Everyone has been told of " a great barbecue joint," only to be disappointed, but when the recommendations come from barbecue judge supreme Ardie A. Davis and award-winning Chef Paul Kirk you can be sure that you are about to eat the best barbecue available. Making their way across the country, eating at more BBQ places than they could count, Ardie and Paul picked the top 100 barbecue spots. This is a wonderful guide for those on the road, but if you want to improve your own skills to reach mastery, this book is also for you: only Davis and Kirk could pry the secrets, tips and recipes as they chowed down on top bbq.
Ardie and Paul set high standards, judging the various barbecue joints, pits, shacks, on the basis of their foods' appeal, taste, tenderness, and appearance. On top of these standards they considered value, service and, yes, even ambience. Down-home and earthy, each place needed to be comfortable and welcoming.
Barbecue is iconic food, beloved in America, filled with legend and lore. Ardie and Paul have collected memorabilia, photos (often old postcards) and a treasure-trove of stories and yarns to enrich this already rich books. You'll enjoy sidebars that explain why beans are one of the most popular side dishes with bbq, or why almost every last bbq joint serves pickles. Equally enjoyable are the stories of each bbq joint, often places that reveal pieces of history, and always places that are run by passionate people.
And then there are the hundred recipes from the 100 top joints. There are great classics such as barbecued brisket and rib-eye, as well as bbq pork butt or loin, even barbecued whole hog. There are also starters such as blue cheese bowl appetizer, brisket nachos, or deviled eggs; there are sides such as pink coleslaw, potato salad, tamales and beans or fried okra; there are desserts from deep-fried Oreos and apple dumplings, to Pop's Salt Lick sundae or root beer cake.
From Kansas city down to Texas, over to Memphis, Arkansas or Alabama, up the east coast to be surprised with a top BBQ joint in New York City into Illinois and across to California with every stop in between, the authors have left no state unexplored.
This is a happy book, and a great eating book. Join the two adventurers and have an adventure of your own.
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