But can a food that invokes passion, spawns competitions, and begets heated arguments sustain a national chain in parts of the country where smoked meats are unheard of and “barbecue” means a backyard party with grilled burgers? With modern technology and the right mix of meats and sauces, barbecue experts and restaurant consultants ask, “Why not?”

“It’s just the hot, new old food,’’ says Caroline Wells, executive director of the Kansas City Barbecue Society, an organization that sanctions barbecue competitions all over the country. Wells isn’t surprised that barbecue fast food is popping up all over the place. She gets calls regularly from restaurant executives interested in the concept. Moreover, while barbecue conjures images of a pit master slaving for hours over a pork shoulder or brisket, the reality is that slow cooking is perfectly suited to fast food. The work is done ahead of time (overnight or in the morning.) “You don’t cook a brisket to order,’’ says Wells.

Both Wells and Mills say restaurants are capable of keeping enough variety on the menu to deal with regional differences.

The general positive trend in big, full-service barbecue restaurants would seem to bode well for taking the concept in a quick-casual direction. Currently, there are 13 full-service barbecue chains with at least $25 million in annual sales. All but three were estimated to have increased sales in 2004 over 2003, according to Technomic. Darden Restaurants expanded its Smokey Bones BBQ chain from 27 units in 2002 to 83 in 2004, while Famous Dave’s same-store sales at company-owned restaurants in the second quarter of 2005 were up 5 percent.

Perhaps the most telling example that barbecue is ready to expand beyond a regional specialty food is the interest of Northwestern Fresh-Mex fast-casual Taco Del Mar. Though far removed from the barbecue battles of the Southeast and Texas, the Seattle-based company launched a prototype quick-service barbecue restaurant in May, called Slo Joe’s. Why barbecue? “First, it’s not pizza, sandwiches, or hamburger,’’ says James Schmidt, president and co-founder of Taco Del Mar. “And I think it is an underserved product that Americans love.’’

At Slo Joe’s, meals are made in front of customers, much like at a sandwich shop. Beginning next year, the company plans to open more test sites in different regions. Eventually, the company plans to offer the concept as a second option to multi-unit Taco Del Mar franchisees who are close to filling out their territories.

A second telling example of barbecue’s breakout is the entrance of Tom Meyer into the segment. In his former life, Meyer worked in marketing for Kendall Jackson winery and was a partner in one of the Southeast’s most acclaimed fine-dining restaurants, Nana’s in Durham, North Carolina. Today he is the co-owner of a small vineyard—and the proprietor of a fast-casual barbecue concept called the Q-Shack. Two locations are already up and running in North Carolina, and Meyer says he has partners lined up to open another in Boston. “Barbecue is no longer solely regional,’’ Meyer says, citing the number of sit-down barbecue restaurants popping up in the Northeast and the introduction of barbeque sold out of carts in New York City. “ There’s enough awareness.’’

Roland Dickey Jr. certainly agrees. He operates 50 Dickey’s Barbecue units in Texas—and 12 stores in other locations as seemingly barbecue oblivious as New Jersey. In fact, out-of-state Dickey’s stores have done slightly better in same store-sales than the Texas stores (8 percent versus 4 percent) this year. Dickey attributes this to Americans’ tendency to move around the country. “People relocate all over the place,’’ Dickey says. “ And they bring their love of barbecue with them.”

Slowly smoking an otherwise tough cut of meat is a tradition in places like Texas, the Midwest, and the Southeast. However, each region has its favorite types of meat and sauces. In North Carolina, depending on what part of the state you’re from, barbecue is either pulled pork with a tomato sauce or pork mixed with a vinegar sauce. In South Carolina, a mustard sauce is common. Pork isn’t barbecue to Texans, who like their beef brisket, while Memphis is known for ribs. Kansas City does a variety of sauces and meats. Meats might be dry-rubbed, smoked plain or “wet mopped” during the smoking to add extra flavor.

Until recently, creating barbecue was a messy, smoky, time-consuming process that required a skilled pit master to keep the fire burning at just the right temperature. It was not the kind of cooking style that lent itself easily to quick-casual restaurants.

“Barbecue used to be thought of as something that made a bad neighbor; with all that smoke and the smells, it had to be located on the outskirts of town,’’ Schmidt says. Restaurant owners in cities where barbecue joints dot every corner—think Memphis or Kansas City—might disagree, but most restaurateurs would argue that fitting a barbecue restaurant into 1,800 feet in a strip mall certainly wasn’t easy. The cooking process can be so tedious that many small barbecue establishments only smoke meat every couple of days. And some of the equipment used by barbecue traditionalists wouldn’t pass modern food safety standards.

However, smoking equipment has undergone a revolution in the past decade. Commercial smokers now operate more like convection ovens. More importantly, they feature electronically controlled thermostats that cook the meat at an even, low temperature and then hold the meat at a temperature that prevents it from drying out. “The new equipment has really taken the guess work out of it,’’ Dickey says. more >