How does Georgia barbeque differ from Kansas barbeque? Quiz yourself on barbeque recipes from all different regions of the country.

Photo: Bobbique

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly establishments across the country.

In New York City, August struck for real last Saturday. With the last bastion of summer upon us and only a few more weeks of heat before the weather starts to cool off, all the remaining weekends are "getaway day" musts!

For America's largest city, getting away often means heading to the shores of Long Island. In the waterfront village of Patchogue, patrons at Bobbique can grab great barbecue and great beer all in one spot ... and hear live blues music on the side. Brews, blues and barbecues: If those things don't say summer, what does?

Still, according to manager Jessica Higgins, "Business booms all year round. We have such a diverse selection of beers; we attract a lot of locals." And local patrons like local beers. "We try to stock at least one Blue Point on draft, which is extremely local," Higgins says, referring to the Long Island brewery located less than a mile from their door. "We keep some Brooklyns on too, but we also like to showcase a lot of beers you can't get anywhere else."

The draft list, after the jump.

Cow head in banana leaves at Hill Country. Photo: Kat Kinsman

There comes a time in every girl's life -- when she's ripping open the long-braised skull of a short-lived calf in order to better wobble out its beer-marinated brain -- that she smiles contentedly and realizes she loves her life an awful lot. Then she goes for the eyes.

Well OK, not every girl's life -- but at least those of a troika of squeam-free dames including Hill Country's executive chef and cookbook author Elizabeth Karmel, Homesick Texan writer Lisa Fain and lucky, lucky me. And it all happened because of Twitter.

See a step-by-step barbacoa making slideshow and read a description after the jump. Warning -- it's not for vegetarians or the faint of stomach.

As promised, we're beginning our recap of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party this past weekend, featuring 15 of the best pitmasters from around the USA. After you take a dip in the barbecue sauce fountain, courtesy of Mike Mills and Amy Mills of 17th Street Bar & Grill, click on the post to see our photos. "Peace, Love & Barbecue," everyone!

I'm stingy with my smoke.

Not in a "don't bogart that can, man" way. Just that if I'm going to go to all the trouble of stoking a hardwood lump charcoal fire, obsessively monitoring its low-'n-slow-ness for a goodly chunk of the day, feeding its greedy gut with beer-soaked mesquite and hickory chunks at half-hour intervals all for the sake of an albeit fabulous brisket or pork shoulder, I'm gonna want a bit more return on the investment.

Here's where foil pans of salt, cherries and lemons come in.

• Five-Spiced Grilled Chicken is ideal for both quick and leisurely stints at the barbecue.
• Raise a glass to grilling season with these recommendations for wines that pair well with both grilled food and budgets -- each bottle is under $30.
  
• Sweet and tender spring onions are in season, and here's how to store and use them.
• Star alert: A guide to the kitchen migrations of San Francisco's brightest culinary lights.
• The Bay Area works up an appetite for a full menu of summer food fests.
• Who's the tangiest of them all? The Chronicle ranks the many brands of bread and butter pickles.
• Forget grape, chestnut or fig leaves: Robiola Incavolata, a goat cheese from Northern Italy, is wrapped in cabbage leaves.
• Grilling season means grilling cookbooks.
• Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery upholds a San Francisco tradition of fashionably unkempt dining.
• E&O Trading Company grabs Chef Arnold Eric Wong to head its kitchen
  
• Down markets mean that fine, cheap wine is due for a renaissance.
  

• Wyatt McSpadden, author of the recently published "Texas BBQ," leads readers on a tour of the seedy under (pork) belly of Austin's barbecue joints.

• Viva cheap eats! Taco Journalism's Armando Rayo shows a reporter how to negotiate Austin's extensive taco truck demimonde, exploring the good, the bad and the incredibly delicious.

• Andrea Abel considers the many variations of the classic matzo ball soup, with tips on how to personalize a Passover favorite.
  

• Addie Broyles explores the history of Easter eggs and gives tips for natural dyeing.
  

