tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044948033934430222024-03-21T22:00:14.654-07:00Raters of the Lost SporkTwo children of the 80's who love to rate and rank everything discuss the food they eat. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-86059615844926238612014-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:002014-05-17T08:51:32.010-07:00Smoke AND Pig<style>p { font-family: Tahoma arial sans serif; font-size: 10pt }</style>
<p>Julie has been blogging on our food journey to St. Louis (and back) and asked me to give "my perspective" on BBQ. My perspective on dining is that I don't really care to talk about the food. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE food and I love good food. However, my vocabulary for describing food ranges from "good" to "mmmmphphphgrglgrgl" with an occasional belch. Since Julie already did a <a href="http://lostspork.blogspot.com/2014/05/i-chosethis-place-because-it-is-place.html">great job describing the experience of eating at the "Smok'n Pig", in Valdosta</a>, I'm going to talk about the other stuff.</p>
<p>
First, let's talk about spelling and grammar. "Smoking" is a gerund usually indicating (<- another gerund) that something (<- NOT a gerund) is currently in the state of producing (gerund) smoke. This has morphed into the slightly abbreviated colloquialism "smokin'" which usually is applied to American-made sports cars and women's backsides. I can only guess that, "smok'n" is a contraction to overcome the tedious "i" in "smokin'" which requires the type of effort that can only be recovered by sitting for hours slow cooking a pig - which is of course good news for the rest of us. Another alternative, which I am starting to lean towards, is that the original intent was to remove some extra letters from "Smoke AND Pig" and, like the now quoted "R" in Toys "R" Us established some strange grammatical ambiguity and confusion which in the case of said toy store are exacerbated by placing the "R" backwards.
</p>
<p>
From the outside, Smok'n Pig could be mistaken for a Cracker Barrel if it wasn't for the flames symbolically shooting out of the sign out front. I guess this is in homage to "where there's smoke there's fire" since flames are pretty much the enemy of smoked meat. Once inside, the "Pig" looks like a Sonny's on steroids. The building is made of and full of wood. If we ever exhausted the world's forests, they could probably keep smoking meat for a few years...just with the tables...in the little private room in the back. Most of the tables are picnic tables and all have a roll of paper towels on them as if to say, "you will not have any trouble deciding which fork to use here," and follow that with, "you got a little somethin' right there...on your face...on the other side...no...the other side...Got it!" We sat in the back by the fire place which had a mantel adorned with statues of anthropomorphic pigs and what appeared to be an unpainted paint-it-yourself ceramic bust of Elvis Presley.
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<p>
If Hooters is "delightfully tacky", the Smoke'n Pig is "delightfully overstated". The waitresses (I didn't see any male waitstaff - maybe like the diner on "Seinfeld" the waitresses are all the owner's daughters) all wore jeans and Smoke'n Pig t-shirts ranging from camouflage to tie-dye and are <a href="http://www.smoknpig.com/tshirts-2-ss.shtml">available on-line</a> with great fresh and current pig puns like "gettin' piggy with it" and - my personal favorite - "The Pigs of Hazzard".
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<p>
There were also several signs on the walls referencing nearby Moody Air Force Base and the room in the back was mostly occupied with a group of airmen (airpeople?) who, while I question its effectiveness in the Air Force, had a legitimate reason to wear camouflage. Which leads me to the summation of my review - Smoke'n Pig is an "All-American" restaurant. If one ceramic pig is good, a few dozen must be tail-curling awesomeness and it surely makes Christmas shopping much easier for the onwer's family. If, <a href="http://lostspork.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-que-roots-by-julie.html">like Julie said</a>, Sonny's is a good example of southern barbecue for beginners, Smoke'n Pig represents a higher-echelon of pig-consuming experience. As an overall dining experience, I give it 3.5 "want more tea hon"s out of 5. It's the kind of place where you get the feeling there are a lot of "regulars" and that their lives are at least a little bit better for it.</p>THE Dogboyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00821029722599736334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-71771151652413695012014-05-17T06:13:00.004-07:002014-05-17T06:23:56.781-07:00Starnes Bar-B-Q - Paducah, KY<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">As I
have indicated before, I am no food snob.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">In particular, I am not snobby about BBQ.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I feel that way because food is
personal.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">What we like and don’t like is
the result of where we grew up, how our mothers cooked, our sense of smell, our
constitution.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are emotionally
connected to the food we eat, some more than others.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is the reason I chose Starnes in
Paducah, KY.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I didn’t get to try any of
the mutton or burgoo that KY is so famous for, but I got to experience a little
slice of life in Paducah, KY and found a connection to the people there.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">In my “que roots” post I mentioned that my
hometown BBQ has been slammed by outsiders on diner review sites.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">My best guess is that it wasn’t the barbeque
with which the diner was most familiar. Their lack of creative vocabulary and
underdeveloped palate left them unable to accurately describe the food and they
were only able to use words like, “disgusting” and “gross”.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even my vegetarian fried agrees that Ken’s
food is good.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, when I looked up Starnes
on Urban Spoon, it received an 82% rating.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I read the ratings and paid closest attention to the comments of the
locals.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">They loved it, defended it, and
commented that it was a good representation of the western KY BBQ style.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">And that sold me on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When we
pulled into the parking lot I was immediately charmed by the humble bright
green cinderblock building – a true local hole-in-the-wall. I was in love. The parking lot was full and it was after
1:00pm. We walked in and discovered that
90% of the seating was counter seating, which for us can be tricky. We needed three seats with enough room for a wheelchair.
