Pennsylvania BBQ Spots Get National Honor
Summer is the prime time to enjoy a juicy, flavorful barbecue delight, and that’s especially true in Pennsylvania. Well, any season is really perfect to enjoy good barbecue, but the dish is often most associated with summer. I actually recall a neighbor grilling BBQ outside in the cold over the winter, during one of our most chilly days, which was funny. But, at least it brought the tantalizing smells of barbecue to the streets in the middle of a chilly winter. Now, a few Pennsylvania barbecue spots have been named the best in the country, and it’s a delicious one.
Best BBQ in America, Including Pennsylvania
The experts and barbecue lovers at Food and Wine have unveiled a roster of the best BBQ places in the country, with one for each state. “Barbecue belongs to all of us, it can crop up anywhere, and the cast of characters responsible for this is more diverse than ever,” Food and Wine states in the feature, adding, “We celebrate the very best brisket and whole hog wherever we find them, but this list also has a great deal of affection for the pre-existing culture in so many of the other states.”
For Pennsylvania, they picked a few spots to highlight. “In Philly, you can’t really go wrong with the ribs at Mike’s BBQ, some of the finest in the state, and there are all kinds of reasons to root for the more recent, well-pedigreed Zig Zag BBQ, which feels a lot like the future of barbecue in Pennsylvania — we’re definitely keeping tabs,” they state. Both of those places are great picks. Mike’s is located at 1703 South 11th Street in Philadelphia, and Zig Zag is located at 2111 East York Street in Philadelphia.
So, we all know what barbecue tastes like, but what actually is barbecue, as in, the official meaning? “Barbecue is meat cooked over live fire and smoke, low and slow,” states The Low and Slow Barbecue Show, adding that one “can add sauce or not. You can chop it, pull it, slice it, or pick it.”
Girls Can Grill adds that, “Barbecuing is more slow and low. It’s when you’re cooking at temperatures around 225 to 275 degrees.” So, that’s what really sets barbecue apart from other ways of enjoying cooked meat. You can actually barbecue veggies, too. I know this, because I’m a vegetarian, and barbecued veggies are simply delicious.
