Matthews Real BBQ & Catering

Matthews Real BBQ & Catering runs as a food trailer out of Crestview, serving barbecue that owner Shylaine Matthews has been perfecting since 2006, with the business billing itself as serving award winning barbecue built on two decades of practice at the smoker. The operation is small and locally owned, which fits the food-truck format: there is no dining room to manage, just a trailer, a covered picnic table setup, and a menu focused on doing a short list of barbecue classics well rather than spreading thin across a huge menu. That owner-operated model is common among the food trucks that dot inland Okaloosa County, and it tends to mean the person cooking your plate has a direct stake in getting it right. Expect to order at the trailer’s window and either eat at the covered picnic table or take the meal to go, since there is no indoor dining room to wait in.

Regulars point to the ribs as the standout order, with reviewers repeatedly calling them some of the best in town, alongside popular pulled pork sandwiches. Collard greens and coleslaw round out the classic Southern sides, and the fries are cooked to order, so it is worth building in a little extra time during busy stretches rather than expecting fast-food speed. Fried turkey shows up as a seasonal option, particularly useful for anyone planning a catered holiday gathering around Thanksgiving or Christmas rather than a quick weekday lunch stop, and it is a good example of how a small trailer can still offer something a bit more special-occasion than the everyday menu.

The truck sits at 501 East 2nd Avenue in Crestview and keeps a food-truck-style schedule, open Thursday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and closed Sunday through Wednesday, so it pays to plan a visit around the open days rather than assume a barbecue truck runs seven days a week like a sit-down restaurant. Beyond walk-up orders, Matthews Real BBQ also caters, a natural extension for a trailer that already cooks in volume and has built a reputation for reliably good ribs and pulled pork over two decades in business under the same owner. Catering orders can range from a small office lunch to a bigger backyard gathering, which gives visitors staying in the area for a week an option for feeding a crowd without turning on the grill at a rental house.

For visitors exploring inland Crestview away from the main beach crowds, a stop at Matthews Real BBQ makes an easy, casual lunch between other stops in town, and the food has built enough of a following locally that it consistently earns strong marks from reviewers, including a 4.5-out-of-5 rating on Tripadvisor. It is a good reminder that some of the best barbecue on the Emerald Coast comes out of a trailer with a picnic table rather than a full sit-down restaurant kitchen, and that inland towns like Crestview reward visitors willing to skip the chains for a locally run alternative. Anyone curious how it stacks up against Crestview’s other barbecue option can compare notes with BC’s Southern Paradise BBQ & Catering across town, since both trace their style back to the same tradition of slow-smoked Southern cooking. Call 850-598-0190 to check on the day’s hours or to ask about booking catering for an event, since a small operation’s schedule can shift around holidays and community events.