Meet Virginia Living’s BBQ Bracket Battle champion!

The final tally is in, and our BBQ Bracket Battle champion is Scoot’s BBQ of Gloucester Point!
Smoke + Salt, our guide to seriously good barbecue, oysters, and more, has expanded this year to include other iconic Virginia foods such as fried chicken, ham biscuits, cornbread, peanuts, and comfort food. Smoke + Salt hits newsstands next week, and in preparation for this new and expanded issue, we held our first ever BBQ Bracket Battle!
A panel of expert judges narrowed our Best BBQ Awards list from more than 250 restaurants to just 32, divided among four regions. From July 29 to Sept. 1, these restaurants went head-to-head each week as you voted to decide which restaurants advanced to the next round until only one remained to be crowned Virginia Living’s BBQ Bracket Battle champion.
Scoot’s BBQ will be featured in the Dining story of our December 2019 issue. Subscribe by Oct. 24 to receive your copy in the mail!

PRIZES
As our thanks to voters, we will be giving away five free baskets of Virginia-made, BBQ-related products (one each week), including BBQ sauces, equipment, rubs, snacks, and more, all thanks to our sponsors! Each basket will also include a copy of Smoke + Salt 2017, Smoke + Salt 2018, Virginia Living’s Recipes: A Collection of Favorites, and a $25 gift card to the Virginia Living Store—for a total value of more than $250. Check out the featured products and businesses below.

Additionally, one lucky winner will receive a grand prize of two FREE tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo’s SMOKED! event on March 6, 2020 at Main Street Station in Richmond.
"Held in spectacular Main Street Station on Friday evening, March 6, 2020, this all-inclusive indulgent food, wine, whiskey, and barrel-aged craft beer event features several of the country’s most legendary barbecue restaurants, a diverse selection of global cuisines, and award-winning food entrepreneurs presenting some of their signature smoked products. You’ll taste a wide variety of dishes and ingredients representing a diversity of cultures and cuisines from around the U.S. and the world. Also, you’ll imbibe top-shelf whiskey from Virginia and across the U.S. and premium wine from Virginia, Washington State (the 2020 National Guest Region), and Bordeaux/Loire Valley, France (the 2020 International Guest Region) while enjoying live music."
Visit VirginiaWineExpo.com for more information.
JUDGES

Joseph Haynes, David Heilbronner, Joshua Shook, and Pete Snyder
Tim Carman
Tim Carman is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and columnist for The Washington Post. His work has appeared in numerous editions of the Best Food Writing collection as well as the sixth edition of Cornbread Nation. He has also written for Imbibe magazine, American Scholar, Food Network magazine, and other publications. Before joining The Post in 2010, he served as food editor and columnist for Washington City Paper. He lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, with his wife, writer M. Carrie Allan, and their two naughty dogs, Lucinda and Hans Floofer.
Joseph Haynes
Joseph Haynes is an award-winning barbecue cook, a Kansas City Barbeque Society Master Certified Barbecue Judge, and the author of two books: Virginia Barbecue: A History and Brunswick Stew: A Virginia Tradition. He also authored the Virginia Barbecue Proclamation that was unanimously passed by the Virginia State Legislature in 2016. He can be reached for questions or comments through his Facebook page.
David Heilbronner
After growing up in Charlottesville, David Heilbronner was an orthopedic surgeon for almost 40 years before retiring in 2016. A certified Master BBQ Judge through the Kansas City BBQ Society, Heilbronner and his longtime friend and fellow orthopedic surgeon Bruce Wilhelmsen founded Bone Doctors’ BBQ Sauce Company in 2008. “Bone Doctors’ started as the result of my smoking pork butts and selling BBQ sandwiches at the soccer park to raise money for my daughter’s soccer team to play in Italy. People loved the food and sauces and would ask where my restaurant was,” he says. Heilbronner and Wilhelmsen decided to focus on the sauces and, after two years of research and experimentation, began production, making sauces with “unique flavor combinations in four different sauce styles.”