Everyone was kind and a diner called our attention to three open seats. I looked at the menu and like our friends at
Fat Matt’s, Starnes has chosen to keep it simple. There were 4 options: Pork, Beef, Turkey, and
Bologna, served a la carte or between two slices of toasted sourdough
bread. They shake a little of their
house made sauce on the sandwich before they serve it. They had just 3 sides: chips, slaw, or potato
salad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
sandwiches are served right on the counter wrapped in parchment paper. No plates, no muss, no fuss. The team was very nice and helpful. On its own, the pork was moist and had a
lovely smoke flavor (hickory, I believe).
Without sauce it seemed a little under seasoned, but the sauce added a
perfect compliment. It was a spicy vinegar
based sauce with black pepper, paprika, and cayenne. “The more you add the spicier it gets” is the
mantra of the women working the counter and friends, they speak the truth. The
potato salad was quite nice, very typical southern style – eggs, mustard, sweet
pickles, pimentos, and lots of black pepper – it reminded of my mom’s sans the
pimentos. The portions were normal sized
(a novel concept!), but it was cheap, cheap, cheap. Our entire bill for our family of 4 was
$16.09!! Shut the front door! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Was it
THE BEST barbecue I have ever had? No,
it wasn’t. Was it tasty? You bet. And do I understand why the locals love it? Without a doubt. If you are ever in Paducah, give it a
try. It’s real people, serving real food
with heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-60703061296388458382014-05-15T12:50:00.002-07:002014-05-15T12:55:34.744-07:00Fat Matt's Rib Shack- Atlanta, GA<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We
arrived in Atlanta around 5:00pm. Not
yet hungry for dinner, but knowing that<b> </b>this
was our chance for the famous Fat Matt’s. So, we
decided to get ours to go so we could go for a run and work up an
appetite. This concerned me a bit
because BBQ is always best when it is fresh.
One of the things that struck me right away was the hole-in-the-wall
quality if this place. It already felt
special when we walked up. The sad thing
about special hole-in-the-wall places is that they can become commercialized
after they are “discovered”. And trust
me, Fat Matt’s has been. Four Rivers in
Orlando is a prime example. It started
as a hole, and then people started raving about it, now its fallen prey to
chain-dom. The first step in that
process was moving out of the hole that occupied the tattered wall. Then you
lose consistency in the food. Well, Fat
Matt’s gets props from me for just having the guts to stay put. The other great thing: menu simplicity. When it comes to BBQ, options are
overrated. If you do something well, stick
to that thing. And that is why I call
what Fat Matt’s has to offer simplicity, and not lack of choice. The menu options were highlighted by a member
of the Fat Matt team. Speaking of the
team, they were super friendly and helpful.
I felt welcomed when I walked in and appreciated when I left – that is a
HUGE thing for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There is
a saying where I come from, “So good, it made me want to slap my Mama.” Friends, this was Mama slappin’ good
BBQ. Doug and I almost always share our
food, so I always get to taste a little bit of everything. Tonight we ordered the chopped pork, ribs,
rum spiked beans, and a small side of Brunswick stew (have I actually died and
gone to heaven? 2 BBQ joints with
Brunswick stew?). My favorite part of
the meal was the nice little, steady blanket of heat that covered my
tongue. It was the perfect level of
spice for BBQ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Meats.
