north carolina - the cradle of ’cue

My husband is an addict – absolutely and positively, a fanatical addict. Of course, I had no idea until after we were married. He was incredibly devious about the whole thing, cleverly hiding his unrelenting obsession from his dear bride. Poor me. By the way, he is addicted to BBQ.

There are four spellings for BBQ – Barbecue or barbeque, and abbreviations BBQ or Bar-B-Que. Use any one, for they are all synonymous. Dictionary definitions are basically the same – 1: to roast or broil on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (as hot coals), and 2: to cook in a highly seasoned vinegar sauce. However, the first definition is incorrect. Perhaps the editors have limited knowledge of BBQ. I have the correct definition below.

The word barbeque is not defined as the act of cooking food on one’s grill. BBQ is the actual name of a food item of which one eats – Like “Let’s order BBQ to eat at the restaurant tonight”. The act of using a grill to cook food is called grilling – like “Let’s grill hamburgers for dinner tonight”. How simple is that? It’s a real pet peeve of mine is to hear someone use BBQ in the incorrect manner.

Wouldn’t you know, NC is the Barbeque Capital of the World. There are two different recipes for BBQ – western style and eastern style. Mark likes both types, which, unfortunately, expands his restaurant patronages. Great. At the moment, there are several packages of barbeque in our freezer. No surprise there! He has also scoured the internet for more BBQ restaurants – (http://yellowpages.aol.com/restaurants/barbecue-restaurants/nc/) He is partial to – Woodlands in Blowing Rock, Lexington Barbeque in Lexington, Stamey’s in Greensboro, Skippers in Henderson, Bill’s in Wilson, and Parker’s in Wilson. By the way, if anyone out there cares, my favorite is Woodlands.

Hard to believe, but there is actually a North Carolina BBQ Society – (http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/index.html). I wonder what type of person came up with that? Hmmm. Mark could be a devoted member, but please, let’s not tell him. And, wouldn’t you know, our son’s father-in-law is a BBQ enthusiast as well. When Mark and Tom get together, they discuss every subject that remotely deals with BBQ. And, of course, this conversation is over a cup of coffee.