Joshua Shook
Joshua Shook is a certified culinary scientist and a manager in research and development at Smithfield Foods. He and his wife, Heidi, form the award-winning competitive barbecue team HamTown Smokers. Go behind the scenes at a competition with the Shooks in the Smoke & Salt 2019 issue, on newsstands Sept. 20. (Subscribe here by Aug. 22 to receive it with your October 2019 issue.)
Pete Snyder
Pete Snyder is the chief executive officer of Disruptor Capital, an angel capital investment firm focused on funding and growing disruptive technologies, ideas, and entrepreneurs. Prior to starting Disruptor, Snyder was the founder and CEO of New Media Strategies, the world’s first and one of the largest social media marketing agencies. A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Snyder is active in politics in Virginia, where he has served in various leadership roles in the Republican Party and ran for Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth in 2013. Additionally, Snyder is a World Championship certified barbecue judge, an accreditation that was fact-checked and declared “100% true” by The Washington Post. Snyder, his wife Burson, his daughter Bee, and their dog Elvis reside in Charlottesville.
SPONSORS
Alexander Brothers, Timberville — Bottle openers and cutting boards
ARTon Products, Lively — Custom Virginia Living BBQ Bracket Battle engraved pint glasses
Barrel-Art, Hampton — Barbecue smoker chips
Belmont Butchery, Richmond — $50 gift certificates
Bone Doctors’ Barbeque Sauce, Charlottesvillle — Barbecue sauce
BS Grillin’ Co., Lynchburg — Smokin’ Chipotle BBQ sauce
Dizzy Pig Seasonings, Manassas — Barbecue rub
Hub’s Peanuts, Sedley — Sweet Heat peanuts
Java Food Co., Cheriton — Sumpthin’ Spicy Tandoori Java Dust spice blend
Joseph Haynes — Virginia Barbecue: A History
Landcrafted Food, Independence — Beef sticks
Route 11 Potato Chips, Mt. Jackson — Barbeque potato chips
Smithfield Foods, Smithfield — Oven mitts, cooking utensils, and coupons
Stone Spice Company, Lynchburg — BBQT barbecue rub
Virginia Wine Expo, Richmond — SMOKED! event tickets
Whitley’s Peanut Factory, Hayes — Bourbon Barbeque peanuts

Comments (200)
Comment FeedBest BBQ
Judy Bujno more than 3 years ago
The contest
james regal more than 3 years ago
Scoot's BBQ
Marc Vecchio more than 3 years ago
Scoot's Rules!
Mark Fingar more than 3 years ago
King's
Richard Hooper more than 3 years ago
King's
Richard Hooper more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Kathy Thomas more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Bonnie more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Sheila more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Kathy Sanders more than 3 years ago
scoots
deanna merriweather more than 3 years ago
I've had both Scoots and Kings...
Mark Fingar more than 3 years ago
Kings is AWESOME!
Richard Taylor more than 3 years ago
King's is King
Kay Rowlett Rowe more than 3 years ago
Everything is better at King's!
Rebecca Gillette more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ-the best ever!
Cathy Hill more than 3 years ago
Kings
K. King more than 3 years ago
Kings IS King in the BBQ world
Katherine Queen more than 3 years ago
Scoots and Kings
Tom Hay more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Paul Willis jr. more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ!
Rob T. more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
David Martin more than 3 years ago
Scoots- Worth the drive
Jan H. more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Mary Swihart more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ 3 Generations Choice
Margaret Dillard more than 3 years ago
Scoots bbq
Joni more than 3 years ago
Scoots!
Hannah more than 3 years ago
King ‘s BBQ the best
Katherine Queen more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ the Absolute Best
Virginia Perry Jones more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Jackie Outten more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s BBQ
Kristy more than 3 years ago
Scoots bbq
Michelle Marsh more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Mark LaMal more than 3 years ago
SCOOTS GETS MY VOTE
Helen Mason more than 3 years ago
Love, love!
Mary Lawrence more than 3 years ago
Kings Petersburg Va
Brenda Whorley more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Helen B Richardson more than 3 years ago
Kings
Teresa Gupton more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Jackie Outten more than 3 years ago
King’s BBQ
Mary Beth King (no relation) more than 3 years ago
BBQ Competition
Bob Leigh Grossmann, D.D.S. more than 3 years ago
King's
Jay more than 3 years ago
Scoots - Hands Down!
