A Gloucester Point restaurant received quite an honor last Wednesday. Scoot’s BBQ, owned by Gary and Karen Ward, won the Virginia Living Magazine’s BBQ Bracket Battle, coming out on top of more than 250 restaurants in the state. As winner, Scoot’s will be the featured dining story in the magazine’s December issue.

Each year, Virginia Living Magazine features a “Smoke + Salt” guide to showcase the best barbecue, oysters and more available at restaurants across the state. This year, the guide expanded to include other iconic Virginia foods such as fried chicken, ham biscuits, cornbread and peanuts. The BBQ Bracket Battle was held in preparation for the magazine’s new and expanded guide to hit newsstands this month.

According to a release from the magazine, a panel of expert judged narrowed its “Best BBQ Awards” list from more than 250 restaurants in Virginia to 32, divided among four regions. Then, from July 29 through Sept. 1...