Smokin' Pete's BBQ in Ballard was named the seventh-best barbecue joint on the west coast in the June issue of Sunset Magazine.

The restaurant was opened five years ago at the corner of 20th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street.

Owner Julie Reinhardt was raised in Ballard and attended Ballard High School. She said the location was perfect because the former butcher shop had a smoker in the back and there is a long tradition in Texas of barbeque restaurants opening in old butcher shops.

Sunset described Smokin' Pete's meat as "juicy with a subtle, almost haunting quality." Read the entire article here.

Reinhardt said Smokin' Pete's stands out from the rest of the barbecue pack because they use high quality meats, slice their brisket Texas-style, and make everything from scratch.

"We do some things differently," she said.

On top of co-owning Smoking Pete's with Eric Reinhardt, Julie recently wrote her own barbecue book, "She Smoke."