smoked low and slow over hickory wood, and served out of a little shack. Grab a rack and a cup of sauce, snag a picnic table, and enter barbecue nirvana.

 

West Alabama knows barbecue and it's good to see one of the local places get some well-deserved national attention.

Here are the top five that were rated higher:

  1. Oklahoma Joe's (Kansas City, Kansas)
  2. Smoke (Dallas)
  3. The Salt Lick (Driftwood, Texas)
  4. Home Team BBQ (Charleston, SC)
  5. Franklin BBQ (Austin, Texas)

Do you agree that Archibald's has the best ribs in the state?

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