Barbecue: A Simple Southern Pleasure

One of the simple pleasures of Southern dining is the down-home barbecue experience.  No matter where you go, you’re bound to find barbecue prepared just right – tender, tangy and slowly smoked meat served as ribs, in a sandwich or heaped up on a plate.

Barbecue will taste a little different depending on where you find it. In fact, each barbecue region is passionate about the type of meat used, the fuel on which to cook it, and the sauce – if any – to put on it.

Some barbecue joints serve their ribs “wet” – with a sauce – while others say a good dry rub of herbs and spices is all you need. Longstanding debates continue about the superiority of dry vs. wet ribs, or whether the final product is “pulled,” “chopped” or “sliced” from the bone.

Alabama offers red sauces a bit spicier than those in Tennessee, and beef is the preferred meat in Texas. In Arkansas, which borders Tennessee, Texas and other states, barbecue incorporates different styles and is served with a wide range of side dishes.

Memphis-style barbecue includes pulled pork or slow-cooked pork ribs basted with a sweet tomato sauce flavored with pepper and molasses.

Pork is the meat of choice in eastern North Carolina, and it’s usually chopped or sliced and served with a vinegar-based sauce. Traditional side dishes include coleslaw and hush puppies. The western part of the state tends to serve pork doused in a sauce rich with vinegar and tomatoes.

South Carolinians prefer a mustard-based sauce, and barbecue is often served alongside light bread, coleslaw and hash with rice.

Pork is still the favorite in the central South, but it’s “pulled” rather than chopped.

However it’s prepared, barbecue is a traditional dish that’s taken pretty seriously in the South – and people tend to take sides.

Wet or dry? Pulled or chopped? Beef or pork?

You be the judge.

Good Food, Family Style

It’s a family affair at Pauli’s Bar & Grill in Madison, where Sheila and Bob Wilburn and their son, Pauli Thornton, have been serving up fine steaks, chops and seafood since 1998.

“We wanted to create a place where folks could have a fine meal in a casual atmosphere,” Bob Wilburn says.

By all accounts, they’ve succeeded.

The bistro’s unassuming street presence conceals cozy dining rooms and elegant fare that combines local traditions, modern cuisine and cosmopolitan influences. 

“People expect consistency and wonderful food,” Wilburn says. “We offer seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and from New England. All our beef is Black Angus, and the steaks and chops are prepared on a wood-fired grill.”

The 91-seat eatery is located at the corner of Highway 72 and Slaughter Road.