It’s always been about Bludso’s, the staple BBQ joint just north of Long Beach in Compton. Call me sacrilegious but I reject the idea that Bludso’s—which sits at #54 on the Los Angeles Times’ best 101 restaurants—tops North Long Beach’s small-but-mighty Robert Earl’s BBQ. They’re certainly neck-and-neck and given that the LB gem has yet to be discovered, perhaps that gives Robert Earl a bit of a leading edge.