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Featured Article
Barbeque Wars
By Tom Adkinson
Want to know an easy way to start a fight—or at least a healthy argument—with a Southerner?
Just declare that your favorite barbeque joint is the best one anywhere . . . and don't yield any ground.
These "discussions" don't rise to the academic rigor of your high school debate club, but they're much more fun since they usually include some top-notch barbeque to sample and icy liquid refreshment, whether that's sweet tea or a cold beer.
If you're lucky, the conversation continues over a wedge of pecan pie or a bowl of banana pudding, but that could lead to another "best of" discussion.
Barbeque discussions often divide people quickly into certain camps. Is hickory smoke best? Is mesquite even permitted? Is the meat pulled or chopped? Is the sauce tomato-based or vinegar-based? And what about those folks who stand by a mustard-based sauce?
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Featured Article (Continued)
It goes without saying that absolutely all barbeque discussions are about pork. Oddballs from Texas or Missouri who try to interject beef into the conversation can be dealt with dismissively, but you don't have to be quite as rude to those folks from around Owensboro, Kentucky, who barbeque mutton.
Talk almost always is about one-of-a-kind barbeque joints, although sometimes the pit master has more than one outpost.
Nashville, Tennessee, is a great example. Many people are vocal proponents of the one-location Hog Heaven, while others stand by the two-location Jack's Bar-B-Cue.
Hog Heaven occupies a ramshackle frame structure tucked behind a McDonald's and next-door neighbor to Nashville's iconic replica of the Parthenon. There's perhaps no better Southern culinary experience than getting a couple of Hog Heaven sandwiches and a sweet tea and then hopping the stone fence for a picnic table with a view of the Parthenon.
Jack's, by contrast, has one location on Broadway in the heart of Music City's honky-tonk district and another north of town off I-65 beyond a cluster of interchange motels and gas stations.
In Savannah, Georgia, some will quickly steer you to tiny Wall's Barbeque (hidden in an alley, but well worth the search required to find it), while even city boosters will direct you to the Pink Pig in nearby Hardeeville, South Carolina, if you've tried Wall's first.
Pay attention to anyone in a barbeque discussion who seems well-traveled. He's done some scouting for you.
For instance, I navigate between Nashville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, frequently, and my car almost can drive itself to Lil' Paul's Smokehouse just off I-40 in Lebanon or Gerald's Smokehouse on U.S. 321 in Lenoir City . . . and it certainly knows that the smoke is just right at the end of the trip at Bennett's in Pigeon Forge.
Whenever you "Escape to the Southeast," it won't take you long to get a local's barbeque recommendation. It's up to you to decide whether it's the best you ever had.
Here are links to guide you to some of the barbeque joints in this article:
Bar-B-Cutie
Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que
Hog Heaven
Jack's Bar-B-Que
Pink Pig
Wall's BBQ
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