City BBQ does not have a secret menu in the sense the phrase implies — no hidden list, no code words. What it has is a menu built from components sold separately, which means a handful of builds and modifications work reliably even though nothing on the board mentions them. Here is what a counter will actually do, and what is being invented online.
City BBQ prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Order it as | What you get | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Lite Lunch Pulled Pork with Two Sides | The cheapest complete meal in the building | $9.57 |
| 3 Side Plate, all three swapped | A full vegetarian meal for less than the sides cost alone | $6.17 |
| Smoked Sausage sandwich + 2 rib bones | Two meats for less than a brisket sandwich | $11.39 |
| Pick Two Meats with Two Sides, split | A shared meal cheaper than two sandwiches | $21.57 |
| Kid's 3-Cheese Baked Mac as an adult side plate | The mac plus a meat portion, flat-priced | $7.19 |
Builds that work
The third row is the one worth knowing. Ribs are sold by the individual bone at $2.70, which is genuinely unusual and means you can bolt two bones onto any order without committing to a half slab at $15.59. Two bones on a $5.99 Smoked Sausage sandwich makes a two-meat plate for $11.39 — less than Beef Brisket at $10.78 plus anything. On a Tuesday, at $1.80 a bone, the same build is $9.59.
Modifications the counter will make
- Chopped brisket instead of sliced. The single most useful request on this list. Chopped brisket is mixed with its own rendered fat and survives a warmer, a drive or a mid-afternoon lull far better than sliced. Ask for it any time after 2:00pm.
- Any sandwich on a tray, no bun. The standard workaround for gluten and low-carb eating — the detail is in the City BBQ allergen guide.
- Sauce on the side. Always. Sauced meat sitting in a container goes soft, and the sauces here are better used sparingly anyway.
- Vinegar slaw on the bun. This is what LoLo's Pulled Pork with Slaw ($8.99) already is, but you can do the same to a turkey or chicken sandwich, which the menu does not offer.
- Swap Mac & Cheese ($2.99) for 3-Cheese Baked Mac ($3.59). Sixty cents for a baked crust. There is no version of this trade that is not worth making.
- Meat unsliced on a pound order. At $16.19 to $22.79 a pound it holds moisture dramatically better on the drive home.
The upgrade math nobody explains
Two structural quirks do more for your bill than any off-menu request. First, the two-side bundle is a flat $3.58 on every item that offers it, from a $5.99 sandwich to a Full Slab of Ribs at $27.59. Because it is flat rather than proportional, it is worth most on the expensive items — the two sides attached to a full slab cost the same as the two attached to a pulled pork sandwich.
Second, every kids' item is priced identically at $7.19, whether that is brisket, chicken tenders or 3-cheese baked mac. Flat pricing across nine items is unusual, and it makes ordering for a table of children genuinely simple. It is not a hack, but people consistently assume the brisket version costs more and order around it.
What is not real
- A secret burnt ends order. City BBQ does not run burnt ends as a standing item. Do not ask the counter to make some.
- A hidden sauce behind the counter. The sauce range here is narrow and public — that is a fair criticism of the chain rather than a mystery, as the City BBQ sauce guide sets out.
- An off-menu double-meat sandwich at a fixed price. You can add meat; it is priced as an addition, not a hidden item.
- "Free" side upgrades. The basket sides — fries and hush puppies at $6.59, fried pickles at $9.59 — are separate products, not swaps.
The question worth asking
"When did the brisket come off?" Rotisserie smokers make City BBQ unusually consistent across its roughly 80 restaurants, but they do not stop meat from sitting. If the answer is recent, order sliced brisket. If it is not, order it chopped, or order pulled pork. Everything else here is optional; that one question changes the food. The full board with prices is on the City BBQ menu, and the day-part timing is in the City BBQ hours guide.