Rick Malir believed that barbecue needed a place in Columbus. In founding City Barbeque, he looked to the examples of Kansas (his home state) for the sauce, St. Louis (for the ribs), Texas (for the brisket and sausage) and eastern North Carolina (for the pulled pork). The first Upper Arlington location opened in December 1999, and Malir has since opened many more of the rustically quaint, low-key establishments throughout the state. Meats are smoked in-house for close to 20 hours before finding their way to paper plates stacked high with made-from-scratch sides such as hushpuppies, green beans, and macaroni and cheese. City's pulled chicken sandwiches and beef brisket are known for miles around, and if you've never tried corn pudding, now's the time. Four house-made sauces in squeeze bottles come in original (a tomato-based secret family recipe), Brush Fire (keyword: fire), yellow (mustard-based à la South Carolina) and vinegar (an eastern North Carolina inspiration) flavors. Beer available. Serving lunch and dinner daily. Voted Best Barbecue in Alive's 2008 readers poll. Consistently voted best barbecue in the area by Columbus Monthly magazine.