Photo by John Kirkpatrick

Team Kentucky has launched the West Kentucky BBQ Belt, a collection of barbecue restaurants to experience in western Kentucky. Eighteen cities in western Kentucky are part of the mobile passport initiative, including Owensboro. 

The campaign features stops at Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn, Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, Ole South Barbeque, and Smoke House. The initiative also includes stops at Kentucky Lake, Paducah, Henderson, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Franklin, Russellville, Mayfield, and Madisonville. 

“Barbecue is Owensboro, and Owensboro is barbecue,” said Dave Kirk, destination management manager for Visit Owensboro. “Its history stretches all the way back to our founding. Having a signature style of barbecue with mutton over hickory smoke with a vinegar-forward sauce is a huge tourism draw for mutton. Owensboro is an absolute must-stop on the trail.”

Kirk cited several awards and recognitions the restaurants have earned throughout the years. Owensboro is highly touted in the barbecue world, from Southern Living and USA Today to KY Monthly, KY Pitmasters, and more.

Anyone interested in participating in the mobile passport program can access a pass at wkybbq.com. After selecting “get your pass,” a passport is delivered via text message and email to the user’s phone. No app is required, and the pass can be accessed on a phone’s home screen. 

After visiting a participating restaurant, present the phone to a staff member to check in and redeem. The pass remains valid for 365 days after the time of purchase. 

The program’s website reads: 

Dotted along backroads and rolling hills that snake through Western Kentucky is a little-known culinary passage known as the BBQ Belt, where blink-and-you-might-miss-’em gems of the meat and molasses variety hide in plain sight. BBQ joints are locally owned by families and friends who have been protecting their craft and recipes for generations. It’s within the faded walls of the sweet and smoky BBQ joints along the Belt where hardworking pitmasters and their crews have been keeping the fire burning day in and day out, never putting an inkling of thought into “putting us on the map.” Carolina. Tennessee. KC. Texas. We love ’em all. But we ain’t them, and they ain’t us. Taste for yourself.