BACON SEED
BEAUTY… MY NEW BLOG!
Introduction
It’s almost over 2.5 years ago.
January 2014. I’m driving up I-26W to wherever… I travel that way frequently, and
as we do while driving, am often thinking about other things.. I notice I’m
looking at the billboards.. They do catch my eye…I remember and start to sing
the 70’s song, “Signs, signs, everywhere are signs, messing up scenery,
breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the si...igns?…”
They get a bad rap, billboards do…I actually
find them somewhat interesting, and tell me stuff I wouldn’t know about. Especially
that one fateful day that I see in big colorful letters and pictures from SC
Tourism, the “SC BBQ Trail Map”…What was that? Trail map? BBQ?
So I get home and I, of course, Google
it. And there it is. The BBQ Trail map. An advertisement from our state’s
tourism office showing maps of all the regions of South Carolina. With what
looks like hundreds of little green pop up balloons crowded all over the main
map. It’s talking about traveling the state and visiting BBQ joints.…Well,
butter my butt and call me a biscuit, I love that idea! Who knew? Upon inspecting
the main map closer up, they list 168 BBQ places! From the corporate chains, to
the small family restaurant that’s only open on the weekend, spread out and
separated by region and listed by number, making the task at hand much easier
to read.
Now, I started liking BBQ when in my 20’s
and while in the Army. My boyfriend took me to a place, which last time I
checked, is still in business, Kings BBQ in Petersburg, VA.
Now, growing up, I’d had pork roast,
but nothing like this... Remember, this is before The Great Food Explosion…
The Food Network, and Google and “Foodies” and food magazines,etc. When you
said BBQ in the northeast, they meant firing up the grill and cooking up
hamburger, hotdog, chicken, or maybe, on a good day, a chuck steak.
Well, Billy (yes his real name... a
true southerner) orders for me...While we wait I’m taking in and loving the
atmosphere. The waitresses were mostly older, had on crisp, white uniforms with
the little aprons in the front and the little white cap on their head. This was
“out” of restaurant fashion by then, but not long enough to become “kitschy”.
And the place was brightly lit, clean,
with lots of round dining tables, like we had in our 50”s kitchen…and with
several wooden pig signs all over.
What comes out is a plate with a pile of
chopped meat with 3 veggie sides. (I’m salivating thinking of it!) It was,
by far, one of the most amazing things I had ever, and I mean EVER put in my
mouth….
Succulent, smoky, chewy but tender,
brown and crunchy bits meaty and fatty and the same time. Just incredible… the
veggies were all good, but I just wanted to bury my face in the pork.
The BBQ was available chopped, on a
plate, in a sandwich, by the lb to go….I visited King’s on several return
visits to Petersburg to see the boy friend, or while driving back to NJ to see
the family, and since it was right off I-95, I couldn’t miss it.. I had people
bring me that bbq if they were going or coming that way…so if you are traveling
I-95 north or south, please, do let me know!
So now this map and the possibilities
are peaking my interest.. I tell my friend, Linda Mayo Perez Williams (she’s another
transplant from parts north and south on the east coast) all about it and she
says, “Let’s go!” to which I replied, “When?”
So that’s what this Blog is about.
I’m a holistic hairdresser and consultant by trade, Your Grooming Guru, to be
exact, and I love to eat, cook and try funky out of the way places. So Linda
and I have decided that over the next 5 years, we will be the best part of
Thelma and Louise and hit as many of these BBQ huts and homes as we can.. And
explore our land as we go! Hang on for the tasty tour!
