TDG: Pork, An Alternative Spring Break

[Fat Guy]

JJ Goode is looking for pork during Spring Break; pork barbecue, that is . . .

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[Varmint]

I'm proud of you, JJ. You've had an acceptable baptism. When you are ready, we will begin the confirmation process. You have much to learn, but I suspect you are a worthy and capable student.

[jogoode]

Thanks! If I had had complete control, the trip would've probably just entailed following your ass around

I'm planning a cross-country type trip this summer, unless a full-time job comes my way -- and I kind of hope it doesn't. I'll have another shot at Carolina BBQ and then some.

[Jensen]

I'm planning a cross-country type trip this summer, unless a full-time job comes my way -- and I kind of hope it doesn't. I'll have another shot at Carolina BBQ and then some.

Great travelogue ...

If you do head across country, try to make it to The Dixie Pig in North Little Rock for their pig plate and, of course, barbecued beef brisket in Texas (no recommendations on venue as I'm lucky enough to have a "homemade" source).

Once you're into the Southwest, it's best to change focus to green chile sauce (I prefer the New Mexican variety...maybe because it has pork in it????). That will take you all the way to California.

Jen

[jogoode]

I'm lucky enough to have a "homemade" source.

Why can't I eat that?

[Jensen]

I'm lucky enough to have a "homemade" source.

Why can't I eat that?

Eating it involves dog racing too. Got a dog to race?

[Varmint]

Just like pork is the "other white meat", what Jensen is serving is "the other pork."

[jogoode]

Eating it involves dog racing too. Got a dog to race? 

Uh, how about a very fat cat?

[herbacidal]

Thanks! If I had had complete control, the trip would've probably just entailed following your ass around

I'm planning a cross-country type trip this summer, unless a full-time job comes my way -- and I kind of hope it doesn't. I'll have another shot at Carolina BBQ and then some.

cool 'logue.

if you want a 'mate for the road trip, assuming i'm available (a big if), i'm volunteering.

especially cool since you're somewhat near me.

i missed the pig pickn. gotta get my 'cue fix somehow.

[Jensen]

Just like pork is the "other white meat", what Jensen is serving is "the other pork."

Nahhhh. I only go to Texas to race my dogs; one of the Texas racers makes the most incredible barbecued brisket. It's famous in racing circles.

I have never tried any other Texas barbecue, mostly because Ann's is on such a high pedastal in my mind, that I really don't want anything to happen to its position.

[Jensen]

Eating it involves dog racing too. Got a dog to race? 

Uh, how about a very fat cat?

Sure. The hounds say "Cat ... It's not just for breakfast anymore".

[robyn]

JJ Goode is looking for pork during Spring Break; pork barbecue, that is . . .

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JJ should have asked *before* he went! Do I sound enough like his mother :)?

If he gets south on I-95 again - he should try the Georgia Pig - Exit 29(?) in Georgia near Brunswick. About 1/4 mile off the interstate. Very old (it was once reviewed by Craig Claiborne on one of his trips down to Florida). Very authentic. Don't try to order chicken (they don't have it). Don't go anywhere near the water -not even in the bathrooms - it's hideous and smells like sulphur - which is why they don't even serve sweet tea except in cans. Specialty of the house is pulled pork sandwiches.

Also worth a stop is the Western Sizzlin' at the Pooler Georgia I-95 exit (north of Savannah) for lunch - particularly for "Sunday supper" after church. Not so much for BBQ as for southern vegetables. There isn't a vegetable there that isn't made without some part of a pig. Not exactly vegan fare :). Also - Clark's family restaurant near the Santee SC exit is a decent "meat and three" for lunch.

JJ is under a misconception about places near and not near the interstate. In the south - once you get away from larger towns and cities - there's really not a whole lot that's not near interstates (unless the whole town isn't near an interstate). The interstates did away with most "through town" traffic - and Walmarts did away with the rest of it. Very occasionally - you'll find a decent meat and three in a "downtown" - but that's about it. For the most part though, the "downtowns" are pretty dismal. Robyn

[jogoode]

if you want a 'mate for the road trip, assuming i'm available (a big if), i'm volunteering.

you'll have to adhere to the most rigorous eating schedule of your life. start preparing now

[Varmint]

If it's anything on the order of this level of eating, you're in for some trouble, herb.

Edited November 20, 2003 by Varmint (log)

[jogoode]

JJ should have asked *before* he went! Do I sound enough like his mother :)?

If I had known I was going to spend some eating time in Georgia, I would have! (I thought I would be filled up by the Carolinas.) eGulleteers did inform some of my decisions, as always...

[herbacidal]

if you want a 'mate for the road trip, assuming i'm available (a big if), i'm volunteering.

you'll have to adhere to the most rigorous eating schedule of your life. start preparing now

JJ and Varmint,

you don't know me well enough do you?

KatieLoeb is the best testament to my eating capabilities.

I can eat every 3 hours.

Less if I start upping my metabolism a month before by going back to the gym.

That being said, if FG and Perlow are accurate, still might not be up to JJ's standards.

Varmint,

Might you have mis-linked?

Edited November 20, 2003 by herbacidal (log)

[Varmint]

Oops, I did mis-link, and horribly so!!! It's fixed now.

Anyhow, here's the massive eating quest to which I had intended to refer: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25596

[jogoode]

Anyhow, here's the massive eating quest to which I had intended to refer: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25596

Incredible places! Shit I wish I had been there...

KatieLoeb is the best testament to my eating capabilities.

I can eat every 3 hours.

