Curlz

Count me in! Last two have been lots of fun.

SHWEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!

Goodness, Tommy...you're not gonna get all mature on us, are you?!?

You guys ROCK! Thanks for the Southport info, as I had more on Charleston. My friends who have been to Southport concur on the Yacht Basin Provision Company, so that's definitely a stop. Keep 'em coming...I have a few more weeks before I head down.

According to MY travel/food expert, "...the MOST famous is the Columbia...the BEST MEAT is at BERNS. Columbia is in Ybor City the old Cuban cigar rolling district. Muy authentico." I do trust this guy--we share DNA.

Here's the link. I'm going to see if I can post it on a general eG board as well. Paprika Recall Expanded Over Contamination Fears http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/notice.html

From the Gazette article: "Duncan wants big-box grocers to obtain a special exception to zoning laws to build here. Any store with more than 10 percent groceries and 120,000 square feet would have to jump through the new hoop..." Call me nuts, but why doesn't Wegmans just cut this location down to 119,000 sf and bypass this b.s.?!?

That really should be another topic, Lou...I work in higher ed, and I'm officially equating Zagat's with the US News & World Report rankings. Same shit, different 'industry'--but the same problem--John Q. Public looks to it as THE word. YEESH!!! It really is amazing that any independent restaurant owner can survive. I'm not surprised that you're doing it--just amazed by any/all who do!

You guys are killing me this morning.

Thanks SO much, GG! I wasn't even aware of FG and Ellen's world tour...great reading. So I now have Peninsula Grill and Sticky Fingers on my 'must' list, but I'm still wondering if there are other restaurants and (in some ways, even more interesting to me) other food-related places--great markets, stores, etc. that any of you can recommend. And I'm still very open to other restaurant ideas! Thanks again.

So sorry, but 'tis true! I think you'd have to start walking around NYC in an old bathrobe to get on QE, Stone!!

Thanks! I read something about Fat Guy's travelogue to Charleston...can anyone provide the link? Curlz

Thanks for this, Varmint--this northerner wishes she'd had that knowledge ahead of time! But when I'm in NC next month, I'll be far more likely to understand what I'm eating and why it's made the way it is. And PS, if Shaw is just out of kindergarten, I think I'm still in the womb when it comes to Q knowledge.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FAT GUY!!! Wish I had known when I saw you yesterday. What a great way to spend it--pulling and chopping whole hog! I am just thrilled to hear what the surprise was...considering how much press eG gets, I'm still amazed by the number of people who are really into food who have never heard of it. As I told Fat Guy yesterday, I think eG needs a booth at BABBP '05, and I'm publicly volunteering to be there to help spread the word/share the love. Sorry I couldn't be there today to meet more eG folks, but I look forward to doing so at future events. And for those of you who didn't quite get their fill of 'cue, check out the pig roast that the NJ crowd is planning for September, and think about joining us!

A slightly more detailed report from my visit yesterday: Food: Gibson's pork shoulder was delicious, but I would have liked a bit more sauce; there wasn't anything on the bun to make it (the roll) worth eating! Thanks to a very friendly non-eG'er (I asked) next to us in the clump (aka line) for Mitchell's, I got to taste snoot. He was standing with us and had just tried it, and I asked "So...how's the snoot?" and he offered to share. He couldn't convince his s.o. to try it--she kept saying "I just can't--knowing what it is, I just can't" but I was more than happy to help him out. My friend wouldn't taste it either (wuss). What's the problem with these people?!? My evaluation: it's fat slices of pork. Fatty pork. Fried up like a nice big chip. With BBQ sauce on top. WHAT COULD BE BAD ABOUT THAT?!? Mitchell's, as I said last night, was tasty but cold--and that was a disappointment, esp after waiting in that line for so long. And the frozen custard was VERY good. People: In general, aside from a few truly angry folks, I found the crowd pretty congenial; we were joking that we could have driven to Memphis faster than the line was moving, etc. and just generally agreeing that this event is a great idea that wasn't executed as well as it could have been. Many of us suggested what Fat Guy and others have already mentioned--put the food IN the park and space it out better. And I don't think this has been mentioned yet; who the HELL decided to put beer booths right behind some of the BBQ booths??? This made it even worse for those of us in 'line'--there were people coming in to the crowd from the beer booth, some trying to get across to friends who had 'cue on the adjacent sidewalk, others who were blatantly trying to get in to the 'line.' Bad move, folks. Despite all of this complaining, I can still say that I'm glad I went. I had a great day in the city and managed to meet up with a few friends, but I'd have to say that I mostly just enjoyed the 'vibe' of the day--loved the music, the general attitude of the crowd, and of course, the weather couldn't have been more perfect. But in some ways, it seemed that the food itself didn't end up being the star in the way that it could/should have--that distinction (unfortunately) belonged to the crowd and lack of organization by the event planners.

