Blogwatch: Jason Perlow's Carolinas 'Cue Binge
Barbecue chicken from The Pit in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photograph from Off the Broiler
Food blogger and tech journalist Jason Perlow blogs about five barbecue joints in the Carolinas that he visited while on several business trips there over the summer. Knowing Jason, I suspect that he visited more than these five. ;)
Jason's blog post is amazing, so do click through. Ed Levine here at SE points out that Jason repeatedly refers to overcooked green beans. "Southerners and Italians would beg to differ," Ed says. "That's the way they cook beans in the South and in Italy."
Jason also visits Maurice's BBQ in Columbia, South Carolina. Maurice Bessinger is an infamous segregationist, and Jason comes back with some scary photos of hoot-hollerin' South Will Rise Again type stuff that decorate the place. We're glad Perlow came out of Maurice's BBQ alive.
Be ready to replace your mouse's scroll wheel after you visit Jason's site. This post is loooooong—and long on goodness.
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15 Comments:
that doesn't make me homesick at all... nope, not one bit...
*sigh* :(
Southern_bella at 11:47AM on 09/07/08
In regards to the overcooked green beans... Yes, I know that's how they cook them, throughout the South and the Mediterranean. But I have been to southern restaruants where they DID NOT overcook the green beans, and I like them with a bit of life left in them. Case in point, the very excellent JCT Kitchen in Atlanta:
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/atlanta-dining-jct-kitchen/
jperlow at 11:59AM on 09/07/08
I'm not a fan of Maurice's, segregation, or Confederate kitsch, but it's hard for me to see how the decor of a chain BBQ restaurant posed a threat to Perlow, such that Kuban is glad he returned safely.
The Gurgling Cod at 1:08PM on 09/07/08
Cod: You didn't see the two huge 300 pound plus good 'ol boy cops from the SC correctional system that were staring at me as I photographed the place. I got in and out of that place so fast you have no idea.
jperlow at 1:40PM on 09/07/08
Obviously, the post has touched a chord with certain types of people. Here's a sample comment that I just received:
"Your snide, New York remarks about the South and the Southern people make me sick.
You don't like the South, the food, the Southern people and their opinions? Then keep your New Yawk, Jewish ass at home.
No one needs you and your type in the South, believe me!"
jperlow at 1:46PM on 09/07/08
I still don't understand. Two guys who work for the sheriff's office come in to the same restaurant you went to. They were fat, and they looked at you. If they had been skinnier, or if they had ignored you, that would have been better? Maurice's is an effed up establishment, and I'd never eat there, but you seem to be looking for some kind of Deliverance/My Cousin Vinny drama where it does not exist. In general, this is a great post, and one I will print and keep in the glove compartment, but as a transplanted Yankee, it's frustrating fo rme to see writing about the South collapse into caricature again and again.
The Gurgling Cod at 2:54PM on 09/07/08
Don't feel bad about missing Little Pigs; it's nothing special. The pig isn't smoked, and the sides are okay but not transcendent. I go there from time to time, but I wouldn't make a pilgrimage out of it. I haven't tried Palmetto Pig but now plan to do so.
Anyway, great post and great pictures. But just backing up the Cod here: as a Columbia, SC resident I can testify that racist secessionists generally pose a threat only to one's hope for humankind, not to one's person, especially if one is white. Maurice's is to be avoided on principle, not out of fakey oh-noes-I-hear-banjo-music fear.
Also, there are no potatoes in the kind of hash that's served with Southern barbecue. It's heavy on the "stuff" you mention -- liver, brains, etc.
Thanks for the post!
climalene at 5:52PM on 09/07/08
@THe Gurgling Cod: You are right. I was in a cranky mood when I wrote that line this morning. Jason truly was in no danger, and I know there are plenty of fine people in the South who don't subscribe to Bessinger's line of thought. The line was caricature, written out of grumpiness, and I apologize for it.
Adam Kuban at 9:02PM on 09/07/08
I appreciate it. Thanks.
The Gurgling Cod at 9:21PM on 09/07/08
I may have been exaggerating things just a tad for comic effect, but I will say this, racism still exists in the South, and particularly in Columbia. Yes, there are many progressive people in Columbia, its a university town, but its moments like these where you get a major shiver down your spine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/offthebroiler/2587905244/
This is a rail car which is permanently sitting next to the famous Adluh Flour plant in downtown Columbia, which is right off of the trendy historic "Vista" area where all the trendy bars and restaurants are in all the restored brick buildings, some of which date back to the Civil War Period. The Publix supermarket which is only a few blocks away is actually the fomer site of the Confederate Printing Press. The graffiti that is on this rail car might not be immediately recognizable to everyone, but those are the "White Knight" symbols of the Ku Klux Klan. Needless to say I was a bit freaked out when I saw this when walking around the corner to the local overpriced "Stuff on the wall" TGI Fridays clone.
jperlow at 11:25PM on 09/07/08
As the resident Yankee Dago I fully understand what happens when you show your NJ or NY "ness" to anyone in the south who don't like them yankees. Funny thing nowadays no one gives a shit. Why, because we have the internet, tv and cable tv. Sterotypes are a dime a dozen. To debate how someone from anywhere would feel about seeing hateful symbols of an old culture posted where they eat is just inane. If Jason felt any emotion he owns that and it is his. To correct him or take issue with it is more of the same.
To say there was a "cousin Vinny drama" (also a sterotype there Cod thanks for confirming that for me) to me would make me agitated since when I moved to NC in the early 90's I got treated like crap. All I had to do was say hello and I got the standard "your not from around here are you?" However recently when we were hanging out in the Triangle area I found people to be used to "yankees" and to be more interested and less polarized. No one can walk a mile in another persons shoes.
I have much respect for Jason and his interpretation of how he saw it because I have lived it. Was not a movie (Cousin Vinny) was not a rumor or a suggestion, I lived it. You don't have to agree. It is not a debate.
JerzeeTomato at 1:28AM on 09/08/08
I tried, but I give up.
The Gurgling Cod at 12:55PM on 09/08/08
@jperlow - Next time you're in RTP, try Bullock's in Durham or Cooper's or Ole Time in Raleigh. Bullock's is my personal favorite, but both Cooper's and Ole Time are good, too. Allen and Son is also amazing, as you have discovered. Never tried the Pit, but I'll have to check it out next time I go home.
If you have time to drive an hour or so, Wilbur's in Goldsboro is also well worth the drive.
PS: We're not all ignorant rednecks in the South. Some of us would be just as creeped out by the confederate imagery as you were.
jenilowrance at 9:03PM on 09/08/08
I'm actually in RTP this week taking a training course. However, I'll probably end up at Ed Mitchell's tomorrow.
I've heard a lot of varying opinions on Bullocks, but most universally say Allen & Son is better.
jperlow at 9:25PM on 09/08/08
I love Wilburs in Goldsboro. And Bill's in Wilson. Hollyeats.com has a great little grease stain rating system http://www.hollyeats.com/NorthCarollina.htm
When McCalls got hit by a plane I kept saying no no no, I love their potatoes boiled in the vinegar pepper sauce.
JerzeeTomato at 11:05PM on 09/08/08