The Culinary King of First Ave South

Pecos Pit BBQ is so fucking good it still smells great after sitting in the office garbage can for three hours.

Pecos Pit is like the best cocaine in town, you’re willing to drive way out of your way to get it and you won’t balk for a second at the fact there are no accommodations or cute amenities to make the experience feel more complete.

There are maybe five things on the menu. It’s only open for lunch on weekdays, you can take it home or eat outside in the cold, industrial SODO wind and everything comes in a brown paper bag with a napkin and a spork if you’re smart enough to order the “beans”.

Carhartt-attired workers line up next to Starbucks suits in the rain, hands crammed in pockets, eyes focused at the order counter desperate to get their fix. The scene might resemble a methadone clinic if not for the employable appearance of those anxiously waiting. Working stiffs will drive from Belltown or Queen Anne just to score the tender, juicy perfection. What Ezells is for chicken, Pecos Pit is for BBQ.

There are also hot links, a beef brisket and a dinner to go which consists of $20 worth of frozen meat, but the messy sandwich and beans is what gets most hooked. We prefer the pork sandwich, although the beef is dually sublime. Mild is a safe bet as the medium tends to fluctuate from hot to sweat-pouring-from-your-face hot. But Pecos Pit isn’t like one of those cheap BBQ houses that uses really spicy hot sauces (Dixie’s "The Man" comes to mind) to make up for the fact that the BBQ is mediocre. Everything at Pecos Pit is great and even wusses like us are willing to tolerate the so-called medium “heat” for the benefit of the great taste that accompanies it.

Pecos Pit BBQ is on First Avenue South oacross the street from Starbucks HQ. Open Monday through Friday, lunch hours only.

Photograph by Slightlynorth