"The New Barbecue" (The Wall Street Journal)

I receive The Wall Street Journal and would've seen & posted this when it came out a couple of weeks ago, but I was on vacation. Thankfully, my department head, who is a huge BBQ fan, sent it to me while I was away. It's a piece on chefs doing innovative things with traditional BBQ. It highlights, among others, Dallas' Tim Byres (Smoke) & San Antonio's Tim Rattay (Granary 'Cue & Brew). Here are the first & last paragraphs of the article: "A SPECTER IS HAUNTING the barbecue world: the specter of stale smoke. Don't get me wrong—barbecue is our great American food, a high art attained through years of patient training by men as single-minded as samurai. But it has also become stagnant and so dogmatic that many pit masters haven't changed their recipes or routines in decades. Some shaking up is in order. And, at long last, it's happening. The New 'Cue is here." ----- "Wherever he's coming from, people like it: Mighty Quinn's is jammed every night, as are most of the other places venturing beyond the 'cue canon. The people of San Antonio are still wrapping their heads around the Granary, but I give it six months before reservations get scarce. "What the hell is this?" a man asked me when I was there recently. "Can't I just get some brisket?" Buddy! I wanted to say. There are a million places to get brisket, and 95% of it tastes exactly the same. There's room in the pit for something more." Read the full article.