You left out Virginia, the pork capitol of the south! My daddy (a Kentuckian) always used to say he liked Virginia 'cause it was the only place you could get a decent BBQ.
" while their neighbors on the western border favor a thick, sweet-sour, ketchup-based sauce.
That stuff is just plain nasty!
"Mustard based BBQ is the best"
Amen to that. I grew up in Virginia and BBQ was a staple; in fact, hamburger was fairly unfamiliar to me until I was a bit older. At least once a week we would eat at this little local diner called Hilltop BBQ. That was the standard, the point of comparison. There was also Gene's BBQ; one in Colonial Heights and one in Dinwiddie county. These too were small local diners but the BBQ was out of this world.
When I was in college in Georgia there was a place called Barbeque Bill's that I liked a lot. It wasn't really the same but it was a mustard based sauce and it was very good. And once, driving back from Florida late one evening and tired of eating fast food I stopped at a place just north of Brunswick, GA as I recall, right off the highway that looked like it had been an old Tastee Freeze. I ordered a BBQ and Brunswick Stew. It turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I ever ate! The BBQ was fantastic as was the stew. I wonder if its still there.
There are also several good BBQ places in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I personally think the Smokehouse is the best of the ones I've eaten at. Its certainly the closest to Virginia BBQ.
I'm glad you posted this. I have a tendency to start trouble every time I mention BBQ on a thread. I'm glad somebody else started it this time!