{"id":36,"date":"2026-07-18T14:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T20:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=36"},"modified":"2026-07-24T19:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:02:07","slug":"honey-bears-barbecue-phoenix-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=36","title":{"rendered":"Honey Bear’s Barbecue – Phoenix, Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
My Friend Bruce “Sr Plata” About to Enter Honey Bear’s in Phoenix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Depending on the type of egg, the minimum temperature for frying an egg has been measured to be 144-158F.\u00a0 That’s only a few degrees from the ideal “low and slow” temperature of smoking meats–225\u00b0F to 250\u00b0F. On scorching summer days in Phoenix, television news shows perennially traumatize visitors and tourists by frying an egg on the city’s sidewalks. It would really<\/em> traumatize viewers if a pitmaster was shown manipulating the low-and-slow smoke emanating from post oak embers on a sidewalk to barbecue a brisket.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sr Plata About to Order<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the first decade of the new millennium, frequent business trips brought me to the Valley of The Sun.\u00a0 At that time, there was a serious dearth of good barbecue restaurants in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.\u00a0 Among the very few was The Smokehouse Barbecue Restaurant<\/strong><\/a> where me and my Intel friends and colleagues practically lived.\u00a0 Incomparable pitmaster Gary West kept us very well fed (particularly on Wednesdays when the amazing smoked burger was featured fare).\u00a0 The Smokehouse was like an oasis in a culinary desert.\u00a0 Business trips to the Phoenix area gave us an opportunity to explore smoked meats and discover very good barbecue away from the Land of Enchantment.<\/p>\n

Among our very favorite was Honey Bear’s Barbecue.\u00a0 Just as The Smokehouse was a pioneer in establishing credible barbecue in the Albuquerque area, Honey Bear’s and its founder-owner Mark Smith were laying the stepping stones for other pit masters throughout the Valley.\u00a0 Honey Bear’s has been serving Tennessee-style barbecue since 1986.\u00a0 Tennessee-style is a tradition rooted in slow cooking over hard woods, with smoke doing most of the heavy lifting while time and talent handle the rest. In close proximity to the airport, it’s a popular destination for people flying in and out of Phoenix–and one of the few reasons I enjoyed business trips to the Land of the Sun. Two slogans define the secrets to the restaurant’s success: “You don’t need no teeth to eat our meat<\/em>” and “Put a little south in your mouth<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Baby Back Ribs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In its 40 years, the restaurant has received extensive local and national accolades.\u00a0 In its first\u00a0 year of operation, Honey Bear\u2019s BBQ won the New Times Best of Phoenix Award.\u00a0 Ever since, they\u2019ve just been racking up the accolades:“<\/b> Best BBQ” in 2000, 2001 (for a diet), 2006, 2012, and 2014.\u00a0 Honey Bear’s was recognized by Thrillist in a compilation of “The Absolute Best BBQ in Phoenix” for their hickory-smoked proteins and iconic sweet potato pie.\u00a0 \u00a0It also has the distinction of catering to the cast and crew during the filming of “Bill & Ted\u2019s Excellent Adventure.\u201d The Honey Bear’s team has nearly 100 years of experience working together in the kitchen and around the horseshoe of smokers arranged on a back patio.<\/p>\n

If Honey Bear’s has any detractors, it may be because its meat is sometimes laden with “imperfections.”\u00a0 While I disdain sinew, a little bit of fat here and there enhances the flavor of barbecue.\u00a0 Heck, it’s been said that fat IS flavor.\u00a0 \u00a0That’s the case at Honey Bear’s. Meats are not of the 99.9% snowy white purity some people like.\u00a0 Me, I love that sandwiches are overstuffed with moist meats slathered with a vinegar based sauce with plenty of zip and zest.\u00a0 It’s not piquant in the style of New Mexico chile, but will tease and tantalize your taste buds.\u00a0 Sandwiches were my preferred fare during my visits to Honey Bear’s.<\/p>\n