Ha I would be the first to back down from an eating contest, but I can graze silently for hours on end. All I need are a few short breaks in eating and, I find, something tart or sweet to break up patches of serious consumption. Best thing about my trip was that is was the first time I could afford to be full -- in NYC, this isn't usually possible

[Andrew Fenton]

Also worth a stop is the Western Sizzlin' at the Pooler Georgia I-95 exit (north of Savannah) for lunch - particularly for "Sunday supper" after church. Not so much for BBQ as for southern vegetables. There isn't a vegetable there that isn't made without some part of a pig. Not exactly vegan fare :).

Isn't Western Sizzlin' a chain? I haven't been to one (and haven't heard very good things about them, honestly); does the Pooler location have a different menu or something?

Anyway, lots of good opportunities for southern vegetables in Savannah...

[jogoode]

Varmint,

If it's anything on the order of this level of eating, you're in for some trouble, herb.

I just caught this -- I haven't been called a herb in years! As I said, I typically back down from eating challenges, but one more insult like that and you'll have yourself a duel.

[robyn]

Also worth a stop is the Western Sizzlin' at the Pooler Georgia I-95 exit (north of Savannah) for lunch - particularly for "Sunday supper" after church.  Not so much for BBQ as for southern vegetables.  There isn't a vegetable there that isn't made without some part of a pig.  Not exactly vegan fare :).

Isn't Western Sizzlin' a chain? I haven't been to one (and haven't heard very good things about them, honestly); does the Pooler location have a different menu or something?

Anyway, lots of good opportunities for southern vegetables in Savannah...

Yes- Western Sizzlin' is a franchise chain - but I haven't found 2 where the food is the same. And the food tends to be regional (what you'll find in Miami isn't anything like what you find further north). So - as far as I'm concerned - I treat each Western Sizzlin' as a separate restaurant. E.g., the one we sometimes stop at on I-95 in Florence South Carolina is ok - but not as good in my opinion as the one in Pooler. We only went to the Miami place once - we used to live in Miami - and it was awful. In the past - I've had to do a lot of driving on the I-95 corridor - and frequently don't have a lot of time to spend on lunch. So I know places where I can stop for 30 minutes - get a decent meal that's not a fast food burger - and be on my way. I generally like buffets because if there are 20 or 30 things to eat - I can almost always find at least a few that I like. Robyn

[cibatta mondatta]

Y'all talkin about 'Carolina barbeque' as if it was just one thing... No way!

For the best NC barbeque, try Lexington BBQ just off route 64 in Lexington. It's dry, served with a vinegar sauce, hushpuppies, french fries, and Brunswick stew. It's ok, but...

If you're in SC, head for Orangeburg and stop at Dukes BBQ on Whitman street a block off of 301. Now this, for me, is the Grail of Barbeque, low country style: mustard-based sauce, served with hash (not Brunswick stew at all thank you) and rice, not potatoes. MMMMM. But not too often: overdose is a very real risk.

[Varmint]

Cool. Another barbecue friend. Keep supplying us with the info on SC barbecue. We'll teach you about the NC styles.

[mighty quinn]

i hated scrounging for bbq in s.c.- there must be some ancient blue law that says the pits can't be open sunday-wednesday. that's a pain in the butt when you need a pork fix! i've been to that place in brunswick georgia (mentioned earlier) i smelled the pork over the paper mill stench and i was drawn to it. i think i'll stop there next week !

[geekdoc]

I know this is an old thread but I had to put in my 2c about something near and dear to my heart, BBQ.

So dear in fact that it was the sole (soul) food served at my wedding reception (including the fixins of course) for about 400 of our closest friends. Pigs hide when my family is nearby. My mother has a reputation as the BBQ Queen amongst our friends, as this sophisticated southern belle has zero trepidation about driving down a dirt road to a rundown house with a tin roofed shed off to the side, with a couple mangy dogs tied up in the yard where she has been told they make good 'Q (as she calls it), knocking on the door and coming away with a few pounds of frozen meat and a pint of hash, and telling her nervous young son who was left in the car, that apparently they only cook every other Saturday, but she was able to talk the proprietor into selling her some they had put away for themselves ( such is the power of the Southern belle).

Heresy is referring to backyard grilling as Barbeque, by otherwise well intentioned folks from northerly or western parts of our fair land (as the anticipation is greeted by dismay).

When travelling, we have a good rule of thumb for determining the quality of unfamiliar joints when hunger strikes. The more anthropomorphic the pigs are on the sign, the better the BBQ. For example, a plain profile of a pink porker rarely promises porcine pleasure. A standing pig with a hat on chewing a piece of straw might do in a pinch, but be on the lookout for 2 pigs dressed in calico square dancing, or the ultimate, a really fat pig, seated at a table with a napkin tucked under his chin eating what? Pig of course! (this generally results in the screeching of brakes and a quick U turn into the inevitable gravel parking lot and white painted cinder block building containing BBQ made with love.

Be sure to ask for it sliced or coarse chopped if available (bigger and usually leaner chunks of meat) and definitely get the hash on rice in in South Carolina, but DO NOT ask what's in the hash - just eat and enjoy. Some properly cooked string beans (meaning the opposite of al dente) or cole slaw, and some banana creme pudding topped with Nilla wafers will certainly be there too. Diabetics have your insulin handy if you drink the tea which WILL be sweet.

Through my travels I have come to appreciate all of the various forms that are found throughout the Southeast (ketchup based, mustard based, vinegar based, whole hog, shoulders, pit roasted, hickory smoked, etc, etc) and as long as they are made with the aforementioned LOVE it will be good.

Just look for the dancing pigs!

Edited March 10, 2004 by geekdoc (log)