Thursday, January 12, 2017

Chapter 8: Po Pigs in Edisto, October 2015

October at the Beach.. still warm, but not summer hot.  Breezy, beautiful day. We headed to Edisto Island for a bit of beach time and to see if all the lore about getting better shells was true. I'm still not convinced! The beach was lovely and we stopped at a local restaurant that was open even after the season, and had a libation out on the porch. Then went to a couple of stores on the island that were open as well. As I write this it's past Hurricane Matthew and Edisto had massive damage to their island and stores, homes, and many other businesses. I think about all those small business owners with compassion..
We had gone back as well to the trusty BBQ trail map. We found Po Pigs BBQ on hwy 74. Well, finding the place was challenging. Seems it had moved. Twice, I think.
The original location had a sign on the door that we had to pull up to to read. We went to where we thought it told us which was on the back of a hardware stroke. Seems there are 2 hardware stores within a couple of miles of that stretch of hwy 74. It wasn't at that location but the staff were kind enough to point us in the right direction. Finally found it.
It was early, around 5:00 and we were the only ones there. I'm rarely negative about BBQ, but these folks missed the mark. The only thing that saved them was the smoked turkey, which was delicious. I find that the sides on these buffets can tell the bigger story, especially the greens.. these were chopped fine and overcooked and bitter..too bad.
Now what was very cool and interesting about Po Pigs, were the photographs on the walls. Blown up images of a long time ago, showing what looked like a community church supper with lots of folks in Sunday dress gathered on the grounds, eating their BBQ dinners. Also the pictures of the BBQ troughs. Fascinating. Big dug out long pits with creatively fashioned steel poles stretched across where the pigs where hung to roast. Many African American men laden with shovels, moving the hot coals under the pigs. An older gentleman who  perhaps was one of the owners, was very friendly, and explained some of the photos to us. They also had memorabilia all around the place. Great place to go, if not for the food, but the history of BBQ in SC.

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