Tailgate Guys BBQ

12/12/2025

Sad news for BBQ fans in the STL.

❤️ A Message From Super Smokers BBQ & Papa’s Diner

Final Day of Service: Sunday, December 14

After nearly three decades of serving this community, it is with very heavy hearts that we announce the closing of Super Smokers BBQ / Papa’s Diner. Our final day of service will be Sunday, December 14.

Super Smokers was born in 1996, built on a love for great barbecue, good people, and the belief that a local restaurant could become a true gathering place. Over the years, we’ve weathered storms, rebuilds, ownership changes, economic swings, pandemics, and more challenges than most businesses ever face. And yet—we stayed. We kept the smokers going. We kept the coffee poured. We kept our doors open—for you.

And you kept us going.

To our amazing regulars, who showed up for us through the hardest times…
To the families who’ve brought generation after generation through our doors…
To everyone who celebrated milestones, shared meals, cried, laughed, and grew up with us—thank you.
You are the reason this place mattered.
You are the reason it lasted as long as it did.

❤️ To Our Staff — Past and Present

None of this would have been possible without the incredible people who have worked within these walls. To every pitmaster, server, cook, dishwasher, manager, and team member who ever wore the Super Smokers or Papa’s apron—thank you.

You showed up early, stayed late, worked through the heat of the smokers and the rushes of Sunday mornings, and poured your heart into giving guests the experience they came back for year after year.
You carried us through transitions, challenges, and triumphs.
You helped shape our story.
You built the memories that families will talk about for years to come.

We are forever grateful for your dedication, loyalty, spirit, and the pride you put into your work. This closing is not a reflection of your effort—you gave this place life.

❤️ With Deep Gratitude

We have been honored to be part of your birthdays, first dates, post-game dinners, Saturday morning breakfasts, and those quiet moments over a plate of ribs or a diner burger. Those memories aren’t going anywhere. They’ll always be part of the story of this little corner of Eureka.

Closing a chapter like this is never easy, but we are choosing to remember all the love, loyalty, and laughter that filled these walls for almost 30 years. We are proud of what Super Smokers became, and grateful for every person who made it more than just a restaurant.

From the bottom of our hearts—
Thank you for being part of our family. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for 29 unforgettable years.

Over the next few days as we sort out details more information will be updated.

With love and gratitude,
The Super Smokers BBQ / Papa’s Diner Family

12/10/2025

Check this out from The Butcher Shoppe

12/09/2025

Not to toot our own horn, but the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast has a pretty good track record when spotting upcoming talent in our “Under the Radar” segment. This week’s featured guest, Dan Wright of Take It Easy BBQ, is the latest example. Since appearing on the show in March, Dan posted his first two The Kansas City Barbeque Society Grand Championships, 11 top 10 overall finishes and a sixth-place in the KCBS Chicken Team of the Year standings. Dan rejoins the show to discuss his BBQ journey this week on Episode 335.

We also talk it over with Charlie Wallace from the The Grill Guys of Missouri about the latest happenings from the BBQ store in Republic, which should be appointment-shopping for those seeking to please their grilling friends. Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve recap their latest cooking ventures and talk about the Kansas City Chiefs’ demise.

Check out the show in the link below or on your favorite platform.

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog
Royal Oak Charcoal
The Butcher Shoppe
The Grill Guys of Missouri
Clark Crew BBQ
Mister Brisket

Have a great week!

Episode 335: https://tailgateguysbbq.libsyn.com/tailgate-guys-bbq-podcast-episode-335-dan-wright-of-take-it-easy-bbq

12/08/2025

🎉 I earned the emerging talent badge this week, recognizing me for creating engaging content that sparks an interest among my fans!

12/03/2025

On Episode 334 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with the husband-wife due of Dave and Shirin Mara of Meat Candy Q out of San Diego. It was a banner 2025 season as Meat Candy Q won California BBQ Association Team of the Year honors for the third time in four years and also wound up seventh in the The Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year standings. They had a remarkable stretch of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes during the season and talk about the keys to consistency and how they deal with extensive travel that competition BBQ often requires.

