Excuse me Sir Winston...

[DVS]

You can absolutely make healthy bbq! There are regional differences in what makes bbq, but generally speaking the slow cooked process, the smoking, etc., isn't unhealthy (other than the argument about carcinogens in smoked/grilled food), so what you're looking at is meat and sauce (though I think there are places that don't do sauce, and there's sauce vs. dry rub and all that). You can pick quality meat and most barbecue sauces are tomato sauce, spices, vinegar and sugar. You can make bbq sauce without sugar and it will still taste fabulous - you can use molasses or honey or maple syrup even - or low in sugar (higher in spice).



My husband says he still craves the Mcdonald's fish sandwich! It's because he grew up eating it. He hasn't had any fast food in years, but he says he'd eat it in a heartbeat if it were healthy.

I also always called grilled food bbq too. I make grilled ribs (pasture raised pork, of course ) with my own bbq sauce that are fucking phenomenal, if I do say so myself. I rub them all over with my own spice rub, slow cook them in the oven for a couple of hours, and then baste them with my bbq sauce and finish them on the grill. Fahhhbulous!

...it's also partly the ceremony. Dare I call it a religion?

 

[midwestyankee]

Now THIS I would definitely pay for! YUMMMY!!

And yes, childhood happy memory foods are hard to beat. I still crave a gooey box of KD every once in a blue moon. Even though it is just chemical soup with orange semi-cheesy flavour.

Indeed. The enjoyment of childhood food is exactly why I can't handle the McFishtix thing. I grew up on real fish. As a Catholic family, we generally ate fish of some sort every Friday. Perhaps it was the coincidence that on Fridays my father usually had obligations that took him to the coast, but fresh clams, scallops, haddock and lobster were much more likely to show up on our table than anything resembling processed fish.

That said, I will always fondly remember the time that I won a bet to consume $5 in $.25 burgers as a high schooler. Those were not what you might call haute cuisine.

To be fair, McDonald's has been slowly adding more and more healthful items to their menu for a few years now. Kids can get apple slices instead of fries with their Happy Meals and the oatmeal at breakfast is quite good.

 

[JMohegan]

(I have just learned, from my Texan friend, that what I used to think was BBQ'd food is actually "grilled" food. Apparently the difference is the sauce. I eat quite a bit of grilled food. Here, anything cooked on a BBQ we say is BBQ'd. My friend tells me that I am a Philistine for calling grilled food BBQ).

Speaking of Texas, this is fucking hilarious.




According to "Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue," a comprehensive and near-Biblical scale book about the great culinary art and history of our delicious pork manna from heaven published in 2008, Rick Perry tried some good ol’ Eastern Carolina BBQ in 1992…served to him from our very own King's of Kinston via the Republican National Convention in Houston.

Upon tasting King’s Eastern NC-style BBQ Perry, then a promising young Texas politician who was not yet called the “governor,” was asked how he liked it.

“I've had road kill that tasted better than that,” Perry was quoted as saying.

And that, as we say in NC, is all y’all. This man is done as a candidate for any office beyond dog catcher, and I would not lower myself to vote him into even that post now.

Road kill? Really, “governor.”

Rick Perry might as well have told us that “ain’t” ain’t a word, or that Dale Earnhardt is not the most important sports figure of the last century (excepting possibly Michael Jordan, another Carolina boy), or that tea can be made without using sugar (yeah, right), or that Andy Griffith wasn’t the best fictional sheriff in the long and glorious tradition of fictional sheriffs.

Eastern NC BBQ is made from pork, always with a vinegar-based sauce, and is eternally delicious in all of its various forms and servings, of which there are many variations but none that vary too far from the source.

Gosh darn it, Eastern NC BBQ tastes great. It’s like sunshine on a rainy day, or a perky kiss from a pretty girl, or the dance of a catfish hanging on the end of your line.

Eastern NC BBQ is great. Rick Perry, the “governor” of Texas, is an idiot.