• Charleston Chef Kevin Johnson talks about his favorite methods for going whole hog with snout-to-tail-to-trotter pig preparation.

I'll certainly admit to having one heck of a lot of 'cue country exploration left to do in my lifetime, but thus far I've yet to encounter any venue outside of North Carolina slinging BBQ slaw alongside their meat. It's an essential side for Lexington style, vinegar-kissed chopped pork, and gets its characteristic pink tint from a dollop of ketchup or barbecue sauce. Also -- it's pretty darned delicious, and provides a pleasantly crunchy textural contrast with the rich, soft strands of slow-cooked shoulder.

From Searching for the Dixie Barbecue, Journeys into the Southern Psyche by Wilber W. Caldwell (2005):

"In the central North Carolina Piedmont you will often find what locals there call "red coleslaw" on the plate next to your chopped pork barbecue. This tangy variation replaces the usual mayonnaise-based slaw dressing with a catsup-and-vinegar-based dressing. In fact, it is not unusual for Upcountry slaw all over Dixie to be spiked with a big splash of barbecue finishing sauce. Whether a sweet/sour tomato-based, spicy mix, either right from the store-bought jar or from some dusty bottle of secret brew, this spicy addition turns the coleslaw sauce either red or a rich brown color and creates what most Southerners called "barbecued coleslaw."

Surely food experts and gourmets all over the planet will ... most certainly suggest that this "barbecue on barbecue" presentation robs the meal of balance. ... Southerners will scoff at this suggestion. Everyone down here knows that if a little barbecue sauce it good, then a whole lot is even better."

If you happen by High Point, NC, do stop into Carter Brothers BBQ (from whence the above pictured platter of BBQ came on this most recent Christmas Eve) for some of the finest chopped (regular or coarse -- they're both good) pork BBQ you'll ever have the pleasure of eating.

BBQ Slaw is recipe after the jump. Got one of your own? Might you please be so kind as to kick back with a Cheerwine and share it in the comments?

It's darned hot outside these days, so I'm a big fan of any recipe that leaves the heat outside. Above you can see a really simple but delicious-looking recipe for a barbecued rosemary and garlic potato pocket, courtesy of summerkitchen.tv. It's a collection of rosemary, garlic, potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper mixed together and wrapped up in foil, and then cooked on the barbecue. What's particularly great about this recipe is how easy it is to change it up a little and whip up your favorite flavors -- maybe some chopped green onion, or creole spices, or some cherry tomatoes, or even a little bit of cheese. (This is also something that can be made easily over a campfire -- just get small potatoes that you don't need to dice.)

What's your favorite flavor combination for BBQ potatoes?

• Are you hungry for some Spicy Parantha with Ground Crickets? Mmmmm. Or not.
• If you've got a hankering for hambagoos and ping dogs, with a big side of kitsch, try Ping's Cafe.
• This makes me want to live in Vancouver: A trek to catch Dungeness crab and make Chili Lime Crab, Dungeness Crab, Purple Mint, and Radish Salad, and Seafood Paella.
• More on the crab, and how you can do it yourself!
• Q&A with Chef Vikram Vij.
• What 2-4 should you drink on July 1?
• One bad review for Le Papillon on Front.
• BBQ Recipes: Argentinian Parrillada, Chimichurri Sauce, Korean Mixed Grill, and Spiedino di Mare.
• A big type of lamb: Katahdin Lamb -- free of that lanolin-based smell.

When I was younger and had trouble falling asleep, I used to fantasize about my perfect birthday party. I would plan everything in my head -- my dress, activities, the guests, even the flavors of cake I would serve.

Now when I can't sleep, I imagine my dream kitchen. It's enormous and beautiful and light, and it opens seamlessly into an outdoor deck area where I have another (you guessed it) huge kitchen. The outdoor kitchen is for serving guests and hanging by the pool (with hot tub and waterfall) in the summer. It has a gorgeous grill with a rotisserie, as well as a smoker and a shiny stainless steel refrigerator, sink and dishwasher. This is a bit embarrassing, but sometimes when my boyfriend and I are bored, we like to drool over these appliances in magazines and stores.

