Varmint

One other thing, and it's almost too predictable and precious: should the large pig have a curly-cued tail?

This is a great design, Michael, and thanks also to Zilla's friend who initially ran with it. As far as the design itself, I don't know if it could be improved, particulary with the eGullet.com plug -- we gotta have that. It's damn awesome. The pig eating gully is priceless. I also agree that we should put "Raleigh, North Carolina" and "October 11, 2003" on there somewhere. My only uncertainty with the design is with the text. As intelligent as the eGullet membership is, there's something inherently wrong about putting French and Latin on a pig pickin' t-shirt. Plus, I don't want to have to tell every other person what the thing says. Nevertheless, I love the French expression that you've chosen. It is perfect, isn't it? After eating at 5 bbq restaurants the other day, I certainly felt as if the pig had eaten me! Folks, comments? Criticisms? Suggestions? I say we go with the design, keeping the eGullet logo. I could live with the French, but the Latin doesn't do it for me. We could say, "Barbecue -- eGullet Style". We could use some of the other phrases previously mentioned. Rachel, how is this looking from a CafePress perspective?

That could create a bit of a discussion, eh?

Waiting with great anticipation . . . .

It's not just right around Rosh Hashanah, it's the exact same time!!! We've gone to all holy representatives to ask them to move the dates of the Rosh, but we've been denied. They've asked me to change my birthday instead, but the hotel has been paid for on Priceline!! We'll just have to make due!

But we did drive around the back to confirm that they cooked with wood before we went inside! We also passed 3 or 4 barbecue restaurants along the way. I'm glad we did, because we might have missed the Red Pig or Snook's, two joints that I'd kill to have here in Raleigh.

Unfortunately, Holly, most of the NC barbecue joints cook with electric or gas "pits". And these businesses are not suffering. Part of the problem is zoning restrictions, as fewer cities allow restaurants to cook with wood. Also, cooking with wood is quite expensive and very labor intensive. Allen & Son in Chapel Hill is the only place I know where the owner still splits the wood by hand. That's taking a lot of pride in one's craft. Ultimately, most locals do not really care about how the meat is cooked. They don't even demand that it have any smoky flavor. They want consistency. They want tender, moist pork. With whole hog, you can get that pretty easily, as you can cut in a good deal of fat. The woodburners are a dying breed, and that's why it's important for me to take these trips from time to time to remind myself of how important these establishments are for our culinary heritage. They represent all that's good about North Carolina and its people. Plus, it's damn good eating. I'll have to disagree with you on this one. Townsfolk will very often rely on past reputation rather than actual quality when it comes to barbecue. I can think of a number of "top" restaurants that put out an inferior product, yet they still do amazing business. Remember, mediocre barbecue is better than no barbecue at all! P.S. At two of the joints (Snook's and Hendrix), we did mention that "Holly would love this place."

Not barbecue. Actually, some butter pecan ice cream.

Blondie, I have 2 words to say to you for when you come down for the pig pickin': "You're hired."

Gee, when we bought our current house from Mrs. Varmint's parents, I agreed to do so only on the condition that we'd re-do our kitchen ASAP. Maybe now I know why we haven't done it yet after 4 years.

We shop at the local Hairy Tweeter (er, the Harris Teeter). It's quite upscale for an everyday grocery store. The local Whole Foods is a couple of blocks away, and I spend way too much money there. We still call it the Wellspring, which was the name of the quasi-co-op that Whole Foods bought. Of the 365 brands, I do buy their big cans of EVOO. It's pretty good for everyday EVOO, and it's about $14, which isn't too bad.

Congee Village may be just a bit too adventurous for Mrs. V!!!!!

We could do something in Chinatown. Nothing too bizarre, as Mrs. V may not enjoy that. We'll already be doing Japanese/sushi and quasi-Indian (Tabla). Plus, Babbo is likely. We're looking for an experience that is not likely to be found in North Cackalacky.

I think most of the places we visited were more concerned with Steve's pants than they were with his being from New York City. By the way, we always say "New York City" extra loud down here, much like they did in that Pace Salsa commercial.

This down home, small town, hick is headed to NEW YORK CITY with Mrs. Varmint from September 25-28 to celebrate my 40th birthday. Although all our dinners are taken care of, we'd love to get together with folks for a Saturday lunch on the 27th. A good ethnic restaurant would be fantastic -- one that would support a sizeable crew. I don't want to do any planning, but if someone wants to take over this one, please do so. Oh, and no presents are expected, of course.

Oh, I quite agree. Just haven't made the pilgrimage yet. I do find it odd that you don't find hush puppies with barbecue in Tennessee, but you do frequently find barbecue served atop a hoecake. A couple of places here in Nashville serve it atop a jalapeno hoecake -- which makes for an excellent, if untraditional, barbcue experience... To quote Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Merriam-Webster on dilettante. Definition 2 (and the referenced synonym) was the meaning I was using. Edit: (and the most common usage as well, despite M-W's errant numbering.) That's inconceivable. Or not. Busted as charged. Some lawyer I am!

That first joint was extremely good, but the camera plays tricks on us sometimes. It was a ton of slaw and a ton of pork. The skins did indeed have an incredibly frightening appearance, but they were the real deal. Much more realistic than what you get in downtown Raleigh at Clyde Coopers!

This has been my experience as well. I've never seen hush puppies served with barbecue at any of the Tennessee joints... I don't think you can truly call yourself a 'cue diletante without knowing the basics of NC barbecue, can you? Our rules are very, very different.

Jin- Each of those sandwiches had plenty of pork in them. We always believed we were getting a very good value here. I think my cheap camera didn't capture the size element well, although the penultimate photo (the cross section) was about right. Barbecue sandwiches generally aren't superstuffed here, and that's appropriate.

Hush puppies are what's served with North Carolina barbecue. The only variation on that is the corn stick, which is rarely good (but when it is. . . .!). There's a few stories about how hush puppies were introduced as the bread for barbecue, and I'll try to round up some up. FG thought he'd throw up if he ate an entire skin. Very disappointing performance, indeed. He didn't want to try it with Texas Pete, for some reason. The corn bread bologna sandwich. Well, we know nothing about it. Now, the handwritten menu may have listed these as two separate items: corn bread AND a bologna sandwich. However, both of these items were on the regular menu, so I concluded that this was a single dish. At that time, we were too stuffed to actually investigate further.

The sliced costs more than chop for everything, except for a plate they're the same cost Steven asked why sliced is more expensive, and it's apparently because they trim off more fat with the sliced or coarsely chopped barbecue than when it's more finely chopped. Makes sense to me. Why that one plate is the same price doesn't make sense, however!

All my dinner parties are test runs. That's why I invite friends who don't mind being part of the great experiment!!!

I wonder how much it is for 3 watermelons????

Umh, ok, Rachel. I didn't know this was a competition!

That's cole slaw, "Lexington style." They add some sugar and barbecue sauce to chopped cabbage to make the slaw. It's quite good. If I recall correctly, the Red Pig had the best slaw -- it was chopped a bit more coarsely so you could actually taste the cabbage.