Now that I’ve been in the great state of Indiana for nearly 20 years, one thing that I’ve grown to appreciate is that Indiana is well known for delicious barbecue food! As much as we love to grill out in our backyard, we also enjoy having someone else do the cooking every once in a while. We’ve been to various restaurants that focus on barbecue, and our family definitely has a favorite that we have deemed, “ the best BBQ in Indianapolis.” The North End Barbecue & Moonshine, located at 1250 East 86th Street in Indianapolis, is definitely at the very top of our family’s go to list for dining out. My son is a picky eater, and getting him to try new foods, especially meat, is like pulling teeth some days! At The North End Barbecue & Moonshine, our son went from being a picky eater to food critic wanting to sample everything on his parents’ plates! One very nice incentive offered by The North End Barbecue is that you can make online reservations on their website to skip any long waits, which makes it really convenient, especially for those with children! The restaurant’s atmosphere was energetic with wonderful Blues music playing in the background. 
We started off with an appetizer of their smoked alaskan salmon dip with their house made potato chips. It was divine! Delicious thick and creamy goodness and it did not have a strong fishy flavor. My husband, son and I all gobbled it up! If you are not a fan of chips, I suggest requesting bread or crackers to have along with the dip.
After the appetizer, we each enjoyed a different main entree. My husband ordered the Memphis baby back ribs along with potato salad and baked beans. He said that they were the best ribs he has ever had in the nearly twenty years he’s been in Indiana. My husband normally likes his ribs slathered in sauce, but all of the meat are served dry. Despite my husband’s preference, he absolutely loved the tender and juicy seasoned ribs so much, that he didn’t even add any sauce to them. At each table there are 4 different flavored bottled sauces to select from for your meat if you prefer to have things saucy: Carolina Gold, KC Sauce, Texas Red and Classic.
The current children’s menu offered 3 main course options: grilled cheese, chicken tenders and ribs. Each meal comes with one side option: fries or veggies. The $7 children’s meal also includes apple juice or milk and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Children receive crayons and a paper menu with mazes and puzzles to keep them entertained, while they wait for their meal. My son ordered the grilled cheese, which he ate every bite of, but not without begging my husband and I for samples of our food! The aroma from my husband’s ribs made our son very eager and willing to try them! My husband gave our son one rib, which was full of delicious meat, and my son cleaned the meat completely off the bone and requested more! He loved his daddy’s ribs so much, that he had wished he ordered the ribs off of the kids menu! My husband and I were quite impressed by our son’s pallet at The North End Barbecue & Moonshine!
I ordered the Carolina pulled pork. It can be served on a bun or by itself. It was fabulously cooked to perfection! I seriously have only had pulled pork that good by making it myself. I ordered coleslaw and potato salad on the side, which both were also quite delicious.
For our final course, dessert, my husband ordered the sugar cream pie. I ordered the strawberry rhubarb cobbler and our son had the vanilla ice cream with a special request of chocolate syrup on the side to pour over it. Each of our desserts were fabulous and we highly recommend taking it to go to enjoy later if you are too full to eat it right after dinner.
*Editor’s Note: Don’t want to go out? Make BBQ at home! My chief grillers swear by this wireless grill thermometer and grill light. Our meals on the grill are cooked to perfection – despite the time of day!
Below, in alphabetical order, are the top ten barbecue restaurants throughout the state of Indiana, based on friends and family reviews:
800 E Main St, Westfield, IN 46074
(317) 867-0077
1356 S Rangeline Rd, Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 660-8369
3645 Vincennes Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46268
(317) 824-0200
812 S State St, Greenfield, IN 46140
(317) 462-7427
Ivy Way Plaza, 5771 E 71st St, Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 849-6997
2825 Middle Road, Columbus, IN 47203
(812) 799-0067
3145 W. 16th St. Indianapolis, IN 46222
(317) 488-0223
2008 Fairfield Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46802
(260) 387-5903
5515 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268
(317) 871-7427
The North End Barbecue & Moonshine
1250 E 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 614-7427
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