Smoke Signal

The beauty of Walter Hyde's Ohio-style barbecue joint is there is no such thing as Ohio-style barbecue. "We don't have a traditional style like you would find down South," says Hyde, who co-owns Fat Casual BBQ with Scott Slagle. "We just do stuff we like from different regions." That means the pork is Carolina-style, and the beef is like what you'd find in Texas. Plus, nobody raises an eyebrow when you create The Highlander ($12), a barbecue-sauce-free hulk of a sandwich packed with smoked corned beef and turkey, crispy potato, coleslaw and cheddar cheese sauce on a pretzel bun. "For us, barbecue isn't a sauce, it's how you prepare the meat," Hyde says, adding that slow-smoking corned beef was just an experiment — until he sampled the tasty results. "That's our tribute to Cleveland barbecue." 223 E. Highland Road, Macedonia, 330-748-4690, fatcasualbbq.com