Since opening in March of this year, Mission BBQ has gained a lot of attention for serving delicious, affordable barbecue from their Rockville location in Wintergreen Plaza.

The menu offers what is expected from a barbecue joint: ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken and so on. They also offer a slew of 10 different sauces from different states.

The pulled pork sandwich combo costs roughly $11. The pork is tender and smoky, and adding their “Smoky Mountain” sauce compliments the meat well, bringing out even more flavor. The fries were a little burnt, but still edible. The mac and cheese was extra cheesy with a light breading on top, giving it a nice baked touch.

Mission BBQ’s focus is to “serve those who serve.” The restaurant places a large emphasis on first responders, active troops and military veterans. Founded by Bill Kraus and Steven Newton, the restaurant opened its doors for business September 11, 2011, 10 years after the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Outside of every Mission BBQ is a one-and-a-half ton “Bam-Bam” smoker. They are fully functional smokers built on top of old trucks which are taken to catering events. Although it is functional, they rarely use it to smoke meat, but rather to grab the attention of people passing by the restaurant.

Physical education teacher and varsity field hockey coach Raymond Trail made going to Mission BBQ a tradition during the second half of the 2017 Field Hockey season. It seemed that whenever Trail would get a barbecue sandwich on game day, the team would win.

“I would get a barbecue sandwich at either Mission BBQ or Urban BBQ and we kept winning games,” Trail said. “We ended up winning six games in a row, last five regular season games and our first playoff game.”

Overall, Mission BBQ offers a comfortable and patriotic environment. The reasonable prices and the frequent donations to servicemen and women in local communities makes the restaurant chain even more appealing. More RHS students should be making Mission a regular stop for their BBQ cravings.