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Catfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My dear friend Bruce “Sr Plata” Silver and I didn’t work together at Intel so he never visited Honey Bear’s with me.\u00a0 He finally had the opportunity to do so some 19 years after my last visit (2007).\u00a0 As the nefarious “Murphy” (he of the ominous “anything that can go wrong will go wrong<\/em>” law) might have postulated “the more you brag about a restaurant, the worst the food will be when you bring a friend to that restaurant<\/em>.”\u00a0 Our first indication that Honey Bear’s may not be as good as my recollections was in finding a nearly empty parking lot and restaurant.\u00a0 During the entire duration of our hour-long stay, only one other guest ate at the restaurant’s dining room though there were three or four take-our customers.<\/p>\n

18 July 2026<\/strong>:\u00a0 Both Sr Plata and I wanted “two meats platters” but not in the conventional way you might think of two meats.\u00a0 One of the meats my friend wanted was not among the choices categorized as a meat.\u00a0 He wanted chicken strips and beef brisket <\/strong><\/em>(the non-conventional choice being chicken strips).\u00a0 The very accomodating pitmaster acquiesed to the request.\u00a0 Sr Plata was surprised at the size of the chicken strips, two crispy, all white, breaded and fried chicken tenderloin planks.\u00a0 They were golden hued and tender.\u00a0 The brisket was chopped.\u00a0 Sr Plata’s preference would have been for Texas-style sliced brisket, but that had to have been requested in advance.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Chicken Tenders and Beef Brisket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

18 July 2026<\/strong>:\u00a0 My own unconventional “two meats platter” (again, approved by the pitmaster), was fried catfish and babyback ribs<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Two pieces of crispy fried catfish filets seasoned and breaded were served with a bread roll.\u00a0 Catfish has a mild, slightly sweet, and uniquely earthy flavor with a firm, dense texture that is less flaky than many other whitefish. More than likely farmed, it’s a “cleaner” tasting fish than wild caught catfish.\u00a0 I like mine with Tabasco sauce and ketchup.\u00a0 My other meat was babyback ribs, four per order doused in sauce.\u00a0 Indicative of a knowledgeable pitmaster, the meat didn’t fall off the bone.\u00a0 It had an easy pull and was “just right” in the tender department.<\/p>\n

18 July 2026<\/strong>:\u00a0 My two meats platter came with two sides.\u00a0 “Both” my sides were Cowbro beans<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Not your typical plain-Jane molasses based baked beans, they are emboldened with generous amounts of hot links, brisket and hot peppers and reside in a thin tomato sauce.\u00a0 Other available sides were Cajun fries, potato salad, coleslaw and cornbread.\u00a0 Among the intriguing menu items for diners who love beans as much as I do is one called a BBQ Sundae (Cowbro beans topped with your choice of BBQ meats and creamy coleslaw and drizzled with BBQ sauce.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cowbro Beans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

18 July 2026<\/strong>:\u00a0 Dessert options include traditional Southern favorites: peach cobbler<\/strong><\/em> and sweet potato pie<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Both are homemade.\u00a0 In fact, the peach cobbler was still in the oven when we arrived.\u00a0 \u00a0When we finished our lunch, the piping hot peach cobbler was ready.\u00a0 Sr Plata nearly scalded his tongue on the cobbler.\u00a0 Though he liked it, he would have preferred more crust.\u00a0 He would also have preferred an a la carte version.\u00a0 The sweet potato pie is a rich, velvety blend of roasted sweet potatoes, warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and rich vanilla.<\/p>\n

Though Memphis has long been considered among the pantheon of great barbecue regions (along with the Carolinas, Texas and Kansas City), in recent years Nashville has garnered accolades a plenty for its hot chicken.\u00a0 Sugar Bear’s offers its fried chicken on a “Nash’s chicken sandwich” (crispy fried chicken dipped in a special Nashville hot sauce, topped with pickles and coleslaw on a toasted brioche bun.\u00a0 The menu warns “if you can’t handle the heat, order the original.”\u00a0 Hot is definitely the way I prefer my chicken sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sweet Potato Pie and Peach Cobbler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want ambience, go elsewhere.\u00a0 If you want a reliably solid barbecue restaurant, visit Honey Bear’s.<\/p>\n