Yet another line you can wait in today...! Do you have barricades set up yet?!?

My apologies if I'm repeating things that have already been said, but I spent waaaaay too much time in the sun today, and I've got to get to bed. BUT...I have two words for those of you who weren't there today but who are going tomorrow: GO EARLY. Oh, and two more: COMFORTABLE SHOES!! And one last word...SUNSCREEN. I arrived around 12:20 today, entered the park via 23rd street, and walked through and over to the block of 26th St to see what was what with no crowd interference. I bought some tickets, and waited all of about 6 minutes to get some of Gibson's pork shoulder and baked beans. Tasty and not traumatic--but more on the food itself tomorrow. I repeat, GO EARLY!! By the time I came back to the lines with a friend around 1:15, we were in the complete chaos that you see pictured early on this thread. We thought we were in line for Mitchell's only to discover that we weren't, and around that time, the organizers finally realized that they needed to bring in some barricades. Once they did, things seemed to move a little better, but not before a lot of people gave up. I overheard a lot of ticked off folks trying to sell unused tickets. My buddy wanted to give up, but we had already waited so long, I convinced him to stick it out. In the end, it was almost an hour to get to Mitchell's--and it was quite tasty, although disappointingly, not hot (temp) pig. More tomorrow, but in a nutshell, when you get a gorgeous day/weekend like this, it's not just word of mouth about the event that's bringing people out--I'm guessing that all of the NYC parks were mobbed today--Madison Square just had some awesome 'cue and MUSIC!!! And it was great to run in to Fat Guy... Oh, and be sure not to miss the $1 cones/cups of frozen custard at the Shake Shack on the southern end of the park. Lovely way to end the day! ENJOY...

Thanks, Chad! Keep 'em coming, everyone!

Hello, neighbors to the south! I'm heading to SC and NC in a few weeks for the first time, and I'm wondering what food-related and other stops I absolutely must make...are there great markets, restaurants or tours you can recommend? I'll have 2 days in Charleston, and would love to know someplace reasonably priced where I can take my hosts for lunch or dinner; I'm also interested in stops I should make as I head north to Southport NC (on my own) for a couple of days to meet up with some other friends. Any/all help is greatly appreciated! The last time I posted on this board, I was headed to Atlanta for the first time, and the result was a dinner at The Food Studio that's still one of the best meals I've had this year--thanks to some of you! Curlz

Someone must make a KIDS LOVE BBQ t-shirt, no?

Just a reminder...the event is this weekend!

I think the location is actually a bit further west up Rt 10 from the Liv circle, but trust me, the traffic issues are no better there.

I wondered the same thing, Tommy--I can't think of any part of Morristown proper where there's that much sf available that wouldn't be ASTRONOMICAL cost-wise. East Hanover actually makes sense to me (I know the territory--lived and worked out there for a good chunk of my life)--it's easily accessible to folks in Whippany, Parsippany, the Hanovers, Florham Park, Morristown AND Livingston ($$), Madison and Chatham ($$$) and certainly within reach for those in Short Hills ($$$$$). Hell, I drove from southern Bergen Cty to the Trader Joe's in Florham Park just last weekend! People WILL travel if they want to get to a good store. I sure do!!

WOW. Wait'll Tommy hears that!!!

Now wouldn't THAT be nice...