If we're expanding the range to Brentwood and beyond, no question: The winner is Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, where pitmaster Patrick Martin is spreading the gospel of slow-cooked 'cue with pulled pork and ribs that make carnivores shed greasy tears. But it's a good 20 minutes down Nolensville Road—no problem for cuehounds, who'd race Sheriff Buford T. Justice from Woodbury to Birmingham and back for brisket, but a longer drive than the uninitiated might want. Inside the city limits, nobody touches East Nashville cue-slinger Reggie Crowder, who can be seen all hours of the night tending his smoker on Riverside. He gave us a health scare a few months back, but his recovery tells us pretty much what we already knew: Pork sandwiches, hot chicken and parmesan wings are good for what ails you. Especially his. —JIM RIDLEY
