Redemption BBQ in Short Pump named one of best new spots in the country

Redemption BBQ in Short Pump was named one of the South's best new barbecue restaurants by Southern Living magazine.

Why it matters: A suburban strip mall is the last place the magazine's barbecue editor expected to find truly great Virginia 'cue, but that's exactly what happened, the man himself wrote.

The big picture: Barbecue editor Robert Moss scoured the South, feasting on smoked pork from every "new" (opened since 2021) and notable spot he could find.

• And he found John Vest, the former Chicagoan and pastor who learned the gospel of traditional Virginia-style barbecue when he relocated to RVA in 2015 for a teaching fellowship at Union Seminary.
• Vest took his barbecue to the masses with a local food truck in 2020 and opened Redemption BBQ as a brick-and-mortar two years later.

What they're saying: " This pastor turned pitmaster's pork is legit: cooked directly over hard-wood coals and then chopped into tender, juicy shreds with plenty of brown outside bits," Moss wrote.

Zoom in: On the menu at Redemption you'll find locally-sourced smoked meats available by the pound or in a sandwich, plus sides, and Vest's signature "Old Virginia" sauce: butter, lard, spice and vinegar.

If you go: Redemption is at 3420 Lauderdale Drive and open every Thursday through Sunday, 11:30am-7pm.

• Pro tip: Don't sleep on the Chicago-style deep dish pizzas from its "secret" weekend-only menu.