Rick Perry is supposed to be a devout man of God. When I first heard about that, it did not bother me at all as a voter. Having a firm basis in faith and religion is a fine thing in a presidential contender, in my opinion. Nothing wrong with a guy who goes to Church going into the White House.

But now I have my doubts that Perry is religious at all. No, I have met Billy Graham, “Governor” Perry, and Billy Graham (yet another fine NC son) was as devoutly religious a person as you could find on the face of the Earth. And you, sir, are no Billy Graham.

Billy Graham loved NC BBQ. Heck, “Gov” Perry, you are not even a Jerry Faircloth, a less reputable native Virginia man-of-God who may not have been the best preacher ever but at least had the good sense to stuff his face with Eastern NC style BBQ every gosh-darned chance he got.

That’s because if there was ever any spiritual creation in which God has communicated his love to us all and showed his blessing through the bounties that Noah preserved in the Ark, it is in the pig…as served up in Eastern NC-style BBQ.

Heck, the Bible of BBQ, “Holy Smoke” has a happy pig with a nice apron on him right there on the dang cover.

I learned in my research for this article that “Governor” Perry prefers something know as Texas-style barbecue. I was a bit unclear on what Texas-style BBQ was so I looked it up (yes, we have computers and the internet in NC, “Gov” Perry).

What I found out was as hilarious and upsetting as anything I have discovered in research since that time I was writing an article on football and realized that some people over there in Europe have the mistaken and dangerous idea that football is actually soccer.

What did I find out about this Texas-style barbeque? Get this, America. They make it with cows.

Go ahead, roll on the floor in laughter. I did.

Now I have heard that Texans like to drink a lot, and I guess it must be true, because only a state full of drunken cowboys could come up with the crazy idea that you make BBQ out of cows.

People of America, you make steaks out of cows. Read my lips, BBQ comes from a gosh-darned pig.

Of course, in NC we have the good sense not to actually eat “road kill,” which is apparently a dish that “Governor” Perry is intimately familiar with. I don’t plan to be dining in a Texas restaurant anytime soon after hearing that news.

Also in NC we know all about politicians making big mistakes. In fact, we recently had our own candidate for president, Carolina born “Senator” Johnny Edwards.

Johnny, the son of NC mill worker, was a great presidential candidate with high hopes, until it was discovered that he had cheated on his wife (who had cancer) while fathering a love child (whom he tried to pass off on a staff worker) which he tried to cover up with campaign contributions (a plan that failed miserably).

Everybody in NC readily admits that our home-grown candidate, ol’ Johnny boy, screwed up. In fact, he screwed up so bad that even though he has no future shot at any elected office beyond the aforementioned dog catcher (who has that awful job anyway, poor soul?).

Johnny has even riled up federal investigators to the point that they want to introduce him to a new love interest…penitentiary cellmate Bubba, with whom Johnny will certainly not father a love child but may very well have sexual relations.

But at least Johnny Edwards loved NC BBQ. I know. I campaigned for the guy before I found out he was a dirty rotten liar (really, who would have seen that coming from a smart, slick, millionaire lawyer?). Johnny always had BBQ at his campaign events. As a candidate he fizzled spectacularly, but I got to eat a lot of free Eastern-style BBQ, so I basically called it a win.

Rick Perry has made Johnny Edwards look like the poster boy of proper presidential candidates. Because you can have a mistress, you can have a love child, and you can even misuse campaign funds to cover it all up. All we’ll do when we find out is turn you over to the feds, and perhaps to Bubba.

But you do not call Eastern NC BBQ “road kill.”

 

[DVS]

You can absolutely make healthy bbq! There are regional differences in what makes bbq, but generally speaking the slow cooked process, the smoking, etc., isn't unhealthy (other than the argument about carcinogens in smoked/grilled food), so what you're looking at is meat and sauce (though I think there are places that don't do sauce, and there's sauce vs. dry rub and all that). You can pick quality meat and most barbecue sauces are tomato sauce, spices, vinegar and sugar. You can make bbq sauce without sugar and it will still taste fabulous - you can use molasses or honey or maple syrup even - or low in sugar (higher in spice).

