On the Road with Clint Cantwell
April 1, 2012
When Grilling.com first launched in early 2011, one of my personal goals was to highlight the individuals, the flavors and the cooking techniques that make each region of grilling country so unique. And for over 60 weeks, I’d say I did a fairly good job of doing just that.
But then one day my dream of uniting outdoor cooks of all level of skill and cooking backgrounds was thrown for a loop. I remember it as though it was Wednesday, February 29 (because, in fact, it was). I was sitting at my kitchen table eating some leftover beef ribs while mindlessly browsing stories on a major news site when it hit me…
“America’s Best BBQ Cities” was the title and in it, the author, Emily Bratcher, dissected “…the seven best cities for barbecue.”
Before that moment it had never dawned on me that one region’s barbecue could possibly be better than the rest of the country. No, in my mind good barbecue is good barbecue whether it’s spicy, sweet, tangy, smoky or some combination of those four. Hot and fast brisket versus low and slow brisket? Doesn’t matter to me as long as it tastes great! St. Louis style ribs versus babyback ribs? Ribs are ribs and I’ll gladly take another helping.
But what Emily was saying sort of made sense. It’s kind of like coming in seventh in the three legged race at the office summer party versus getting to hoist that cheap “Number 1” trophy in front of all of your colleagues and do a little victory dance. We’re always striving to be the best, whether it’s at solving crossword puzzles, playing air hockey or grilling a monster ribeye.
So, that brings me to today and my decision to take a brief break from my Grilling.com family. For the next 2-3 weeks, I am going to follow the sweet blue smoke rising up from backyards across the country in hopes of determining once and for all if there truly is one city that bests the rest when it comes to outdoor cooking. While it’s not going to be an easy journey, I feel that it is one that needs to be taken in order to bring the Grilling.com community even closer.
And even if this journey of smoke and fire ends with no clear cut winner, at least I’ll come back ready to share even more great stories, regional recipes, and amazing cooking techniques. Stay tuned!
- Clint Cantwell, Grilling.com Editor
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I'm back!
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I'd like to go on the road right now!
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come on over........ Clint, great meeting you at the NYC Bar b Que challenge in Staten Island this past weekend. Your team had a great pulled pork! I wouldn't mind showing off some of my grilling skills for the grilling.com constituents! C'mon over!!!!
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