For years, my family and I have passed Sportsman's BBQ, just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee on the way to visit my grandma on Signal Mountain. We have always eaten at a barbecue place up on the mountain but, after the death of the owner, the quality there started to slide. The food came out cold and the service was lousy.

On a past visit, after a day in Chattanooga, we decided to stop in Sportsman's on the way back to my grandma’s house. We ordered ribs, but the owner couldn't give them to us because he felt they weren’t finished. He didn’t want us eating anything but the best he had to offer. Instead, we left with BBQ sandwiches and drove all the way back up the mountain. After eating the sandwiches, we realized just how good Sportsman's was, so we descended back down the mountain to get our ribs. They were perfect, juicy, flavorful, and cooked to perfection.

The past several times we have driven from Maryland to Tennessee to see my Grandma, we’ve just missed getting to eat at Sportsman’s. They close at 7:30 and, without fail, we always seem to arrive just shortly after that.

The food is still amazing. My mom and I devoured a rack of ribs on our first trip, and my dad got a hamburger. It was a half pounder that had acquired a BBQ flavor from being cooked near all the BBQ beef and pork. On our return visit, my dad also got a burger while I got a pork sandwich and my mom got a beef sandwich.

We’ve had a nice chat with the owner, Deborah Johns, who couldn’t be nicer. Sportsman’s has been in the same family since 1949. Pictures of Sportsman’s from shortly after it first opened hang to the left of the menu board. It’s interesting to note that the original menu only had one item of barbecue on it, and that it was called a drive-in.

If you’re ever in the Chattanooga area, and feel like eating some good barbecue, try Sportsman’s. You can find them at 301 Signal Mountain Road Chattanooga, Tennessee.