Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ one of the best in the West

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Not only are we one of the top neighborhoods, but Ballard has some pretty darn good BBQ, too, according to Sunset Magazine.

The magazine named Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ the 7th best barbecue joints in the West. They write, “Barbecue attitude might be brash, but the meat doesn’t have to be: The dry-rubbed, hickory- and cherry-smoked barbecue at Smokin’ Pete’s in Ballard is juicy with a subtle, almost haunting quality.” Owners Eric & Julie Reinhardt are spreading the BBQ love. Julie has a brand new book out, “She-Smoke” that aims to teach women the art of the ‘cue. (Thanks Darrell!)

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

58 thoughts to “Smokin’ Pete’s BBQ one of the best in the West”

  5. If meat is murder, then murder me up some ribs and brisket! I have mixed feelings about Pete's. Generally, I love their meats. They're smoked to perfection and nice and juicy. I am a huge fan of dry rub bbq like they do. THey're not like Tony Romas where they drown everything in sauce so you can't taste the meat. The beef ribs on Fridays are quite tasty too. They've also got quite a friendly staff.

    On the down side, their side dishes are very mediocre and the cornbread is just terrible. They also have their off-days (leftover days?) where the food is just dry and dissapointing which happened to me on my last few visits.

    I've tried the OK Corral in Greenwood once. Other than being a little heavy on the sauce, that place really impressed me. I've gotta try them again.

  6. Agree w/azbat5. Their meat and sauces are tasty, but their sides are bland and flavorless. It's a shame, too; I'd go more often if the rest of the menu was anywhere near as good as the BBQ itself.

  7. Oh great! Another write-up for Ballard in a hip mainstream magazine. Now all the Sunset Mag hipsters are gonna be flocking to Ballard and build more condos so they have tasty BBQ. Just what we need…

  10. hey, I hung out at the Sunset Bowl…oh, I see ;-)
    I can't seem to get into the place anymore…what's up with that?
    Anyhow, the place made the magazine, gotta have props for that.

  13. Oh, yeah 'cause bowling renters have no place in Ballard (eye roll).
    I don't even like BBQ (don't look at me like that!) but I wanted to pop in and say congrats to Smokin' Pete's.
    And also point out that this article has nothing to do with either property values or condo's, so hopefully the thread can move on from that.

  14. I just moved closer to Smokin' Pete's so I'm definitely going to have to try it.
    If you want good bbq you have to check out Pico's Pit in SODO. It used to be an old gas station, now its a bbq joint that sells pork, beef, or sausage sandwiches. The pork sandwich is the best i've ever had…and the baked beans are absulutely killer (but spicey, so be careful). The only problems is they are only open from11-4 M-F.
    Either way, congrats to Pete's, I'll definetly be in there soon.

  17. i like this place alot too! i like the dogbones for bella. i like Gabriels Fire up on 80th as well for BBQ but both are stones throws away from my home so both are handy & quite tasty!! i dig the live music at pete's however on the weekends. party on pete!!

  20. Give it up for Smokin' Petes – congrats! Pico's Pit is good for sure. Has anyone been to the Waterwheel Lounge? I've been hearing pretty good things about that place too. Other than a couple places (Pico's or Smokin' Petes), there is a real shortage of good bbq in Seattle.

  21. My wife and I tried Smokin' Pete's years ago when they first opened and did not enjoy the meats at all. Unfortunately, we try to only eat pasture-raised meat now, so I guess we'll never find out if they're all they're cracked up to be.

  26. When we ate there the brisket was awful, very fatty. Not a place we'd go to again.
    But that is what makes Ballard fun, not everyone likes the same types of food or restaurants and we have a tremendous variety of places to choose from.

  28. My brother in Kansas City makes a mean BBQ! too bad he is so far away…..nothing like the Gates brothers back in the day in the seediest part ever of downtown kansas City. We would drive through places that make “sketchy ballard” look like a rose garden just to get our hands on that Gates BBQ! they have it down to a science…..i sure miss that part of home.

    anyone else lucky enough to be a fan of Gates?

  32. I could not agree more. I used to like Pete's but it has gone straight down hill in the past year. Very unpredicatable food. The last two times I was there they not only served me food that tasted mediocre, but they charged me for a large dinner size when I ordered the small.

    On the other hand, Gabriel's Fire is great! I also love the brisket and the mac 'n cheese. But their chicken is much better than Pete's too. Pete's chicken is cooked so the skin turns out like hard paper. YOu can't even eat it. Gabriel's chicken is oh so tender.

    The people who create these rankings generally do not live here and only go for what looks like the hippest place from afar. Gabe's wins my vote hands down.

  33. Agreed about Gabriel's Fire. I really like the quality of their brisket and pulled pork, and their sides are great.

    Perhaps I've ordered the wrong things at Smokin' Pete's, but I've been unimpressed. It's not bad, it's just not great.

  36. LOL…that is hillarious. I'm with you guys!!! Maybe the best in Ballard but not by much. The times i've been it's hit or miss…and at it's best its good but otherwise it's dry and not that tasty. I will give kudos to the Mac and Cheese!!! The cornbread is a joke at my house…we give it to the birds, it's the worst cornbread ever.

