PORTLAND, Maine — There's no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to.

When the weather turns warm, I find myself craving the smell and taste of a great homemade burger off the grill.

Barbecue chicken is one of my favorite summertime dishes. I like every part of it — the tomato-based sauce (the spicier the better), the crispy skin, even the bones.

Wednesday, May 1 is Customer Appreciation Day at Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert. Anyone who shows up between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. through the rest of the evening — until they run out of food — will get a free BBQ sandwich made from pecan-smoked meats like chicken breast, pulled pork and beef brisket and pit ham; a free side, like sweet cut corn, potato salad, mac and cheese or BBQ pit beans; and a free drink.

Food trucks have been popular for some time now in the Valley, but on April 13 a new class of diner will get to partake of the trend.

When I informed The Husband that I was going to make pork with a rhubarb sauce, he dismissed the idea out of hand. He does not like sweet in his savory.

This weekend downtown Chandler will be piled high with more than 20,000 pounds of BBQ at the Great American Barbeque and Beer Festival. The roster of restaurants dishing up ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken includes old favorites Famous Dave’s, Honey Bear’s BBQ, Joe’s Real BBQ and Tom’s BBQ, along with some newcomers including Porkopolis.

As if a festival celebrating beer and barbeque couldn’t get any better, it just did: Rock bands Smash Mouth and Hoobastank will headline The Great American Barbeque & Beer Festival on March 23.

Last year “Money Magazine” rated Chandler as one of the 50 best places to live in America — in part because of its annual mouth-watering barbecue and beer festival in AJ Chandler Park.

The nice thing about cooking a monster brisket for Hanukkah - aside, of course, from the fact that the meat can be mouth meltingly delicious - is that it is a dish you can mostly ignore as it cooks.

With Hanukkah stretching over eight nights, there's plenty to celebrate. And often plenty of leftovers.

Laura Frankel thinks about Rosh Hashanah in simple terms.

I recently spent two glorious barbecue-filled weeks in Austin, where I happily cooked for 1,200 hungry folks at a food festival.

During Passover each year much of the culinary focus is on the seder, the celebratory meal that commemorates the Jewish liberation and exodus from ancient Egypt.

During Passover each year much of the culinary focus is on the seder, the celebratory meal that commemorates the Jewish liberation and exodus from ancient Egypt.

A large red building now visible near 54th Street and Chandler Boulevard is the first of its kind in Arizona, but many area residents already recognize the name.

A large red building now visible near 54th Street and Chandler Boulevard is the first of its kind in Arizona, but many area residents already recognize the name.

About 50 barbecue vendors will dish out thousands of pounds of pork, ribs, brisket, chicken and side dishes at Saturday’s third annual Great American Barbeque & Beer Festival in downtown Chandler.

Dillon’s Grand has closed after a long-term lease agreement could not be reached, the restaurant’s co-owner said. Besides the unsuccessful lease agreement discussions between Dillon’s and Sun City Grand, water damage to the restaurant’s roof, a problem that has persisted for seven years but wasn’t entirely fixed until recently, forced Dillon’s to close, said co-owner George Valverde. Dillon’s lease expires Dec. 15.

Dillon’s Grand has closed after a long-term lease agreement could not be reached, the restaurant’s co-owner said. Besides the unsuccessful lease agreement discussions between Dillon’s and Sun City Grand, water damage to the restaurant’s roof, a problem that has persisted for seven years but wasn’t entirely fixed until recently, forced Dillon’s to close, said co-owner George Valverde. Dillon’s lease expires Dec. 15.