The chopped pork was perfection. I would
love to know what they put on that pork shoulder because that was exactly how I
like mine – vinegary, warm spice level, tender mouthfeel, and savory with a
hint of sweet. Many times pulled pork
can be over-sauced and sticky sweet, but this was well balanced and had a
little black pepper bite to it. The ribs
were outstanding. They had a lovely char
on them, but were tender and falling off the bone. The smoke flavor permeated through the meat
and they had a little bit of the sauce brushed on them during cooking, which
gave them a nice caramelized crust. If I
am ever in Atlanta again I will definitely be back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sides. As I said in an earlier post, I have never
been a fan of BBQ baked beans. Fat Matt,
you have changed my mind. These beans
were very good. The rum added a sweet
caramel-ly flavor, but they were tangy and left a little tingle on my tongue. Plenty of onion and black pepper. A very nice twist on a classic. The Brunswick stew was really good. It was meaty and smoky and had that perfect
blend of BBQ and vegetable soup flavors.
The meat and vegetables were very finely chopped, making the bits and
pieces almost indistinguishable from one another. It was not as pretty as the stew at the Smokn'
Pig, but it was quite tasty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sauce.
No sauces to choose from, Fat Matt’s keeps it simple once again. One sauce, THE sauce. This is most definitely a house made
sauce. It still had chunks of onion and
tomato in it. A nice zesty tomato base
with paprika, black pepper, maybe a little red pepper, hints of brown sugar.
Perfect. I wanted to lick the little
plastic cup it came in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My final
parting words about this BBQ: Keep on keeping it real Fat Matt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-85572074347552456152014-05-15T06:41:00.001-07:002014-05-15T07:08:53.047-07:00Smokn' Pig- Valdosta, GA<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I chose
this place because it is the place Madisonians go to get BBQ when they are in Valdosta. Many of my friends and family who still live there
“tag” themselves on FB when they eat there.
I have had a desire to go there
when I go home to visit my folks, but I usually miss Ken’s so much, and it’s
just so much closer. But, I get it now. This place is pretty good, better than
Sonny’s, but not quite among the best BBQ I’ve ever had.
My parents met us for lunch and were more than happy to offer me bites
so that I could taste the goodies they had, too. Because I am on a mission and I do NOT intend
on carrying this experiment on my hips for the rest of my life, I tried to keep
it light. I ordered the ¼ chicken dark,
Brunswick stew (small serving), and unsweetened tea – this works as a pretty
good palate cleanser between bites. The
meal comes with a trip to the salad bar – I got about a tablespoon of the
carrot raisin salad. My mom got a
serving of fried okra that I sampled; Dad got ribs, I had a bite; and I sampled
a little of the sliced pork and sliced brisket.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Best they had to
offer</span></u></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: The
Brunswick stew. Off the chain! It has a lovely tomato base with some of the Smokin
Pig brand Carolina BBQ sauce (my best guess), nice chunks of tomato, corn,
peas. The base was thin; a little soupier than I am used to, but it worked. The
BBQ sauce was very balanced in the stew and I believe there was smoked chicken
and some type of smoked pork (maybe ham?).
Both gave the stew a mild smoky flavor.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The meats</span></u></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: All of the meat is pecan
smoked. I sampled a bite of each meat
sans sauce. The only meat I ate with
sauce was my chicken, which consequently was also the only meat of which I had
more than one bite. My favorite was the
rib meat, it retained a lot of smoky flavor and prior to smoking it had been
lightly dusted with paprika and maybe a little brown sugar, salt, and
pepper. The meat was super tender and
very moist. My second favorite
was the brisket, which they billed as “Texas” style. While it was tasty, I’ve been to Texas, and
Texas it was not. I thought it was more consistent with SoGa/NoFlo BBQ. It was a
little drier on the non-fatty side of the meat than I would have preferred, but
it retained a lot of the smoke flavor and was perfectly seasoned. The sliced
pork was not good to me. My husband
ordered it and enjoyed it, but it was definitely my least favorite – under
seasoned, pale, dry, rather bland and retained little of that great pecan smoke
flavor the other meats had. In fact, I
thought they had mistakenly given him turkey. Being form St Louis, my husband
sees BBQ-ed meat as a vessel for good sauce… I enjoyed the chicken. I chose the thigh
quarter because thighs stay moist, duh.
The chicken retained less smoke flavor than the brisket and ribs, but
the skin was taut and slightly crisp with the same seasoning as the ribs. The seasoning gave it a nice mild sweet,
smoky flavor. I ate most of it with the
mustard sauce, which I personally thought complimented it best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The sides</span></u></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Brunswick
stew</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Like I said, really good. If I went back I would probably just get a
big bowl of the stew. <u>Carrot raisin
salad</u>. It was good; carrots were not
too soggy, nice creamy sweet and sour sauce.
The brown sugar in the sauce was very obvious. Nice touch with the apples. The only thing that disappointed me was the
use of pre-cut carrots out of a bag.
