Text 26213, 95 rader
Skriven 2015-04-20 20:01:02 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 26162 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: pickity nickity 536
===========================
Hi Michael,

 RH> And if we can host a picnic here next year, we'll make sure it's a
 RH> place to either visit or get take out from so you can sample some of
 RH> its goodies.

 ML> Terrific - that's one of the main appeals of the picnics,
 ML> checking out great places we would otherwise not be able to.

And NC is known for having 2 distinct types of bbq--the eastern vinegar
based and the red sauced western or Lexington style. Pork please, leave
the beef to TX.


 ML> Mine were spiced up with some of the best fried clam places

And sadly, we had to miss them. Time, money and distance precluded our
attendance in person, but we were able to read about them after the
fact.


 ML> in the world (in the same sense that Texas Monthly lists 50
 ML> greatest BBQ joints in the world, and surprise, surprise,
 ML> they are all in Texas) with Richardson's ice cream to wash
 ML> it all down. And I think one of them had a field trip to
 ML> the also world-class Sam Adams brewery (sure, this wouldn't
 ML> appeal to you so much).

No, I don't think a Sam Adams brewery tour would be that fascinating.
When I was a teen, our family visited the Utica Club brewery. Under
drinking age folks got root beer at the end, over the age of 18 got the
real thing. My older brother was 18, with a year of college so got the
UC and in his psuedo-sophistication rated it in a rather uncomplimentary
manner. My younger brother wore a Budweiser T-shirt that day, IIRC, no
comments were made about it.

 ML>  A while ago they put fried (yellow) squash on the menu as
 RH> a temporary basis; it's now on the permanent listing. Don't know where
 RH> they source it from, but it's good, even in winter.

 ML> On the other hand ... maybe not.

OTOH, I like it better than the sweet potato that is also offered as a
side choice.


 ML> And to balance it a not nice story. Maybe once the other place
 ML> opened, this one's proprietors just decided to give up? Or
 ML> didn't realize that cutting corners is a precipitously slippery
 ML> slope.
 RH> I would guess more the latter than the former. The one that folded,
 RH> was probably too ambitious and when he wasn't getting the clientelle,
 RH> cut corners. That led to fewer customers, evenetually closing the
 RH> doors. Sad, because the meat was good.

 ML> For me, good meat and crap sides would bring me back, because
 ML> I generally don't care about sides. For most people, it's the
 ML> whole of the experience that appeals. If someone's business
 ML> plan is predicated on people like me, guess what, the place
 ML> will be shuttered in no time flat.

I think more people judge a place on the whole picture, not just a close
up of one aspect. Then too, there could have been other reasons why it
was shuttered that we, the general public, had no knowledge of. The food
critic for the Raleigh paper gave it a mediocre rating, IIRC, good (but
not great) meat, not good sides. His initial health inspection was, as I
recall, in the mid to upper 90s but that could have slipped; I don't
know but it's history now.

 RH> The only other bbq place we have in town is Smithfield Chicken and
 RH> Barbeque, a small chain (nly in eastern NC). THey're good, but other
 RH> than the old movie posters and all featuring Ava Gardner, the place
 RH> could pass for a fast food eatery.

 ML> Some of the best food comes from the most unprepossessing
 ML> joints. The last clam crawl featured a restaurant that was
 ML> about the size and shape of a cigar box in a not-so-great
 ML> neighborhood that had some of the best fried clams that
 ML> the Food Network hasn't discovered yet.

This will give you a taste of genuine eastern NC bbq, complete with hush
puppies and sweet tea. I can reccommend the potato salad and bruswick
stew as sides but not the cole slaw. Others are available but those are
my usual choices.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... OH NO!  Not ANOTHER learning experience!

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)