Nah, no slam. I think you're generally right, although I have to say that it's not Texas barbecue that exclusively reigns as good barbecue. Other areas of the south have an excellent claim on it. While I have a personal preference for the inclusiveness of Texas barbecue -- beef, pork, ribs, and sausage -- (as well as a preference for mesquite), I'm not going to deny that there are some really fine things done in the Carolinas, Memphis, etc. Really good barbecue is hard to refuse. I do think it's a bit laughable when people talk about getting, say, good barbeuce in NYC. Believe me, I'm no patriotic Texan. Not in the least. But, when it comes to barbecue, I think the south in general and Texas in particular has a genuine claim. None of the places I've been in places that aren't real barbecue towns can really compete with the highest level. (I hate going to places where you can tell, for example, that they've par-boiled their ribs.) That said, however, barbecue is such a good thing that even in its mediocre forms, it tends to be pretty tasty and, thereefore, I can't really fault people for liking it just because they haven't had a chance to become enlightened to the best of the best.

Not to digress, but a quick side note: Yeah, Texas does great on Tex-Mex. There are a few places that do really fine Mexican. But authentic Mexican has taken up in a lot of places. There are great Tex-Mex places to go in California; you've just got to find them. One safe place, too, to eat Tex-Mex is Colorado. Good stuff. Another problem -- as with the barbecue -- is when a type of cooking becomes so popular that it becomes enormously commercialized. (Probably most people, when they think Tex-Mex, think Chili's; or when they think barbecue, they think Tony Roma's or, heck, even a Whopper with BBQ sauce.)

Anyway, bottom line: Get your barbecue on!