I once saw a show on healthy eating. It was the beginning of summer and the emphasis was on grilling, or basically cooking over an open flame. The cancer aspect of this style of cooking was brought up. It's said that when you cook over an open flame and the meat juices drip down and hit the flame, what comes up from that is carcinogens. Some say to keep the meat further away from the flame to limit this and some actually say to put aluminum foil on the grill to stop it entirely. In my opinion, the first option might work to a point, but it will take longer to cook, so by moving it further from the flame in hopes you will lessen the cancer risk, you necessitate the need for longer exposure to the flame. Why not just keep the meat close to the flame to shorten the cooking time? The jury is still out, I guess.

The aluminum foil route? Seriously? Why even bother with putting it on a grill? Nothing from the flame gets up to the meat except the heat. You might as well cook it in a skillet, which brings up its own unhealthiness.

Oh, Keroin, BBQ is very regional, so Texas BBQ is going to be different than Kansas City BBQ, Southern style, Chicago style, etc. Pretty much anywhere there's fire and something to cook, you'll find an individual taste in BBQ. You can BBQ fish, too, by the way.

 

[Keroin]

Indeed. The enjoyment of childhood food is exactly why I can't handle the McFishtix thing. I grew up on real fish. As a Catholic family, we generally ate fish of some sort every Friday. Perhaps it was the coincidence that on Fridays my father usually had obligations that took him to the coast, but fresh clams, scallops, haddock and lobster were much more likely to show up on our table than anything resembling processed fish.

Yep, exactly. I grew up on real, wild BC salmon, halibut, crab. I have been spoiled rotten, and I'll be the first to admit that, with the bounty of seafood I have enjoyed over the years - most of it caught by my own hands. So...processed fish? Why?

Speaking of Texas, this is fucking hilarious.

HA! I will have to send that to my Texan friend. Thanks!

 

[Keroin]

Oh, Keroin, BBQ is very regional, so Texas BBQ is going to be different than Kansas City BBQ, Southern style, Chicago style, etc. Pretty much anywhere there's fire and something to cook, you'll find an individual taste in BBQ. You can BBQ fish, too, by the way.

I'm actually looking forward to trying authentic Texan BBQ, though I doubt I will be able to finish Texan portions. Texan friend said, "Make sure to bring expandable clothing." Yikes!

 

[cfuhrer]

Yep, exactly. I grew up on real, wild BC salmon, halibut, crab. I have been spoiled rotten, and I'll be the first to admit that, with the bounty of seafood I have enjoyed over the years - most of it caught by my own hands. So...processed fish? Why?

Because sometimes, you just have a hankerin'. And everyone's cravings are different.

I have a freezer full of salmon and trout. But occassionally a little flaky white fillet on a chewy bun with tartar sauce hits the spot.
Besides, "McTrout" doesn't roll off the tongue the same way. Lol

To me, the best pies are home baked with home canned cherries, others perfer canned pie filling. Its all a metter of taste and everyone's is different.

And on the BBQ topic:

It must be a Pac NW thing, cuz even down here anything cooked with flame is called BBQ. No matter how often I point out the difference. I get a weekly email from Jim at smokingmeat.com and they have a forum, too. Good, good stuff. Might have to drag out the smoker and do some cornish hens before the weather tuns.

 

[intothewoods]

Now THIS I would definitely pay for! YUMMMY!!

And yes, childhood happy memory foods are hard to beat. I still crave a gooey box of KD every once in a blue moon. Even though it is just chemical soup with orange semi-cheesy flavour.

Thank you, thank you.

Good god, that sounds incredible.

It also reminds me...

Wench, as an "insider," do you know anything about the source pigs? In what type of conditions are they raised?

Totally incredible, and I'm modest too.

...it's also partly the ceremony. Dare I call it a religion?

All food is like this! For me, anyway.

