Just like airport TSA agents screaming about portable electronics at the crack of dawn, a great meal at Lil Red is guaranteed. This Columbia City Jamaican spot is not just one of Seattle's best restaurants to begin with—they also serve the best BBQ in town, along with soul food and a menu of specials that work together to make the ultimate comfort meal. Whether your order involves chunks of smokey rib tips to toss back like Skittles or brisket that’s so soft it possesses the ability to fold into an origami meat sculpture, the only wrong move here would be to skip the garlic mashed potatoes or spiced mac and cheese.

After trying over 200 barbecue places across the country, esteemed barbecue judge and writer Adrian Miller named Little Red’s one of the 20 best black-owned barbecue joints in the nation in his book Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. Lil Red is a mix of owner Erasto “Red” Jackson’s love of barbecue and Leleith’s Jamaican heritage. The burnt ends plus the pork ribs with jerk sauce is the way to go at Red’s, but it’s impossible to not recommend the escovitch fish, curry goat, and the jerk chicken.

On the front windows of this small, counter-serve spot in the Columbia City neighborhood, you're greeted by two flags: U.S. and Jamaican. Step inside and the day's barbecue menu, displayed on two screens will draw equally from both cultures. And expert Adrian Miller didn't name this one of his 20 favorite Black-owned barbecue restaurants for nothing.

Seattle owes Erasto Jackson’s wife a debt of gratitude; her Jamaican roots broadened this talented local’s culinary horizons, and gave rise to one of the city’s most exciting destinations for smoked meat. At his counter service restaurant on Rainier Avenue, exacting barbecue triangulates brilliantly with soul food and the Caribbean nation’s traditions of seafood and jerked meats. It’s nigh impossible to choose when a single menu might offer jerk spareribs, burnt ends, curry goat, smothered pork chops, spot-on brisket, and escovitch fish.

Right here in Seattle, we’ve got one of Miller’s top 20 spots: Lil Red’s Takeout & Catering (which, warning, given the mania for lists combined with the mania for barbecue will likely have quite a wait for the foreseeable future). Erasto “Red” Jackson runs Lil Red’s out of a low-slung building on the busy stretch of Rainier Avenue just north of Columbia City, and contrary to what the name might imply, Red is not lil. “I enjoy feeding people …” Red said last week on the phone.

The Lil Red Takeout and Catering on Rainer Avenue is a modest restaurant where you can enjoy both Southern barbecue and Jamaican flavors. Although well known for its sizable and succulent barbecue wings, you can also order jerk-spiced wings, a party platter, or lemon pepper-seasoned and teriyaki options. There’s no wrong selection, and the explosive seasoning and sauces will leave you craving more.

website | neighborhood: Columbia City ( get directions) | style: Jamaican | best for:curried, jerked, and smoked meats. Chances are you’ve zipped by Lil Red’s on Rainier Ave S without even knowing. That was by design, as owner Erasto “Red” Jackson told Seatle Refined in an interview that wanted to create a barbecue spot that felt like a hole in the wall only the locals know about.

Moreso of a soul food joint than a proper Caribbean restaurant, there is so much to choose from at Lil Red Takeout and Catering. If you’re trying to stick to a sole island diet, however, we rate their jerk chicken a ten out of ten. Location: 4225 Rainier Avenue South, SeattlePhone: 206-760-2931 Facebook

- Rating: 4.5/5 (241 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 4225 Rainier Ave S Seattle, WA 98118- Categories: Caribbean, Barbecue, Sandwiches- Read more on Yelp

You will find it at Lil Red Takeout & Catering in the historic Rainier neighborhood for the most mouth-watering, award-winning BBQ in Seattle, Washington.

Lil Red’s Takeout and Catering is a small takeaway restaurant in Seattle opened by Erasto Jackson, who is passionate about serving soul food to locals.