Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Best Barbeque Towns in Texas?


nathanm

Recommended Posts

On the one hand I guess that's a factually correct distinction: the AOC-type rules tend to apply to products not restaurant dishes. On the other hand the cultural distinction is still valid: European cuisine, especially traditional cuisine, is far more regimented than American.

One thing I noticed last time I took a barbecue road trip was that on menus the so-called outliers generally outnumbered the dishes I thought of as traditional regional ones. Even in the back woods of North Carolina I saw a lot of chicken and it was invariably described as "BBQ chicken." A totally unsentimental menu analysis, even with the sample set limited to the places with the best reputations, would likely lead to the conclusion that North Carolina barbecue includes chicken. And if you go to Memphis the ratio just falls off the cliff. To get around that I think we have to start by imagining that America is more European than it really is.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...