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The crowd-sourced online review site, Yelp, recently released its top barbecue restaurants in the United States, and to no one’s surprise in Gatlinburg, Delauder’s BBQ was recognized. Barbecue isn’t just the South’s most prized cuisine, it’s also popular all over this great country, which is reflective in this list. Americans love delicious meats slow-cooked and served with a specialty sauce that differs in variations, depending on where you are. Yelp recently ranked the top 100 barbecue spots in the United States.

This behemoth was written in 2003, in an upstairs apartment in NE Portland, on a twelve string guitar. It was born out of that A minor strum; a melody landed that immediately called out for something grander, something overlong and theatrical. I think I sat on it for a while before having the guts to finish the thing. I was emboldened, I think, by the fun we had making The Tain and wanted to do more music like that: long, rangy, narrative pieces.

During the past week, Florida health officials reported one additional locally-acquired dengue fever case in Hardee County. This brings the total autochthonous cases in the state to 176 in 2023. The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) has reported local cases in the following counties this year—Broward (4), Hardee (14), Miami-Dade (156), Palm Beach, and Polk. Of the 176 local cases, 135 or 77 percent of the cases typed as DENV-3, 11 were DENV-2, 5 were DENV-1 and 25 remain unknown.

Everyone of my generation knows exactly what they were doing on Monday, December 8, 1980, when John Lennon was shot and killed outside his home at the Dakota on 72nd Street and Central Park West. It was a day that will live in infamy, giving the 20th century two consecutive December days of infamy: Pearl Harbor was attacked Dec. 7, 1941, and my father and his generation remembered every detail and emotion of that day as long as they lived.

Tony Scott was at the peak of his powers in the early 1990s. Since hitting pay dirt with Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II, Ridley’s younger brother had cemented his reputation as the action director of his day with The Last Boy Scout. But in the case of True Romance, it was less Scott’s involvement that caught the attention of Gary Oldman, Val Kilmer, Christian Slater and Co. than the fact that the screenplay was written by a geeky video shop clerk called Quentin Tarantino.

I’m on a meditation retreat in the great western desert. The hosts frown on cell phones. Upon arriving at this place, guests are given a little sleeping bag for digital devices. It is strongly suggested we not even touch them while here. That means, of course, I’m in a community of adults who are like teenagers sneaking beer. People are mostly good about staying away from the online world — but there are more than a few cheaters.

Opened in the spring and specializing in shared plates and precision cocktails, Riserva builds upon Oklahoma City’s culinary momentum with a truly eclectic take on the foodways surrounding the Mediterranean Sea with assistance from Latin America. For a restaurant with as much to offer as Riserva, I find it easier to start with what it is not. Despite being Riserva Bar + Tapas, it is not a tapas bar. It does specialize in shareable plates but not small plates, which is what tapas means.

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT My name’s Lee Kern. I’m 45 years old. I’m a writer from London. Having seen footage of some of the crimes commited by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7th, 2023, I flew to Israel and requested permission to join a press screening that included footage families have asked not to be released to the general public. This is not what I want to do with my life.

🚨 🚨 NOTE: This newsletter is an April Fools’ Day edition — do not assume anything in it is real (except property tax values)! It was originally published on April 1, 2023, without this disclaimer. — Good morning! Today is Saturday, April 1, 2023. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger’s Weekend Edition. Need to subscribe — or upgrade your Ledger e-newsletter subscription? Details here. Levine Properties is proposing a 600-room hotel and casino project on vacant land uptown, which could jump start development in the North Tryon corridor.