Honey Bear’s Barbecue<\/strong>
\n2824 North Central Avenue
\nPhoenix, Arizona<\/strong>
\n602-279-7911
\nLATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 18 July 2026
\n1st VISIT<\/strong>: 11 October 2007
\n# OF VISITS<\/strong>: 3
\nRATING<\/strong>: Good<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Good food, decent service, and a clean environment; provides a satisfactory, dependable, and standard experience
\nCOST<\/strong>: $$
\nBEST BET<\/strong>: Barbecue Pork Sandwich; Barbecue Beef Sandwich; Cowbro Beans; Potato Salad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Depending on the type of egg, the minimum temperature for frying an egg has been measured to be 144-158F.\u00a0 That’s only a few degrees from the ideal “low and slow” temperature of smoking meats–225\u00b0F to 250\u00b0F. On scorching summer days in Phoenix, television news shows perennially traumatize visitors and tourists by frying an egg on the city’s sidewalks. It would really traumatize viewers if a pitmaster was shown manipulating the low-and-slow smoke emanating from post oak embers on a sidewalk to barbecue a brisket. In the first decade of the new millennium, frequent business trips brought me to the Valley of The Sun.\u00a0 At that time, there was a serious dearth of good barbecue restaurants in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.\u00a0 Among the very few was The Smokehouse Barbecue Restaurant where me and my Intel friends and colleagues practically lived.\u00a0 Incomparable pitmaster Gary West kept us very well fed (particularly on Wednesdays when the amazing smoked burger was featured fare).\u00a0 The Smokehouse was like an oasis in a culinary desert.\u00a0 Business trips to the Phoenix area gave us an opportunity to explore smoked meats and discover very good barbecue away from the Land of Enchantment. Among our very favorite was Honey…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,8,5632,553],"tags":[5852,5855,822,1438,1602,1908,3477,5857,5854,5853,5856],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arizona","category-barbecue","category-good","category-across-america","tag-baby-back-ribs","tag-barbecue-beef-sandwich","tag-brisket","tag-catfish","tag-chicken-tenders","tag-coleslaw","tag-corn-on-the-cob","tag-cowbro-beans","tag-peach-cobbler","tag-sweet-potato-pie","tag-tennessee-style-bbq"],"yoast_head":"\nHoney Bear's Barbecue - Phoenix, Arizona - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=36\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honey Bear's Barbecue - Phoenix, Arizona - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Depending on the type of egg, the minimum temperature for frying an egg has been measured to be 144-158F.\u00a0 That’s only a few degrees from the ideal “low and slow” temperature of smoking meats–225\u00b0F to 250\u00b0F. On scorching summer days in Phoenix, television news shows perennially traumatize visitors and tourists by frying an egg on the city’s sidewalks. It would really traumatize viewers if a pitmaster was shown manipulating the low-and-slow smoke emanating from post oak embers on a sidewalk to barbecue a brisket. In the first decade of the new millennium, frequent business trips brought me to the Valley of The Sun.\u00a0 At that time, there was a serious dearth of good barbecue restaurants in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.\u00a0 Among the very few was The Smokehouse Barbecue Restaurant where me and my Intel friends and colleagues practically lived.\u00a0 Incomparable pitmaster Gary West kept us very well fed (particularly on Wednesdays when the amazing smoked burger was featured fare).\u00a0 The Smokehouse was like an oasis in a culinary desert.\u00a0 Business trips to the Phoenix area gave us an opportunity to explore smoked meats and discover very good barbecue away from the Land of Enchantment. 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In the first decade of the new millennium, frequent business trips brought me to the Valley of The Sun.\u00a0 At that time, there was a serious dearth of good barbecue restaurants in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.\u00a0 Among the very few was The Smokehouse Barbecue Restaurant where me and my Intel friends and colleagues practically lived.\u00a0 Incomparable pitmaster Gary West kept us very well fed (particularly on Wednesdays when the amazing smoked burger was featured fare).\u00a0 The Smokehouse was like an oasis in a culinary desert.\u00a0 Business trips to the Phoenix area gave us an opportunity to explore smoked meats and discover very good barbecue away from the Land of Enchantment. 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