Nashville named America's best city for barbecue

Travel + Leisure readers named Nashville the No. 1 city in the United States for barbecue.

"Music City won for compiling a greatest-hits collection of barbecue styles — from the whole-hog approach of rural Tennessee, the tomatoey sauces of Memphis, and even the mayo-and-vinegar white sauces typical of Alabama — with Southern-style catfish, fried okra, and banana pudding thrown in," according to the magazine.

It's a ranking some folks in Memphis, who placed second on the barbecue list, have taken issue with.

"They're trying to usurp one of the things that makes Memphis so unusual," said John Vergos in an article in The Commercial Appeal. His father, Charlie Vergos, started the famed Charles Vergos Rendezvous in 1948 in Memphis. "They (Nashville) might as well go ahead and annex us."

Travel + Leisure highlights Martin's BBQ Joint's Redneck Tacos, Peg Leg Porker's Memphis Sushi and Edley's Bar-B-Que's Tuck Special as some of Nashville's must-try barbecue dishes.

Kansas City was named the third best city for barbecue.

As part of the magazine's America's Favorite Cities survey, readers ranked 35 cities for a variety of subjects, from sports teams to pizza. See the complete list at www.travelandleisure.com.