ISO Bar-B-Q

 My, how often this question comes up.....

 I believe that the Kansas City folk were taught BBQ by cow-pokers delivering the goods to the rail-head. The real stuff musta' been cooked on the open range.

 IMHO, THE best BBQ in the Lower 48 is the East Coast Grill in Cambridge MA. Yes, indeed.

 One of the owners co-authored a book on the subject of BBQ yuppie chow, _The_Thrill_of_the_Grill_. Despite the strange stuff, there is a lot of very good information here, especially with regards to cooking with wood vs charcoal.

 I don't know that I would categorize Texas as "South." Texas is. As such, the County Line in Austin is a good family-style restaurant.

 Also in Austin, the Salt Lick. Less accessable than the County Line, but just great.

 You would think that L.A. would be a-crawl with BBQ, but local smog regulations probably put paid to that. The highest calling mesquite can answer locally is for cooking arugula pizza. There IS a place out in the SF valley, Dr. Hoggly Woggly's Tyler Texas BBQ, but they've really fallen off the pace. All the other "BBQ" I've had locally is roast beef with BBQ sauce on it.

      Jeff

Jeff L. wrote:

> My, how often this question comes up.....

And people still can't tell the diffeence between grilling and barbecuing:

> I believe that the Kansas City folk were taught BBQ by cow-pokers
>delivering the goods to the rail-head. The real stuff musta' been
>cooked on the open range.

Yeah right, with a drum smoker on the back of a horse.  Or a cowboy.

>IMHO, THE best BBQ in the Lower 48 is the East Coast Grill in Cambridge

> One of the owners co-authored a book on the subject of BBQ yuppie
>chow, _The_Thrill_of_the_Grill_. Despite the strange stuff, there is a
>lot of very good information here, especially with regards to cooking
>with wood vs charcoal.

Real Barbecuers smoke their meat, they never grill it.  And charcoal is frowned upon by true connoiseurs and should not even be mentioned in cookbooks.

There is great barbecue in New England, at Green Mountain Vittles west of Brattleboro, VT, at (presumably, never been there, same recipes) Beal Street in Freeport ME, and there is good barbecue at Stick to Your Ribs in Stratford, CT and (recommended but not tried) at Curtis' All-American Ninth Wonder of the World Bar-B-Q in Putney, VT.

Green Mountain Vittles is a truly incredible feed,  I am going to write up a review of it.  The recipes come from a caterer in Memphis (who now runs Beal Street) and the ribs, although cooked with charcoal and hickory shavings, are as good as I've ever had.

Some people recommend Bub's in Sunderland, but that tyro commits the heresy of cooking over gas...

Pig out,
      -Kiran

Barbecue I have loved in the Frigid North:

Armadillo Barbecue, Seattle (actually Woodinville):

      A little bit of Texas in the Wet Northwest. I would unhesitatingly recommend this to the
most discerning barbecue aficionado as worthy of comparison with the very best, both for atmosphere and for cuisine (these guys take their smoke very seriously indeed, and are otherwise serious about very little else). Not for the faint-hearted; if you're intimate with someone who doesn't like beer and smoke, give that person the car keys, arrange a pickup time, and send him/her to some vegetarian cafe in the city.

The Rib Rack, Seattle (Bellevue):

      This is (was) my neighborhood ribbery in Bellevue. Good stuff, even if a teensy bit overpriced.
Haven't been there in a few months - any Eastsiders know if they're still around?

CJ's Rib Run, Billings:

      The magic here is in the sauce. The ribs are of very high quality, and probably as finely
smoked, but the sauce takes the  CJ's experience up a notch. It's as spicy as your average hot & sour soup, and even more satisfying. Carry out and delivery only.

Rudolphs, Twin Cities:

      This is hyped in the local Yellow Pages as the best barbecue in America. It's not *that*
good, but it may be the best in MSP. There are several locations; I went to the one in downtown St. Paul, and it was very nearly dead the night I was there (admittedly in mid-winter). I hear the crowds are bigger (and the food may be better) at the Minneapolis locations.

 Jeff L. wrote:
 >
 > My, how often this question comes up.....
 >
 > I believe that the Kansas City folk were taught BBQ by cow-pokers
 >delivering the goods to the rail-head. The real stuff musta' been
 >cooked on the open range.
 >
 > IMHO, THE best BBQ in the Lower 48 is the East Coast Grill in
 >Cambridge MA. Yes, indeed.

 If you want _real_ BBQ, not yuppie BBQ, you might go next door
 from the East Coast Grill to Jake & Earl's Dixie BBQ.  For a
 really unhealthy but yummy meal, try a pint of burnt ends.

 --julie

 Julie D. wrote:
 > If you want _real_ BBQ, not yuppie BBQ, you might go next door
 > from the East Coast Grill to Jake & Earl's Dixie BBQ.  For a
 > really unhealthy but yummy meal, try a pint of burnt ends.

 It's the same BBQ!  Jake and Earl's is a carryout place with about four
 stools, and the serve the same BBQ that is served next door at the East
 Coast Grill.  I think the deal is that when the East Coast Grill started
 to get a bit too small, they opened the place next door, and moved the
 smokers over there.  If you wanted to "dine" and perhaps have a beer, the
 East Coast Grill is the place to head.

 While Jake and Earl's serves BBQ sandwich plates at around $5 each,
 and a pint of BBQ goes for about $10, the East Coast Grill is much
 more pricey.  Since I haven't been in there awhile, I'm not sure what
 the current price is, but a dinner plate of pulled pork was about $14
 the last time I was there.

 Guy