Introducing Issue #139: Barbecue!

Slow-cooked, pit-smoked barbecue is America's original comfort food, and over the centuries it has evolved into an edible art form—spice-rubbed, smoke-tinged brisket served at sprawling Texas meat emporiums; smoky pulled pork sandwiches delivered by carhops in North Carolina; racks of meaty baby backs and spareribs prepared by grill-obsessed home cooks in their backyards (shellacked with secret sauce, of course). Every corner of the United States has its own spin on this indigenous American food, and there's no better way to spend the summer than sampling it all. In this special package, we celebrate the people, places, and foods that make the world of barbecue so darned delicious and interesting.