Virgil's Barbecue   

This Times Square hotspot is so sure of its fiery food it can recite a rota of its top barbecue influences from the Southern states. 'Real barbecue' is a particular taste: the barometer is not a Zagat rating or food critic, but the quality of the sauce dripping off your finger; and only you can be the one to lick it and decide. Two levels of family-style home cooking provide a tour of the Deep South. Start with the Oklahoma State Fair corndogs and deep-fried corn meal hush puppies. Leave lots of room for Carolina crab cakes, Kansas City fried chicken and platters of Memphis pork ribs, Texas beef brisket and Owensboro lamb. It's all smoked, sauced, sliced, fried, pulled and overwhelming. If you're still sober, wash it down with a moonshine or specialty ales and recite the motto aloud: Barbecue is pig as a culinary art.