I once saw a show on healthy eating. It was the beginning of summer and the emphasis was on grilling, or basically cooking over an open flame. The cancer aspect of this style of cooking was brought up. It's said that when you cook over an open flame and the meat juices drip down and hit the flame, what comes up from that is carcinogens. Some say to keep the meat further away from the flame to limit this and some actually say to put aluminum foil on the grill to stop it entirely. In my opinion, the first option might work to a point, but it will take longer to cook, so by moving it further from the flame in hopes you will lessen the cancer risk, you necessitate the need for longer exposure to the flame. Why not just keep the meat close to the flame to shorten the cooking time? The jury is still out, I guess.

The aluminum foil route? Seriously? Why even bother with putting it on a grill? Nothing from the flame gets up to the meat except the heat. You might as well cook it in a skillet, which brings up its own unhealthiness.

Oh, Keroin, BBQ is very regional, so Texas BBQ is going to be different than Kansas City BBQ, Southern style, Chicago style, etc. Pretty much anywhere there's fire and something to cook, you'll find an individual taste in BBQ. You can BBQ fish, too, by the way.

Yeah, I don't know, it is one of those rare health things that I sort of ignore. I think the evidence is kind of conflicting.

 

[JMohegan]

Totally incredible, and I'm modest too.

How do I know you're not really an old fat bald guy just pretending to have happy pig spice rubbing, slow cooking, baste and finish them off skills???

 

[BiBunny]

Barbecue = pork roast (or beef if you're from Texas *thumbs down*) cooked at least part of the time in barbecue sauce

Anything else cooked with barbecue sauce is barbecue(d) _____. My favorite barbecue(d) ____ is barbecued chicken.

If it wasn't cooked in barbecue sauce, it's not barbecue anything. It's meat with barbecue sauce on it. Not quite the same thing. Now, if someone will tell the "barbecue" restaurants around here that, I'd be much obliged.

Oh, and tell them to stop putting so damn much sugar in the sauce. Substitute the sugar for hot sauce, and I'll be one happy bunny.

ETA: Fish--nothing beats Gulf red snapper. Oh. My. GOD. By the way? I dislike fish. But I make exceptions for Gulf grouper and snapper.

 

[Keroin]

Because sometimes, you just have a hankerin'. And everyone's cravings are different.

Yes.

But occasionally a little flaky white fillet on a chewy bun with tartar sauce hits the spot.

No. No, it doesn't.

LOL.



ETA: Even if I liked the taste, I couldn't eat the McFish due to my own rules of the road where sustainable fishing is concerned.

 

[Keroin]

Barbecue = pork roast (or beef if you're from Texas *thumbs down*) cooked at least part of the time in barbecue sauce

Anything else cooked with barbecue sauce is barbecue(d) _____. My favorite barbecue(d) ____ is barbecued chicken.

If it wasn't cooked in barbecue sauce, it's not barbecue anything. It's meat with barbecue sauce on it. Not quite the same thing. Now, if someone will tell the "barbecue" restaurants around here that, I'd be much obliged.

Oh, and tell them to stop putting so damn much sugar in the sauce. Substitute the sugar for hot sauce, and I'll be one happy bunny.

Soooooo....you're saying I'm a Philistine too?

ETA: Fish--nothing beats Gulf red snapper. Oh. My. GOD. By the way? I dislike fish. But I make exceptions for Gulf grouper and snapper.

You haven't had L's Cajun Halibut nuggets yet. You would swoon. Swoon I tell ya!

 

[BiBunny]

Soooooo....you're saying I'm a Philistine too?

No comment.

You haven't had L's Cajun Halibut nuggets yet. You would swoon. Swoon I tell ya!

Never had halibut before. I went and Googled it, though. You're right, I probably would like it.

 

[intothewoods]

How do I know you're not really an old fat bald guy just pretending to have happy pig spice rubbing, slow cooking, baste and finish them off skills???

I may or may not be an old fat bald guy, but I would never fib about cooking!

