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"Some stories say the tradition in the US dates to the 1700s in Virginia and North Carolina, among colonists who perhaps learned the technique from American Indians or Caribbean aborigines."

Ha, "barbacoa" is the Texan wannabe story to support the myth that Texas originated barbecue. Good stuff, to be sure, but this writer got the correct origin, and even makes the distinction between tomato-based and vinegar-based.

He does create confusion, however, with the statement "If you haven t had the chance to sample any local Southern barbeque sauces, despair not: The flavor that best captures the typical sauce can be had for 99 cents just buy a bottle of Kraft barbeque sauce." This applies ONLY to the inferior "tomato based" sauce, not the vinegar-based.

He also missed the target on his review of the NC vinegar-based sauce he tried. "The particular one I sampled has won awards in North Carolina, but to me it seemed to be lacking something. The spices made the sauce seem to want for some sweetness, which impression does not accompany the taste of a Louisiana hot sauce."

If you are simply tasting the sauce, he might have a point. And, while Louisianna hot sauces can be excellent, they would overpower the delicate flavor of the pork. The NC hot pepper vinegar sauce is the perfect compliment to correctly cooked pork -- and is the only food that deserves application of "barbecue" as a noun.

And, while other areas or cities may claim to be the "Barbecue Capital of the World," people who enjoy food should understand that the reference would only apply to quantity. For the best barbecue in the world, go to Eastern North Carolina.

Finally, considering that all of MY comments are indisputable, I would prefer only those who appreciate true barbecue and want to compliment the truth and wisdom of my observations respond to this post. Any other response would simply be nuts.

My 2 cents about BBQ wars:

First of all, the definition varies from poster to poster on this thread. For the NC people its pork shoulder or butt that is smoked with hickory and served with either the vinegar and pepper sauce or mustard sauce.

For the Midwest crowd its a combination of Beef/Chicken and Pork, smoked and served with a thick, traditonal BBQ sauce.

For Carolinians and Virginians the debate seems to be over which sauce is best....the smokeyness of the meat is secondary.

Texans have a different attitude....Its all how the meat is smoked and which type of wood is used..Hickory or Mequite. I've used apple, maple and oak before, but Hickory and Mequite appear to be the most aromatic that i've tried. The art of smoking meat, taking hours and hours to do it appears to be a Texas tradition that is faithfully pursed, the sauce is secondary in their culinary realm.

I grew up eating the Texas version until I moved to NC. It took me 10 years before I could accept coleslaw as a topping on my bbq sandwich. I've eaten at every BBQ place in Davidson, Forsyth and Guilford County, as well a couple in Rocky Mount and Wilson. The major differences between all of these NC places is the sauce used. The meat varies in blandness (I prefer a heavy smoked flavor), and lacks the boldness of the Texas smoked meats.

Its all good and I look forward to tasting each and every regional version of BBQ as my time and travels allow.

Any other response would simply be nuts.

The fact is that "Texas Barbecue" originated in Texas. God knows where your version came from, but you should enjoy it all you want in your neck-of-the-woods.

What this writer misses, what all of these arguments miss, is that Kraft nor Arby's have any concept of regional authenticity, and tend toward bland and homogenous crap. The only GOOD ANYTHING is the LOCAL version. All else is crap no matter where you are.

That's why I think North-East-South-whatever Carolina BBQ is crap, and you think Texas BBQ is not the best, and we are both correct from a regional perspective!

And finally, this author is still an idiot.