Best barbecue
The snarky may gasp in feigned surprise. But you can't have loyalty and novelty too, and when it comes to barbecue, we Bostonians go whole hog with the former. Thus it is that Redbones and Blue Ribbon BBQ retain their championship titles another year - one for providing an overall rollicking experience, the other for demonstrating true pit mastery. Funky and frenetic, the country-fried atmosphere at Redbones has a way of inspiring even the most buttoned-up types to undo a few - while the food, of course, forces them to undo a few more. Nor is it necessarily the 'cue that does the dirty work; fried catfish, house sausage, and buffalo shrimp are equally frequent suspects, abetted by celebrated sides such as hush puppies, hash, and dirty rice. (Hey, if you want to keep clean, go to Rouge.)

In old roadhouse back rooms, in the dark corners of dive bars, in certain highly heretical circles, it is occasionally whispered very, very softly that up in Massachusetts, someone is producing some mighty fine barbecue. Maybe even (gulp) the best there is. Blue Ribbon's Memphis ribs, they say, possess flavor as primitive as the discovery of fire, yet as fully developed as civilization itself; the burnt ends are as succulent as new beginnings. The baked beans are fresh and tangy, and the cornbread is as moist as yellow cake ... Of course, no one believes them. But then, no one believed we Bostonians could win a World Series until recently, now, did they?

Redbones, 55 Chester Street, Somerville, (617) 628-2200, www.redbonesbbq.com; Blue Ribbon BBQ, 908 Mass Ave, Arlington, (781) 648-7427, 1375 Washington Street, Newton, (617) 332-2583, www.blueribbonbbq.com.