Would have been better if the carrots had been freshly grated, otherwise
a solid attempt at a Southern classic. <u>Fried
okra</u>. I confess, I had a few bites
of okra. The think about okra is that
you either love it, or you hate it. And
I LOVE okra, in all of its forms. This
was nice and crispy and perfectly seasoned.
<u>BBQ beans</u>. Just okay. But
then again, I am not a huge fan of BBQ baked beans. I like my baked beans sweet with brown sugar
and bacon. These were exactly what I
expected from a SoGa/NoFlo BBQ joint, lots of BBQ sauce and tendrils of smoked
meat. Corn bread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
Sauces: Too many sauces and not made in house.
I guess I have gotten spoiled.
Lately, I have been eating at BBQ places that make their sauces in
house. These tasted bottled. My favorite was the Southern Mustard. I thought it complimented the meat the
best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Overall, Smokn' Pig was pretty good. It would definitely be worth the trip up to Valdosta the next time I am visiting my mom and dad. I'll make sure to give it a positive review on Yelp and Urban Spoon. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-84928724951796822352014-05-14T20:04:00.001-07:002014-05-14T20:04:33.398-07:00My Que Roots by Julie<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I was
raised in Madison, FL, a rural North Florida (NoFlo) town about 20-30 minutes
south of the Georgia line, so our culinary traditions are really South Georgian
(SoGa). And if you don’t think Florida
is “Southern”, then stop visiting Orlando, Tampa, and Miami and go see the rest
of the state. Our barbecue style (and
yes we do have one) is drier, pit smoked meat.
We use beef brisket, pork butt, pork ribs, and chicken. The meat is always sliced and never
“pulled”. If there is “pulled pork” at a
SoGa/NoFlo joint, then it is there to appease pulled pork lovers. The pre-smoke dressing is minimal, so that
you can enjoy the taste of the smoke. The
wood used to smoke the meat is often oak or pecan, which are plentiful in the
SoGa/NoFlo area. I LOVE oak smoked meat
and believe that oak is highly underutilized as a smoking wood. Oak gives the meat an earthy, organic
flavor. Pecan is also very tasty, giving the meat a
nutty, slightly sweet, smoky flavor. We
are not famous for our sauces or rubs; in fact our barbecue is completely
understated. And speaking of the sauce it is a non-controversial tomato and
mustard based sauce with plenty of paprika and black pepper. It lies somewhere between a Carolina mustard,
a Tangy Texas, and a Smoky Tennessee.
Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q epitomizes the SoGa/NoFlo barbecue style and
while it is a very pedestrian example, it is a pretty good place to introduce you
to the style. Our barbecue is typically
served with garlic bread, barbecue baked beans (slightly sweet and with a bit
of the smoked meat and house sauce), shredded mayonnaise based sweet coleslaw,
and/or French fries. One item you will find seasonally in SoGa/NoFlo barbeque
joints is Brunswick stew. If you are
ever in the area and at a ‘que joint offering it, try some. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304494803393443022.post-27194470413296479292014-05-14T19:02:00.000-07:002014-05-14T19:02:54.639-07:00A Barbecue Tour of the South<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">When my
husband and I decided to drive up to St Louis for a family wedding, I realized
we had a unique opportunity to taste our way across the southeast. Since
barbecue is the quintessential and universal <i>Southern</i> food, I decided we would
use the opportunity to eat some of the South’s finest. I started planning for our barbecue tour of
the south by doing a little internet research.
Some of the same names kept popping up: Fat Matt’s in Atlanta, Pappy’s
Smokehouse in St Louis, etc. So, these
were added to our “must do” list, but I am also a big fan of little known
hole-in-the-wall type places and local favorites. This love of a good hole-in-the-wall was born
in me because I grew up in a rural area and everything there is a
hole-in-the-wall. My desire to choose small,
local places on this particular journey stems from the fact that the barbecue joint in my
home town, Ken’s, has been repeatedly slammed on Urban Spoon and Yelp. This offends me greatly. Calling someone’s hometown barbecue joint
“disgusting” is like calling their baby ugly.
In the South, barbecue is as sacred as football and grandmas. They may not be special to an outsider, but
to small town denizens, the local barbecue joint is where life happens –
gossip, impromptu reunions, politics, business deals, the carrying on of
traditions – a small town restaurant is a microcosm of the world outside its
walls. That is one of the reasons I love
to eat local when I travel, it gives you a sense of that community. So,
in choosing restaurants, I wanted a little of the “famous” and little of the
“hometown”. Join us on our culinary journey through the South!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10247084284423027828noreply@blogger.com0