Posted on 05/29/2005 11:47:02 AM PDT by varina davis
Age-Old Debate Over N.C. Barbecue Fired Up
By MARTHA WAGGONER Associated Press Writer
10:15 AM PDT, May 29, 2005
ARCADIA, N.C. — Fourth-graders here expected a civics lesson when they suggested that the Lexington Barbecue Festival be named the state's official food festival. Instead, they got a lesson in the fierce intrastate rivalry over barbecue that pits west vs. east, tomato vs. vinegar and whole shoulder against whole pig.
"I didn't know so many people would be asking questions and wanting to know how I feel about it," said 10-year-old Kaylyn Vaughan. "You have to realize it is a very big deal."
While Texas generally unites behind beef brisket, Kansas City has its slathered ribs and South Carolina holds dear to its mustard-sauced pork, North Carolinians are divided about their two distinct barbecue styles.
Crowning one style as "official" would be a mistake, said Bob Garner, author of the book "North Carolina Barbecue," which doesn't take a stand on which version is supreme.
"The whole story of barbecue in North Carolina is about these two distinct styles and this fun, family argument that we just refuse to get rid of," Garner said. "People love to argue about this."
North Carolina's western barbecue, also known as Lexington or Piedmont, is made from the shoulder of the hog and has a red, tomato-based sauce. Eastern style takes seriously an old North Carolina adage -- "We use every part of the pig except the squeal" -- and uses a vinegar-based sauce.
The argument about which is best has waged forever, although Garner said eastern style came first. The state's tourism division even conducted an online poll in 2002. Thousands of votes were cast, with eastern winning by a snout, although the head of the Lexington visitors bureau demanded a recount.
The pupils of Friedberg Elementary School in west-central North Carolina fired up the fight innocently enough in February when they decided to undertake a civics project. They could have studied the state tree, the state bird or the state fish. They chose food.
They wrote letters to lawmakers asking that the one-day Lexington event, one of Travel & Leisure magazine's Top 10 food festivals, be named the "state food festival."
Two lawmakers obliged, but when the bills were filed, they mistakenly called for Lexington's event to become the "state barbecue festival."
The damage was done.
"Remind lawmakers that while our humble pig may not get the publicity Lexington gathers from the lying Yankee press, we still put on a pretty good show," columnist Dennis Rogers, a protector of eastern-style, wrote in The News & Observer of Raleigh.
The High Point Enterprise defended the western style, calling it barbecue from "a lean, filet of pork shoulder in Lexington, not all of Old McDonald's pig."
From there, the students' lesson became political. A House committee recommended the festival receive the state designation last month, but the bill ended up in another committee. In the Senate, the bill has been stuck in committee since it was filed.
"I don't really expect that the bill will be heard," said one of its sponsors, Sen. Stan Bingham, a Republican from the Lexington style's home turf of Davidson County.
Bingham denies the bill was meant to say Lexington-style barbecue tastes better than eastern style. "It's just indicating that 150,000 people come to Lexington for the festival," he said, somewhat unconvincingly.
That's what the Friedberg children say as well. And they manage to say it without an arched eyebrow in the bunch.
"I wish we could all get along," said 10-year-old James Lumley.
Then he gets down and dirty.
"I know that we all think western is better than eastern," he said, pointing around the table at three friends, "and I think western is better."
Garner gives the nod to western-style barbecue on two counts: its aficionados have done a better job of sticking to pit-cooked barbecue than their eastern counterparts, who have no big barbecue festival comparable to Lexington's.
But Garner believes it is heresy to pass a bill that essentially gives western-style the imprimatur of being the best.
"I just think it would be a shame to set up either eastern or Lexington as the official thing when it's all about the friendly debate."
I just went to a place in Wilmington called Carolina BBQ. It is a buffet-style restaurant with BBQ, seafood, and tons of sides and desserts. I stuffed myself with eastern-style, shrimp, and hush puppies - all for just $6.
UNSWEET Tea is tannin water.
Ooo, nice.
Does that say "Barbecutie" below the grill? Heh.
Although I'm from N.C., I much prefer good Texas beef brisket to either of the pork BBQs.
""Barbecutie""
Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't notice it before :-)
Don't forget the cobbler thread. Nothing beats riding your motorcycle through the Applachian mountains stopping only to sample the cobbler at every roadside restaurant.
I guess I'll throw out a heresey of sorts... I love all kinds of barbecue, as long as the practioner is passionate about his or her craft. To say that one is "the best" is like trying to claim that one variety of wine is superior to all others.
Remember the Eastern Air Lines jet that crashed at Charlotte in 1974. The pilot's last words were, "Well, there's Carowinds [amusement park]. Now, if we can only find the airport ..."
There used to be a place in KC that would cook their steaks over a mesquite fire. YUM!!!!
Mark
Have you ever parboiled your ribs before smoking them? I tried it a long time ago, and it got rid of a lot of the fat, and they came out really tender.
Mark
I like those ribs....the BBQ looks good to ; )
I alway's pre-boil them! Learned that when I worked in a restaraunt as a kid.
I don't really know much about that accident, as it was three years shy of my first solo.
Accident Description: "The aircraft crashed while attempting to land at the Charlotte/Douglas International AIrport in fog. Pilot Error."
DC-9, 70 dead, 12 survivors.
The fog can get quite dense there, with a ground visibility that's forever, and really solid defined fog layer. I watched Rusty Wallace's N500RW King Air do two missed approaches late one night. His pilot Bill had his wheels hanging thru as clear as could be but yet he couldn't see the runway. He's very professional and even though we told him his position he went up to Concord instead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.