there are also settings in apache that needs to be set. Chances are they are already set up for you, but no two web hosts are exactly the same
Just to be clear, your $_GET variables should still be descriptive (for instance, use category strings rather than numbers) - if you successfully rewrite your URL but it's still "joesasianbbq.com/4/565" then it still isn't helping you out in terms of SEO. (vs something like "www.joesasianbbq/food/pork/45")
Also, i wouldn't concentrate too much on this "problem" - if you have these links in your HTML code then Google bot will find them. The more important part than your actual link (href) is the text in and around the link - the text, the title tag and the context of the paragraph text (if any) around the link.
Lastly, make sure your links are in places that googlebot can find them. Make a site map just to be sure (site maps with lists of URLs are OK, but making them user friendly is a great idea - don't just make the text of the link the actual URL!)
Good content is king in SEO now a days