Sure, dishes like banana-leaf-wrapped salmon with sticky coconut rice or duck breast with pea risotto and bing cherries have their place—but what if you just want to sit down with some corn on the cob and a heaping serving of brisket and call it a day? Josh’s Barbecue to the rescue.

Though the food is straightforward and reliable, it’s hardly simple; the tenderness of the pulled pork attests to that, as do the carefully prepared house-made barbecue sauces and cakey corn bread. There are no bells and whistles to Josh’s food, mostly because the standout taste of the slow-cooked meat is enough on its own. The ordering is easy: Get one, two or three meats along with two sides (classics like baked beans, corn on the cob and sweet potato mashers) and a generous piece of green-chile corn bread.

In an ingenious move, the food doesn’t come slathered in sauce. Josh’s provides barbecue sauce in bottles at the table—traditional mild, traditional hot and seasonal—so diners can slather their food to taste: the perfect antidote to losing pieces of your falling-off-the-bone ribs in a pool of red stuff. This is habit-forming comfort food at its finest. (CJ)