We also have the latest news from The Grill Guys of Missouri in Republic, Missouri and co-hosts Lyndal and Steve review their Thanksgiving weekend cooking results and take a tour of the sports world.

Check out the show in the link below or on your favorite platform,. A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog
Royal Oak Charcoal
The Butcher Shoppe
The Grill Guys of Missouri
Clark Crew BBQ
Mister Brisket, Inc.

Have a great week!

Episode 334: https://tailgateguysbbq.libsyn.com/tailgate-guys-bbq-podcast-episode-334-dave-and-shirin-mara-of-meat-candy-q

12/03/2025

Good listen here, as two of the best to ever light a pit talk it over.

11/28/2025

Our good friends and sponsor - Blues Hog - got a great shoutout in the New York Times as one of the best BBQ sauces on the market and is listed in the paper’s 2025 Gift Guide. Here’s the write-up:

Best for cooking
Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce

The legit smokehouse flavors of this sauce just make sense when basted on a protein and grilled, but the sauce’s syrupy texture and sweetness don’t exactly work as a dipping sauce.

If you’re looking for a sauce that would be right at home in a plastic squeeze bottle at a classic barbecue joint, it’s Blues Hog Original BBQ Sauce. It’s balanced and well spiced, with lots of black pepper and cumin to round out the sweetness, and it shines when paired with protein and fire. Visually, it’s a shiny mahogany, almost like a lacquer, with visible spice flecks throughout, and it coats meat beautifully when grilled.

Blues Hog performed best as a basting sauce and as an ingredient. When brushed on a chicken thigh and grilled, it stayed shiny but became slightly tacky as it set (a good thing), spreading evenly over the meat so you got a hit of caramelization with every bite. It was also stellar mixed into pulled pork. The spice stood up to the pork’s fattiness without overpowering the taste of the meat itself.

Blues Hog was a favorite of our visiting barbecue expert, Chris Prieto of Prime Barbecue, who says it’s a secret weapon on the competitive barbecue circuit. “If you’re a bad barbecue cook, this sauce makes you a good barbecue cook.”

Even though tasters found all of our picks a little sweet, Blues Hog was overtly so. One called it “insipid when not eaten with meat.” That sweetness does mean it has plenty of sugars that caramelize with heat though, a necessity when it comes to barbecue.

However, Blues Hog’s syrupy consistency, high-pitched sweetness, and cumin-forward flavor didn’t lend well to dipping. If you’re looking for a dunker for fries or nuggets, consider one of our other picks.
Blues Hog is a pretty widely available sauce too, sold in some Walmart and Ace Hardware locations across the country. But if you can’t find it near you (our closest Walmart didn’t carry it), you can also order directly from Blues Hog.

11/28/2025

Late shot of our Turkey Day Turkey! 🔥🔥🔥

11/28/2025

'TIS THE SEASON for 20% off your next purchase 🎁 Make your way to our website and give the gift of flavor this year... Don't wait!

*Excludes Meat. Offer not set to combine.

11/27/2025

Sounds like a tasty use of leftovers! We might need to try this around Christmas.

Do you have left over ham? You will, and this is a great solution for your leftovers. Ham Balls! Take your ham and run it through a food processor and add egg and breadcrumbs and make meatballs. Glaze with a mixture of Man Meat BBQ Sticky Sweet and Man Meat BBQ Mango Habanero Glaze.

11/26/2025

Brisket point and flat coming along nicely on the pellet cooker. Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all.

11/26/2025

Put your lineup on the field (table).

Ours:
Dark Meat Turkey ($8,200)
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy ($10,000)
Meat Stuffing ($7,500)
Creamed Corn ($4,500)
Dinner Rolls ($5,000)
Cheesecake ($7,000)
Pecan Pie ($6,800)

($1,000 leftover to tip your cook)