  37. Really…Gabriels Fire?? I had hopes for it but the brisket I had there last seemed chewy and lacking in flavor…pork was akay tasting but fatty…sides were good but small(for take out anyway) so I pretty much gave up on it even though the prices seem better than Pete's.
    BTW I think Pete's chicken is mighty tender and flavorful…
    oh well guess your mileage may vary
    ;-)

  41. I thought Smokin Pete's was ok but it was pretty expensive for what it was. There are some great BBQ shacks in the Central District that I think are a lot better. The best BBQ I ever had was just off Hwy 10 after the Causeway in rural Louisiana. Can't imagine that the Sunset magazine folks would make it out there.

    I saw a bumper sticker once at a butcher shop that sums me up:
    I love animals – they're yummy!

  42. My one trip into Pete's I was served by a guy with open sores on his face and neck. My wife exclaimed Syphillis and I couldn't finish my food.

    F'ing Syphillis sandwiches in that place.

  43. Whaaaat?

    Smokin' Petes has got to be one of the worst BBQ places I've had in the Seattle area.

    The cornbread is like ground up moist cardboard.

    The BBQ ribs, which I've tried on 3 separate occasions (hoping that I would get a better batch) were fat, gristle and just impossible to enjoy. They were not tender in any way and it felt like I was chewing on the meat from a dog bone like they sell in the pet stores.

    The chicken wasn't much to write home either.

    I don't know whats up with folks recommending Gabriels Fire either. Last time I checked they had spotty service hours and it took me roughly 40 minutes to get an order of ribs. The woman behind the counter didn't know how to work the register and in the end, the ribs were of the same quality of Smokin Petes. I got a feeling they use the same meat supplier cause its straight up fat + gristle.

    If you want good, hit up RoRo's in Freemont or some of the places in SoDo…or even Famous Daves near SeaTac.

  44. Oh, I figured it out!

    This Sunset Magazine must be like the magazines you find in the seat pocket of airplanes. I'm specifically talking about the BEST OF lists you find. BEST OF Seafood, Steaks, Italian, with a list showing every city, the address, the phone number and the owner.

    It's all paid advertisements (so is MyBallard…).

  48. Pete's makes some of the worst barbeque I've ever had. I tried the brisket twice, it was like eating cardboard. This doesn't even remotely resemble Texas hill country meat, which is well smoked meat served with no sauce. Gabriel's fire brisket was well smoked on the ouside, but raw in the middle. the best I've found here is Pecos Pit, with Manna Texas BBQ on Holman and 85th a close second. If you go to Manna get mild sauce on the side. Oh, for you folks that don't like it fatty; if it ain't fatty it ain't the real thing. For the real thing go to Cooper's in Mason, TX, not to be confused with Cooper's down the road in Llano.

  49. Wow, the best? Really? It's alright but certainly not the best. There mac & cheese is pretty good, thought. The real reson I'm posting is because I'm so baffled about people saying anything good about Gabriel's Fire. Sure, it's close to my house but that's the worst I've had in Seattle. It's flavorless, unless you pick a suce to put on it after they serve it to you. That seems counterintuitive to the whole notion of BBQ. I tried some hole in the wall in south Seattle that was pretty decent. It didn't have a name but it was in the middle of nowhere. It was between 4th South and E. Marginal, on like Lucille or Dawson. If anyone knows the name I'd like to try it again, but I can't seem to find it.

  51. I have had tons of bbq all over the states and as far as smokin pete's goes i give it a pretty good review. There are some problems for sure (the cornbread is pointless) but the brisket i had there was fantastic and the half chicken was at least an 8 out of 10. I wouldn't say it's the best in seattle (pig iron may be) but those southern greens are killer and the “hot” sauce on the table is great. The other sauces i could leave. The mild is kinda rough and the sour sauce is not good. As far as BBQ goes, nowhere in Seattle can compare to anywhere in Austin, Tx but Austin has us beat on just about everything except it's an ugly uncomfortable place to live.

    Oh yeah, It's not necessary, but I would recommend going there as a true pacific northwestern (slightly stoned).

  52. I hear you but it is far too late. This place went to the dot com douches years ago. Now you just gotta roll with it. With all the unsold ugly condos and the countless new homeless every year, this place will be a shitty scandinavian ghetto in no time. fingers crossed. sigh.

  53. I agree about the fatty thing. i don't understand how fat on your meat is a bad thing. I can't remember the names but i had the best barbeque in Austin. Not stubbs… it's good though, just a bit touristy… the jalapeno creamed spinach could be used to barter good and services instead of money.

  54. Has anyone tried the Texas Style BBQ near Holmand and Greenwood… In the same buildings as the new Snooze Junction Pizza.

    I've always wanted to try it.

  55. Oops. Manna Texas BBQ is at Holman and Greenwood, not Holman and 85th. It's great. Get the sauce on the side if you want to taste the meat. The brisket and pork ribs are the best things there.

  57. Dixie's in Bellevue/Redmond is much better than Pete's….but I agree about BBQ Austin. The best BBQ I've had so far has been at the Salt Lick in Drift Wood TX, worth the drive to this place outside of Austin, even if it is in the middle of nowhere and in a “dry” county. You have to BYOB. To claim that their the best BBQ in TX is saying something, and I think they sure live up to it. They are also one the last “open pit” style of BBQ places around. They even have the Salt Lick at the Austin airport now…however, it's not the same as the original as you might imagine. Iron City ( I think that was the name) is also really good and right next to the convention center in Austin.

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