 

[the captians wench]

I'm seriously baffled by the McRib love. I mean, I will eat fast food a couple times a year, usually on a road trip, but there's nothing about the McRib that suggests BBQ'd ribs to me. And I LOVE real BBQ'd ribs. Isn't the McRib just pressed pork and sugar?

No offense Wenchie, I wouldn't eat it if Burger King made it either.

It's the second to last thing I would eat off a McDonalds menu. (The last thing being the McFish, of course).

Maybe I have weird taste buds?

No offense taken. I don't eat the crap anymore.

Honestly, when I was off for those 3-4 months, I ate a lot healthier because cooking was about the only thing that wasn't on my restricted list. I experimented a lot with veggies and well just in general really. When I went back, I ate the same way I did before I left, and I noticed that my energy level plumited. I had expected a little bit, but not the way it hit me. I connected eating at the store twice a day with the problem, started packing little cans of tuna and nuts to munch on, and the extra energy drop vanished.

It pays the bills. I just work there these days.

Wench, as an "insider," do you know anything about the source pigs? In what type of conditions are they raised?

Ha! I was just teasing with that comment. I know who our suplier is. Where they get their product....well, it's not on a flyer they send out to the stores like they do with advertising.

Honestly, I wasn't trying to push McD (though the boost to my profit sharing I'm not going to cry over), I just remember Sir W mentioning last year that Mcribs were out for nearly two whole weeks before he knew that they had come back, and they don't stay around long (I think it's 6 weeks this year, but don't quote me on that), so I thought I'd mention it this year. And since I know others here enjoy it, I posted a thread instead of sending a PM. That, and well, I'm not shy about my attention whoring.

If not caring where McD buys their processed live stock from makes me a bad person, well then I'm a bad person. But I'm not going to loose sleep over it. Like I said, it pays the bills, and in the end, keeping a roof over my head and food in my belly is the most important thing to me.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

Barbecue = pork roast (or beef if you're from Texas *thumbs down*) cooked at least part of the time in barbecue sauce

Anything else cooked with barbecue sauce is barbecue(d) _____. My favorite barbecue(d) ____ is barbecued chicken.

If it wasn't cooked in barbecue sauce, it's not barbecue anything. It's meat with barbecue sauce on it. Not quite the same thing. Now, if someone will tell the "barbecue" restaurants around here that, I'd be much obliged.

Preach it sister.

And meet me at Dreamland.

Addendum: Stop using barbecue as a verb meaning "grill," other parts of North America! That's confusing, and just wrong.

 

[BiBunny]

Preach it sister.

And meet me at Dreamland.

Addendum: Stop using barbecue as a verb meaning "grill," other parts of North America! That's confusing, and just wrong.

I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been to Dreamland. My daddy keeps extolling the virtues of the place, and it's on my list of places to go when I'm in a town that has one. And I totally agree with your addendum!

 

[CutieMouse]

Yay insomna...

Okay, all y'all who think pigs are da BBQ bomb are weird. Pork is okay, but waaay too fatty and gristly for proper BBQ. Fine, it's a Texan thing - but when I think BBQ I think a good, proper, slow cooked and shreaded beef brisket w/ sauce, not some greasy bland pork thing dressed up with a little BBQ sauce. Blech.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been to Dreamland. My daddy keeps extolling the virtues of the place, and it's on my list of places to go when I'm in a town that has one. And I totally agree with your addendum!

Unless it's changed, they serve:

1. Ribs (when you come in, they ask you, "how many slabs?")
2. White bread
3. Tea

I think they branched out and started selling Cokes at some point, too. That's a slippery slope, though.

Yay insomna...

Okay, all y'all who think pigs are da BBQ bomb are weird. Pork is okay, but waaay too fatty and gristly for proper BBQ. Fine, it's a Texan thing - but when I think BBQ I think a good, proper, slow cooked and shreaded beef brisket w/ sauce, not some greasy bland pork thing dressed up with a little BBQ sauce. Blech.

I'm sure that these sectarian disputes can be resolved in a spirit of mutual respect and ecumenical cooperation.

WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

Oh, Pig God. Me want. Now.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

Yay insomna...

