The Tennessean

The Nashville-Memphis rivalry has taken on new heights in recent years as the cities have swapped spots as the most populous in the state and Nashville embraced its status as an "It City."

Those feelings were rekindled this week when "Southern Living" released a pair of polls that attempted to rank barbecue spots in the South.

In a ranking of the best barbecue joints in the South, Memphis' Central BBQ came in at No. 10.

That hurt, to be sure, but it was a list of “The South’s Best BBQ Joints in Every State” that really rankled Memphians.

Nashville's Peg Leg Porker took the top spot in Tennessee.

The Commercial Appeal's excellent food writer Jennifer Chandler had some thoughts about the snub. Read on as she moves through the five stages of Southern Living grief.

READ THE STORY:What about Memphis BBQ? Southern Living's 'Top BBQ' lists snub Bluff City

Hey look, we're in Southern Living!

"Having lived in Memphis most of my life, there is one thing I know to be true: We Memphians are proud of our barbecue. In fact — and I think you will all agree — no other city’s barbecue can compare."

Wait, who wrote this list?

"The kicker with this annual list is that it names a Nashville restaurant — not one from Memphis — as the best barbecue in Tennessee. (Ouch! That stings, doesn’t it?) And to add insult to injury, a Nashville restaurant was not even listed on the top 10 in the South."

WTH

"When I first read a tweet confirming the bad news, I have to admit my reaction was probably similar to yours: 'What are they thinking?!' Then I clicked on the link and saw which restaurant it was: Peg Leg Porker."

Bless their hearts

"I know it doesn’t make the snub easier, but please take solace in knowing while a Memphis restaurant didn’t get the nod, a Memphis-style barbecue restaurant did."

Let's eat

Chandler closes her column with quotes from a response by the owner of Peg Leg Porker, Carey Bringle, a native Nashvillian with deep Memphis roots.

"He issued a statement in response to the flurry of negative comments on Twitter titled 'To all of the Armchair BBQ critics Part 2.' Part one was issued back in 2014 when a Travel + Leisure poll listed his Nashville as the No. 1 barbecue city in America.

At the close of his response letter, Bringle said, “As my friend Mike Mills says. ‘If you didn’t invent fire, you don’t own BBQ.’ Now let’s all sit down together and enjoy the variety, quality and diversity of BBQ that is offered all around this great state and great country of ours.”

The good news is, whether you like Peg Leg Porker or prefer Central BBQ, soon you won't have to leave Nashville to enjoy either. Central BBQ is slated to open a Nashville location this year in the north end of The Gulch in the Capitol View development.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.