Why go: The puff of smoke rising above the trees along Route 301 south of La Plata signals the best down-home, open-pit barbecue within an hour of DC, complete with an authentically no-frills atmosphere—you order through a window of a shack and eat at picnic tables outdoors.
What to get: A slab of ribs, big and meaty and tingly with spices; pulled pork flecked with char and suffused with smoke; potato salad (it outshines the middlin’ fries); sweet tea that will slake a Southern thirst.
Best for: Road trips for diners who crave pig at its slow-cooked best.
Insider tip: Johnny Boy’s serves its barbecue “dry”—without sauce. A shot or two of Mama Sophie’s sauces—hot and mild, in squeeze bottles near the pickup window—add a jolt of tang and sweetness.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
See all Cheap Eats 2008 restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