Okay, all y'all who think pigs are da BBQ bomb are weird. Pork is okay, but waaay too fatty and gristly for proper BBQ. Fine, it's a Texan thing - but when I think BBQ I think a good, proper, slow cooked and shreaded beef brisket w/ sauce, not some greasy bland pork thing dressed up with a little BBQ sauce. Blech.

Insomnia's a bitch. I empathize and sympathize. [/off-topic]

As for pork being too fatty and gristly for proper BBQ, the response is: Not *all* of it. A well-trimmed pork roast can be nearly as "fat-free" as a beef brisket, and pork seems (to me, at least) to absorb the flavors of the barbecue sauce more deeply into the fibers of the meat than does beef.

Having said that... I lived most of my early cognizant years (7-10, 13-18) in Oklahoma and Texas, with two or three year trips elsewhere (parts of Illinois, Italy, Germany), as well as a couple of adult years (19-21), so am more than passingly familiar with Texas-style barbecue. From 21 to 60, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, with side trips into the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky. I've had regional barbecue in *ALL* of them, and - shocker! - pretty much liked *ALL* of them, though some better than others.

While I like the Seaboard styles, I've found I prefer those with the lowest concentration of vinegar. (Yes, I know, I'm speaking heresy to the Seaboarders!) Most rubs are a bit harsh on my tongue. (Yes, I'm speaking heresy to those in St. Louis, Louisiana and surrounds!) My preference is, and always will be, for the smoky-honey-sweet flavors I first learned to love in Lawton/Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and Norman, Oklahoma (University of), and have enjoyed in hundreds of barbecue recipes since.

 

[DVS]

Insomnia's a bitch. I empathize and sympathize. [/off-topic]

As for pork being too fatty and gristly for proper BBQ, the response is: Not *all* of it. A well-trimmed pork roast can be nearly as "fat-free" as a beef brisket, and pork seems (to me, at least) to absorb the flavors of the barbecue sauce more deeply into the fibers of the meat than does beef.

Having said that... I lived most of my early cognizant years (7-10, 13-18) in Oklahoma and Texas, with two or three year trips elsewhere (parts of Illinois, Italy, Germany), as well as a couple of adult years (19-21), so am more than passingly familiar with Texas-style barbecue. From 21 to 60, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, with side trips into the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky. I've had regional barbecue in *ALL* of them, and - shocker! - pretty much liked *ALL* of them, though some better than others.

While I like the Seaboard styles, I've found I prefer those with the lowest concentration of vinegar. (Yes, I know, I'm speaking heresy to the Seaboarders!) Most rubs are a bit harsh on my tongue. (Yes, I'm speaking heresy to those in St. Louis, Louisiana and surrounds!) My preference is, and always will be, for the smoky-honey-sweet flavors I first learned to love in Lawton/Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and Norman, Oklahoma (University of), and have enjoyed in hundreds of barbecue recipes since.

That's just a sampling of the different BBQ tastes that are available in this country. Like anything else, including regional accents, where you live (or where you visit) will have its own version of BBQ flavors.

My preference is Kansas City's own Arthur Bryant's BBQ, which has three different sauces, but the original is my favorite. I only go to the original store, which has no atmosphere to speak of, just good food. I could live on Bryant's beef and beans, if I had to. There are other options, and while Bryant's has been a big favorite of many for years, the original sauce has a distinct taste that isn't always easy to absorb, the first time you try it. But it grows on you, and soon you almost feel you need it intravenously. At least that's my take on it.

It is not a sweet sauce and it has a bite to it. It has a grainy texture, with paprika and cayenne spices a plenty. The meat is slowly smoked in their oven, while the cooks use wall paper paste brushes to apply the sauce. It's exciting to watch them open the oven door for this, when filing along in the order line. They have beef, pork, chicken, sausage, etc. We like it all, in this city. And the helpings are quite large. It's best to get it to go, and on the way home, stop and pick up a loaf of bread. Each sandwich can usually satisfy 4 people...or me, four times.

