Abstract:
In California, barbecue is considered a verb, or something that one would do. In North Carolina, the author's home state, barbecue is a noun, or something that one would eat. In California, and other places outside of the South, barbecue is a flavor, a smoke, or a sauce; barbecuing is something done on a spit or over open coals. Down South, barbecue is a thing, a finished product ready to be eaten: crisp bits of pork that have been slow roasted over an open fire, basted with sauce, and usually served with cole slaw and corn bread.