Judith more than 3 years ago
Kings
Teresa Bales more than 3 years ago
Love Kings BBQ
lynne Brittain more than 3 years ago
Kings is a Family Tradition
Dennis Owen more than 3 years ago
Kings
Judy Kidd more than 3 years ago
Kings
Whitney Dye more than 3 years ago
King’s is the best!
Stefanie more than 3 years ago
Kings
Ray Muller more than 3 years ago
Kings!
Howard Skelton more than 3 years ago
KINGS!!
Marian Aldrich more than 3 years ago
Kings
Joe more than 3 years ago
Bbq
Raymond more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ for a life time
Mark A. Milazzo more than 3 years ago
Out of Town
Norene Lovdahl more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Dennis Murphy more than 3 years ago
SCOOTS
John Slavnik more than 3 years ago
Move over Kings
Dave Ferree more than 3 years ago
KINGS BARBECUE-70 YEARS
Keith more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s for the Win!
Sharon Roy more than 3 years ago
Best BBQ & Brisket
mindy deyarmin more than 3 years ago
Winner!
Dana Vlkojan more than 3 years ago
SCOOTS BBQ
Sandy Hauser more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Katherine Queen more than 3 years ago
King’s
Tracey more than 3 years ago
you are 100% right
Brenda Rowlett Wright more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ
Rick Burton more than 3 years ago
YOU “GOT THAT RIGHT”
Keith more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s!!!!!
Anna more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Karen Torres more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Linda more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Gladys Nunnally more than 3 years ago
Scoots for sure !
Ellen Quirk more than 3 years ago
Jus scoot on over
Mike more than 3 years ago
Let’s go SCOOTS
Tim Hamilton more than 3 years ago
King’s Forever!
Kay more than 3 years ago
"Kings is KING!"
Mark Murphy more than 3 years ago
Scoots
W Van Johnston more than 3 years ago
Scoots!
Therese Creel more than 3 years ago
Scoots is tops
Jeannine Camacho more than 3 years ago
Scoots for the win
Tim more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Trudy Brinkley more than 3 years ago
Scoot's All the way!
Rhonda more than 3 years ago
KING'S B B Q
T STEVE JONES more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ THE BEST!!!
Mildred Spence more than 3 years ago
The Best BBQ
Mike Uzel more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s hands down!!
John Coleman more than 3 years ago
Scoot's is epic!
Toby Calloway more than 3 years ago
AND THE WINNER IS...
Bruce Gordon more than 3 years ago
King’s does it right!
Nancy more than 3 years ago
KING'S RULES VA BBQ
Tom Lee more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ is the ONLY BBQ
Jacquie more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Wendy more than 3 years ago
Absolutely LOVE Scoots
Carol Raynor more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Melissa more than 3 years ago
Kings Old School
Charles Smith more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Becky Fleming more than 3 years ago
Kings all the way!
Linda more than 3 years ago
Kings for the WIN
Trish Kirby more than 3 years ago
Kings
Edward Bish Jr more than 3 years ago
Kings #1 BBQ
Tracy Wright more than 3 years ago
Uhm
Chrissy more than 3 years ago
MCCOYS
Chrissy more than 3 years ago
KingsBarbeque
Judy Kidd more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s is Incredible
Yvonne Scales more than 3 years ago
KINGS!!
Marian Aldrich more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ
Erma Jones more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Ellen Sutton more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s
Cheryl Denton more than 3 years ago
The Bacon
Richard Hooper more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Pat Johnson more than 3 years ago
How to Vote?