While Kansas City does have a "style" of its own, because it's in the middle of the country, it seems we get a variety of different styles from other parts of the country. I'm sure other parts of the country are similar, with little mom and pop BBQ restaurants serving their family recipe. Some of these have brought their recipe from other parts of the country. There is one restaurant with a near 75 year tradition that has a sauce that starts off sweet with an after taste with a bite to it. They also have squeeze bottles of vinegar on the tables, if you want to change the taste a bit.

We also have our share of the fakers as BiBunny mentioned, where some sauce is slathered on a sandwich and it is heated in a microwave. They shouldn't be allowed to have the BBQ initials in their sign, but America is a free country.

We have an area that has mushroomed up near our NASCAR race track. It has upwards to 40 different specialty restaurants. No matter what your taste, you can satisfy it there. In these restaurants, many are franchises and one is called Famous Dave's. They have not one, not two but at least 5 different sauces that they have on each table.

I'm not sure how they cook their meat, but I don't think they ever add any sauce until you add it at the table. I like the sauce they have called Devil's Spit. It's a nice textured sauce, but it has a pretty nasty bite to it, if you aren't prepared. But, once your throat has had that first bite of food, the sauce seems to tame. The other sauces range from tame to hot and sweet to spicy. None of these are actually Kansas City style, but I eat there, from time to time. The problem is, because it's in that special area, it isn't cheap!

I haven't had BBQ from the east coast, but I think I've had a lot of the others. While I prefer my Bryant's, all of the different variations around the country have something unique that defines them as special. When someone takes the time to nurture their cooking process, as all of the finer BBQ restaurants do, there just isn't any bad BBQ. They are all just different. Is anybody else getting hungry? I might have to give my near by Micky D's a visit for a McRib or two. While it isn't "true" BBQ, it does a little to calm the hunger...but I'm still gonna need to visit Bryant's.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

.... one is called Famous Dave's. They have not one, not two but at least 5 different sauces that they have on each table....

I've eaten at Famous Dave's in a couple of different areas. I like knowing what to expect when I eat there. I do like their two milder sauces. Unfortunately, though I used to love "hot and spicy" (in fact, the hotter and spicier, the better!) in just about anything except ice cream, the onset of the years has taken away many of the pleasures of my youth. I used to munch on jalapenos and habaneros like soft candies. Now, I can't touch them, or even anything that has them as an ingredient. Their interaction with my reflux is *not* a happy one. <Sigh>



Old age is not for the weak.......

 

[midwestyankee]

I've sampled American barbecue in just about all of the places that Sir Winston mentioned as well as at Arthur Bryant's, per DVS. Having grown up in the one region of the country that does not seem to have its own form of barbecue, I'm stuck with having fallen for my first love: Arthur Bryant's, from the original store with the greasy walls in Kansas City. The best item on the menu there: the beef brisket sandwich with sauce on the side. In my time there, giving the man who made the sandwich a dollar tip ensured an extra handful of beef in your sandwich.

Like Sir W, I used to nosh on jalapenos and such like gum drops but these days I find that getting my digestive tract re-lined is just too expensive and painful. If only we had Canadian style healthcare it might be a worthy investment of my time.

 

[Keroin]

Wow, I had no idea BBQ was such a "thing" south of the border! When my TF said he was going to take me out for BBQ, I thought, 'OK, whatever, cool'. I only now realize what a cultural experience he is going to share with me. I am not sure of the name of the place we are going to but apparently it is the best.

I will bring my camera!

 

[midwestyankee]

Wow, I had no idea BBQ was such a "thing" south of the border! When my TF said he was going to take me out for BBQ, I thought, 'OK, whatever, cool'. I only now realize what a cultural experience he is going to share with me. I am not sure of the name of the place we are going to but apparently it is the best.

I will bring my camera!

Just remember that if you are ushered into the presence of the guy who cooks all that bbq wonderfulness, you are to kneel, avert your eyes, and kiss his ring as if it were the last cock your lips would ever get touch.