A glossary of American BBQ styles

(Credit: Eric Rowley/Metromix)

If you think all barbecue is the same, you’re way off.

Different parts of the country do it their own way, from Kansas City to Carolina to Memphis. There’s no Des Moines-style barbecue, which means we get the chance to taste them all.

Carolina: A thin barbecue sauce that uses vinegar instead of a tomato base. Pulled pork sandwiches are sometimes topped with coleslaw.
Try it: Papa Chubby’s will top their pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw if you ask. It comes with a side of smoked apples for $6.50. 305 S.E. Oralabor Road, Ankeny; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday.

Georgia: A mustard-heavy, sweet sauce with a hint of vinegar.
Try it: Jethro’s BBQ puts bottles of homemade Georgia sauce on each table, so you can slap it on anything you order. Try it on pulled pork dinner with a side for $9.95. 3102 Forest Ave.

Kansas City: Ribs and brisket are the star. This may be the messiest of the types, as the meats are doused in sticky, sweet and tangy sauce.
Try it: KC BBQ serves a burnt ends sandwich (ends of a smoked beef brisket, trimmed off and double-smoked, then smothered in barbecue sauce inside a hot dog bun), a Kansas City specialty, for $4.99. 205 E. 14th St.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Memphis: Dry pork ribs are famous here, but they make their thin, tangy and somewhat sweet sauces with ketchup and vinegar.
Try it: Flying Mango’s Memphis-style rib dinner, $22 for a full slab, $17 for a half. 4345 Hickman Road, 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

St. Louis: Go to St. Louis for the ribs, which are cut from fatty spare ribs. The sauce isn’t as sweet and thick as Kansas City’s, is thinned with vinegar, and is a little spicier.
Try it: When Pigs Fly has all-you-can-eat St.Louis-style ribs on Monday nights for just $12.99, 4640 86th St., Urbandale; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

Texas: No surprise, beef is the hot thing in Texas. Often, they don’t serve it with sauce, preferring flavorful dry-spice rubs.
Try it: Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ serves up hearty portions of barbecued beef, brisket, chicken and turkey. Get a dinner with two meats and two sides for $9.49. 3160 Eighth St S.W., Altoona,
11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.