Kay Rowlett Rowe more than 3 years ago
Kings
Beverly Brown more than 3 years ago
Kings
Anne Stiles more than 3 years ago
King's
Bill more than 3 years ago
Scoots is top notch! They have a friendly staff. What makes Scoots stand out from the rest is how much they do to give back to their community. They pave the way for how other local businesses should be
Doug Roundy more than 3 years ago
Scoots # 1
Mary Swihart more than 3 years ago
Vote for King's
Anne R Heine more than 3 years ago
King’s BBQ All the way
Jessi a more than 3 years ago
King's is #1
Darla Lindenmayer more than 3 years ago
KING"S
Dan more than 3 years ago
King's
Patty Kruszewski more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Cameron Harper more than 3 years ago
Vote for Scoots
Jerry Gustin more than 3 years ago
Vote for Scoots
Jerry Gustin more than 3 years ago
King's is King
Kent more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Linda Johnston more than 3 years ago
Best BBQ south of the Mason Dixon line
Timothy S Ludwig more than 3 years ago
SCOOTS THE BEST OF THE BEST
Paul more than 3 years ago
Best bbq EVER
D. Mcleod more than 3 years ago
Kings Barbecue
Nancy more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Linda Johnston more than 3 years ago
Love Scoots. Don’t think it let me vit
LindCraig more than 3 years ago
Not taking my vote for McCoys either
Patricia more than 3 years ago
We love McCoys BBQ
Patricia more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s
Debbie Richardson more than 3 years ago
King’s Rules
Daphne more than 3 years ago
Triple crown bbq
CSC more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown BBQ
Melissa and Don Otey more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s
Janice Lane more than 3 years ago
Kings!
Patty more than 3 years ago
SCOOTS BBQ
Linda Johnston more than 3 years ago
Kings
Daphne more than 3 years ago
Kings
Daphne more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown BBQ
Captain Toast more than 3 years ago
KINGS!!!!!
Cynthia J Marshall more than 3 years ago
Best I've ever had!
Sandy Smith more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown BBQ
Amanda more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Tina B. more than 3 years ago
No women or minorities judging?
Pam Flasch more than 3 years ago
King's
Kelly more than 3 years ago
King's
Kathryn more than 3 years ago
McCoy’s for best bbq in America!!!
Jim more than 3 years ago
I agree 100%
Nick more than 3 years ago
Scoots is the best!
Barb Kauneckas more than 3 years ago
Kings is the BEST!!!
Libby Gatewood more than 3 years ago
KINGS
Megan more than 3 years ago
King's BBQ
Patty Kruszewski more than 3 years ago
KING'S
Kay Rowlett Rowe more than 3 years ago
KINGS
Norma more than 3 years ago
Kings!
Clay Walthall more than 3 years ago
Kings bbq
Gail more than 3 years ago
Scoots
Charles more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ the best!
Katherine Queen more than 3 years ago
Kings
Gary more than 3 years ago
Mccoys BBQ
Katie more than 3 years ago
Vinegar or tomato based sauce? Who cares if it isn't Kings?!
Ann Perkins more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ-Petersburgt
David Blount more than 3 years ago
TRIPLE CROWN FOR THE WIN!
Jessica more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown. The BEST!!
Art more than 3 years ago
Scoot's BBQ
Teresa Montgomery more than 3 years ago
Scoot's - Great staff and the food is the star!
Shanny B more than 3 years ago
Voting
Robert Lynn more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Linda Johnston more than 3 years ago
Voting
Kay Rowlett Rowe more than 3 years ago
Scoot’s is the one!
Bob Anderson more than 3 years ago
KING'S BBQ... IS NO. 1
Ginger Rafferty more than 3 years ago
Kings
Donna Phipps more than 3 years ago
MCCOYS
Gwendolyn Smith more than 3 years ago
Kings in THE best anywhere!
Virginia Fluet more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Teresa Kelley more than 3 years ago
McCoy’s BBQ
Ronald Coles more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Bob Tschirhart more than 3 years ago
McCoy’s bbq
Jazmine Washington more than 3 years ago
McCoy’s barbecue
Donna more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Shannah Cooper more than 3 years ago
King's bbq
Stephanie Ivey more than 3 years ago
McCoys BBQ
Jason more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Katherine more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown
Cathy more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Sarajane M Troxel more than 3 years ago
Kings
John more than 3 years ago
Triple Crown
Sophie Dennison more than 3 years ago
McCoys BBQ
Jason more than 3 years ago
Scripts BBQ
Betty Rhodes more than 3 years ago
Kings BBQ
Trish more than 3 years ago
Scoots BBQ
Jerry more than 3 years ago
There is only one truth in BBQ - King's.
Ann Perkins more than 3 years ago
Kings!!!!!
Jim more than 3 years ago