Worst “Best Barbecue In America” List Ever

Well, maybe not ever. I bet we could find a worse one. But this is pretty silly.

(HuffPost) America has a serious love affair with barbecue. It’s an adoration so profound, the people were unable to leave it in the South from whence it came. You no longer have to live in Alabama or make a trip to Texas to eat great ribs, brisket, or awesome BBQ sides. These days, you can get great barbecue in the center of Manhattan or a pulled pork sandwich worthy of a food coma in the Golden City.

A look at Open Table’s 2014 30 Best BBQ Restaurants Diners’ Choice Awards is proof of that — only a few restaurants on the list are actually located in the South. There are restaurants from both coasts, and a good amount hail from Chicago of all places. Fear not, this doesn’t mean that the South isn’t still top when it comes to barbecue. A more likely explanation would be that great Southern barbecue doesn’t exist at places that take Open Table reservations.

Therein lies the problem: this is based on Open Table reservations. Some of the best spots, especially throughout the areas in the South and Midwest known for barbecue, either take no reservations or do not use Open Table.

Let’s be clear, anyone who doesn’t understand that barbecue is only a noun should not be allowed to have an opinion on barbecue. I grew up in the North, where they would talk about barbecuing. Having lived more than half my life in North Carolina, we understand that the word is never a verb. Only a noun.

There are only 5 places in real barbecue country. Four in Texas, one in Oklahoma. The rest are in NY, California, Maryland, and other areas. Granted, many of them may be very good. I’ve seen Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on one of the food shows I love to watch, and it is supposed to be good. But nothing can touch what you’ll get in a good local spot down South/Midwest.  Memphis, Kansas City, the different types of Carolina BBQ, Georgia style, Texas. Those are your BBQ meccas.

And, no, I’m not going overboard. BBQ is serious business, and discussing the best is like putting the Crips and the Bloods in the same room for intensity.

BTW, I’ve kinda gotten in to lots of those cooking shows on the Travel Channel, Cooking, and Destination America, along with a few others. I love shows like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, Man Vs Food, Food Paradise, BBQ Pitmasters, and others. Very interesting, and a welcome diversion from all the rest of the garbage on TV. Lots of other interesting things, like the Buying homes series on Destination America, things on Travel like waterparks.

Anyhow, if you want real barbecue, come down and visit, I’ll take you to places that will blow your tastebuds away.

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4 Responses to “Worst “Best Barbecue In America” List Ever”

  1. I would love some NC barbecue. Dinosaur BBQ is pretty good, but George Soros is a big investor so we don’t go there any more.

  2. OldTexan says:

    Whoa there, slow down and pull up cause I never ate any decent, real Barbecue North of Oklahoma City. I have lived up in the North Lands a few times in my life and traveled and worked up there where folks are rude and don’t make eye contact and say hi, how ya doing?

    What I have eaten were some decent ribs and what they call brisket is more like roast beef with some sauce smeared on it. Real barbeque takes a long time to cook, real slow and smoky with a good hardwood fire pit. Then it seems to be best served on a piece of butcher paper with a few beans and cole slaw while you sit next to folks you don’t know on picnic benches.

    At least that’s how I ate it a couple of days ago outside of San Antonio and it was great. I also have a friend who makes a good barbecue when he uses a rick of wood in the fire box welded onto an old 100 gallon propane tank that became a smoker over 50 years ago. It takes him at least 24 hours to transform brisket into succulent smokey goodness. His ribs are decent too.

    You are so right, barbecue is a noun and never a verb.

  3. I did not know that about Dinosaur. Place looked interesting, design is wild, definitely get big portions, but I like my BBQ to be at someplace referred to as a “joint”. There’s a real dive down in Willow Springs called Stephenson’s, pure downhome.

    I have yet to go to a place like that up north, usually too fancy pants. Nice yo know that BBQ is spreading, though.

  4. Nighthawk says:

    The best barbeque, in my opinion, comes from the grill in my back yard.

    No gas, only wood and charcoal.

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