Squeal Bar-B-Q, New Orleans

Smoke wafts out onto the patio of Squeal Bar-B-Q, tingeing the air with the sweet scent of roasting meats. Inside the locally owned and operated smokehouse, chefs glaze cuts of pork and chicken in daily-made batches of signature barbecue sauce, whose savory flavors helped earn them praise from outlets ranging from The Cooking Channel and TLC to the Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine. Squeal's meat fixation extends beyond the smokehouse; desserts meld bacon and chocolate, bartenders mix cocktails with house-infused bacon bourbon, and a flatscreen television broadcasts nothing but reruns of Green Acres that prominently feature Arnold the pig.