As is the case with many words in our language, the etymology of the word, barbecue, is a bit murky. While its origin may not matter to the thousands of people who think of it as simply being a huge outdoor feast eaten at a picnic table, to true barbecue aficionados, it means the world.It seems fitting that there is so much disagreement about where the word comes from, since the definition of what constitutes a proper barbecue has been hotly debated for generations. Regional differences in opinion on everything from the meat that's being barbecued, to the wood used for smoking it, and the sauces used to season it, have made it, literally, a bone of contention (hey, maybe that's where that expression originated but that's another article!).Although many theories have been advanced, from the plausible to the preposterous, it is generally accepted that the word, barbecue, is derived from the West Indian word, barbacoa, which is a raised platform or framework for supporting meat, as it is slow-cooked over hot coals. It is speculated that the colonists adopted this method of slow-roasting meat, and that barbacoa became barbecue in the vernacular of the early settlers.While the natives, who were first observed using the barbacoa, often cooked venison and whole turkeys, in the South, where many claim that the barbecue, as we know it, originated, pork became the staple of the spit. It's easy to understand how this happened, because, in the barbecue belt states, which include Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, pigs were a ubiquitous source of food. Pigs were also low-maintenance, as they could roam free to forage for their own food, effectively fattening themselves up for their own slaughters, which were festive occasions, wherein entire communities were invited to share in the food and celebrations. This is believed to be the way that the traditional Southern barbecue originated.Since then, all of the ingredients of the barbecue, including rubs, sauces, woods used for smoking the meat, the types of meat, and everything else involved in its preparation, have varied, not only from state to state, but from region to region.When it comes to enjoying the feast, however, everyone knows that you can't have a decent barbecue without a beautiful, durable picnic table; and there's no argument about where to find the best one. AllPicnicTables.com has one of the widest selections of picnic tables available anywhere. If you're a fan of the traditional woods, you can choose from a splendid variety of decay-resistant cedar, pine, oak, cherry, and teak picnic tables. For a more contemporary style, AllPicnicTables.com also features everlasting aluminum, polywood, and vinyl picnic tables, available in tons of vibrant colors.No matter what your favorite type of barbecue, AllPicnicTables.com has your perfect picnic table. They also have design consultants and customer service professionals on hand to answer any questions that you may have. To contact them, call 1-888-293-2339, or e-mail [email protected].