 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Home | Memphis |
Kansas City |
Savannah | North and South Carolina | Texas | Los Angeles & San Diego |
San Francisco |
As usual, I choose travel
destinations based on the food.
And in 2008, it was all about barbeque.
The Great BBQ Trip of 2008 took place in two parts:
Memphis
and
Kansas City
in
March, and
Texas (around Austin)
in November. Other trips
followed.
As a public service, I also provide some information on BBQ restaurants in my home state of
California...
but know, Dear Eater, that nothing in California is going to be as good as in
the other destinations.
A little background:
Barbequing is not grilling!
Where did barbequing originate?
The word "barbeque" probably originated from the West Indian word "barbacoa,"
which was the process of cooking meat on racks over a smoky fire.
Alternate theory: the French phrase "barbe a queue" means "from snout to tail."
In the U.S., barbequing began in the pre-Civil War South, where slaves were
given – big shock – the worst cuts of meat. The only way to make the
tough meat edible was to smoke it, for hours at a time. The process made
the meat incredibly tender and moist. Rubs and sauces were derived from
African flavors via the Caribbean, following the slave trade route. After the
Civil War, as African-Americans spread northward, they brought their food with them.
This history is paraphrased from various sources... for more information, click
here.
| Where do you get real barbeque? In general, four regions of the U.S. are known for barbeque: North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas. What are the differences? North Carolina barbeque is all about pork... cooked with a dry rub of spices and a peppery vinegar-based sauce (in the eastern part of the state) or a vinegar & tomato sauce (in the western part of the state). South Carolina barbeque is also about pork, brisket is tough to find, but you can certainly find turkey/chicken; the sauce is often (but not always) mustard-based. Texas is supposed to be all about beef and thick slathered-on tomato sauce, but I actually had difficulty finding beef ribs and some places have no sauce at all. Kansas City is all about the sauce, served liberally over beef and pork. Memphis is sort of in-between – you can get beef or pork, sauce or rub, depending on the restaurant. But it's all good. One of the (many) strange things about Texas is that many of the "restaurants" evolved from meat markets, and they still price meat by the pound and serve it up on butcher paper (no plates) and plastic trays. Some don't even provide forks. Some don't have sauce. And most don't have desserts either. In Texas, it's all about the meat. And, many are closed Sundays; others are only open for lunch. Not what we Yankees are used to. This sign from Kreuz Market, right, pretty much sums it up. |
|
–
BBQ
FESTIVALS
–
"Memphis in May" (www.memphisinmay.org)
"The Great American Barbecue Festival" - Kansas City in May (www.thinkbbq.com)
"Taylor International Barbeque Cookoff" - Taylor, TX in August (www.taylorjaycees.org/cookoff)
"Best in the West Nugget Rib Cookoff" - Sparks, NV in September (www.nuggetribcookoff.com)
"Los Angeles BBQ Festival" - Santa Monica, CA in September (www.labbqfest.com)
"Austin City Limits Music Festival" (with a side of BBQ) - Austin, TX in September (www.aclfestival.com)
"American Royal Barbecue Festival" - Kansas City in October (http://www.americanroyal.com/Default.aspx?tabid=231)
"The National Championship Barbecue Cookoff" - Meridian, TX in October (http://bbq.htcomp.net)
California BBQ Association Calendar (http://www.cbbqa.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page)
List of Texas BBQ Festivals, by month (www.texastripper.com/bbq/bbq-cookoffs.html)
List of National BBQ Festivals, by State (www.montysgourmet.com/BBQ_Festivals_s/52.htm)
