As New Orleans continues to discover what real barbecue is about, we've managed to hold onto a few really good purveyors. The Joint, despite its abbreviated menu and minimal surroundings--is one of the city's best. This is barbecue for people who know that a bite should leave crunchy black shreds stuck in your teeth, and that the meat shouldn't stay on the plate when you pick up a rib.
Pete and Jenny Breen, after deciding the the Bywater District was among the most culturally promising parts of town, opened the Joint in 2004. It had already established a reputation for goodness by the time Katrina hit, and when it reopened afterwards was one of those places whose return was much rejoiced in.
Nobody goes to a barbecue joint for creature comforts, but even with that in mind the premises come across as--well, they named it The Joint, didn't they? No misleading advertising, that. The neighborhood is interesting, full of century-old houses waiting to be renovated. It's also adjacent to one of the major administrative facilities for the Port of New Orleans.
Buy half again as much as you want and take it home. Barbecue is one of the few cuisines that lends itself to traveling in a car and saving in a refrigerator for a few days.
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