Dixie Bones, web site, 13440 Occoquan Road, Woodbridge, VA, south on Rt. 123, half an hour south from Fairfax, right off I-95, 703-492-2205 [Washingtonian | WaPo | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]
Worth the trip, right now this is the best barbecue around. I like the ribs best. The side orders are excellent, and cooked with great care. Make sure you try the sauces on your meat. Everyone recommends their baked goods as well. This is outside my purview but they appear to be quite fresh.
Dixe Bones BBQ, rack of ribs
Dixie Bones BBQ, pork
Dixie Bones BBQ, collard greens
Dixie Bones BBQ, pulled chicken
Dixie Bones BBQ, coleslaw
Dixie Bones BBQ, beef
Dixie Bones BBQ, baked beans
Dixie Bones BBQ, catfish
The barbecue is really great. Don’t miss the side called Muddy Spuds. It is a fried potato and cheese dish that is the best side dish on the menu.
Dixie Bones
We had to try Dixie Bones BBQ after reading Tyler Cowen’s description of it as “the best barbecue around.” So off we went with a BBQ-loving friend to sample as much as we could. We were salivating as soon as…
As a man from the South, a barbecue addict, a proud owner of a barbecue smoker that is big enough to cook a whole hog and a former winner of a barbecue competition, I’m fairly qualified to judge barbecue. Unfortunately, Dixie Bones failed the test.
After reading extensively about barbecue in the area, I decided to make the trip to Woodbridge. While I loved the atmosphere of the place and the cole slaw was very good, everything else was a huge disappointment.
None of the meats had any smoke flavor and must have been prepared without first applying a dry rub. The barbecue sauces were just plain bad. The cornbread was dry and the baked beans were worse than the stuff you can get in a can at your local grocery store.
To show you how desperate I am for good ‘cue, I even went back a few weeks later in hopes that my first visit was a massive anomaly. It wasn’t. The second visit was even worse.
My search for good ‘cue outside of Texas, Kansas City, Tennessee and North Carolina continues…
A few years ago I spent almost a month working in Nashville, taking care to eat at as many BBQ places as possible. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about what BBQ should be, but it also spoiled me when it comes to good BBQ.
I have to agree with Derek, like so many of what passes for BBQ in the Northeast, Dixie Bones completely lacks the good smoke flavor that BBQ should have. The meat is of decent quality, but the flavor isn’t there.
Their thin vinegar base sauce is fairly good, along with their spicy and regular sauces. The baked beans leave a lot to be desired as well.
The best ‘cue I have found in the DC region is Chubby’s on RT 15 north of Frederick, almost to the PA line. Good smoke flavor, excellent greens and beans, and an authentic BBQ atmosphere.