Who wants to use their imagination? After the jump, let's play make believe, and look at some amazing outdoor kitchen equipment and pretend that we own it.

I've been meaning for a while to write about healthy alternatives to the usual summer barbecue foods. My family hosted a desserts-only BBQ for this weekend (which turned into burgers and dogs BBQ), and I feel like I've been doing the circuit of barbecues featuring heavy slaws, burgers with lots of toppings, and rich chocolate chip cookies. While I love these foods as much as anyone, I'm trying to put together a list of the best alternative recipes from across the web to replace these often less-healthy favorites. Here's what I have:

My all time favorite lemon coleslaw from Epicurious.

Citrus-spiked jicama and carrot slaw from Cooking Light.

Smitten Kitchen's black bean confetti salad.

Mark Bittman's Leek Salad on Bitten.

Raw beet salad from stonesoup.

Rhubarb soda from Culinate. Okay, not a healthy alternative, but beautiful nonetheless.

Charred corn salad from Williams Sonoma.

Feel free to add your favorite healthy summer salads and slaws, barbecued goodies and summer desserts!

Yes, I hate bbq, summer, and Memorial Day. I'm a terrible person.

Of course, I don't hate Memorial Day itself, what it represents, I hate that it signals the start of summer, my least favorite season. I hate summer the way Lost fans hated Nikki and Paolo (yes, everything I do comes back to television). Maybe even more.

Here are the 8 reasons I hate about Memorial Day and summer in general.

The Cupcake Project is a huge contributor to the Slashfood Flickr pool. But because I don't want to express favoritism among our flickr posters, I try to limit my Cupcake Project posts to about one a month.

And what better way to celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day weekend than with cupcakes? But these aren't any cupcakes, and they probably won't satisfy your sweet tooth.

Enter: All-American Barbecue Cupcakes. Essentially, you add liquid smoke to a chocolate cupcake recipe, and top it with a sweet corn frosting that contains four gloriously simple ingredients: sweet corn, cream cheese, butter, and sugar. (And did anything bad ever come out of a recipe whose two main ingredients were butter and cream cheese?) The red, white, and blue star sprinkles don't hurt, either.

Okay, so they sound a little funny - but props to Cupcake Project to being creative and unique. They sound like the perfect addition to any cookout. Just serve 'em and watch your guests' eyes widen in surprise and their faces sink into relaxed, contented smiles.

It's spring, and as the air continues to warm, eyes glaze over with the thought of great grilled food and backyard feasts. For me, that used to mean tasty, barbeque, sauce-laden steaks, or my old roommate's frequent marinated chicken souvlaki. But then I got a new cookbook, one that has been my backyard, outdoor bible for a few years now -- Betty Rosbottom's The Big Book of Backyard Cooking.

It's not a fancy book. There are no delicious pictures of grill marks and icy drinks, but that's okay. There's more room for recipes and flavor combinations, and really, it's not like we don't know what some potato salad or a grilled hamburger looks like. But it's more than just the mainstays. This recipe has just about every sort of meal you could dream of eating outside, from the bites you grill to the sides you make ahead of time -- from hot dogs to boiled lobster, sandwiches to tasty salads, cool drinks to desserts.

Some recipes are as simple as a steak with a simple, tasty sauce. Others infuse the flavor throughout, like my favorite Lemon Dill Chicken Burgers and the insanely tasty Spicy Fried Corn, Vidalias, and Red Peppers. There's lots of classic recipes, as well as little twists to make your old favorites new. I've found this to be not only the perfect book for creating a large barbeque menu, but also for quick sauce ideas and year-round treats. Plus -- it has a recipe for the best iced tea I have ever had -- but that will come soon, in a separate post.

If you're looking to switch up your old outdoor mainstays, or add a little variation to your menu, Rosbottom's book is for you. It's clear, diverse, and ridiculously handy.