What is barbecue? The question has fractured regions and sent lexicographers scrambling. In one part of North Carolina, it starts and ends with the whole hog and a tangy sauce. Another insists the pork shoulder is just fine. Texas is brisket country, no sauce. Kansas City welcomes beef and pork, with a definite yes to sauce—and a specialty dubbed “burnt ends.” And that is just skimming the surface of barbecue-related controversy. There are multiple spellings, for instance. But the most divisive aspect is what type of cooking actually fits the definition. “Oh, man,” says pitmaster Justin Kleinfeldt. “I always say it’s cooked by fire.” Fire has been involved in what became known as barbecue from the beginning. The name is derived from a native Caribbean and South American word that for the Spanish became barbacoa, or wooden frame cooking. Over time, however, the term came to mean meats cooked at low temperatures over long periods of time using indirect heat—smoke, more precisely. Purists dismissed anything with a grill—from the backyard kind to the signature open pit of Santa Maria-style—as something other than barbecue. Kleinfeldt Family BBQ at the T&A Cafe in Spreckels, embraces both formats. “We always do Santa Maria-style 22 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® EAT + DRINK 2025-2026 RAISING THE BAR Even as some purists yield, a precise definition of barbecue remains elusive. By Dave Faries DANIEL DREIFUSS Kleinfeldt Family BBQ at T&A Cafe Little Chicken House Crossroads BBQ DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
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