Followin' the NC BBQ Trail

A few months ago, I wrote about the NC Barbecue Trail, and I just wanted to write a quick update, because I recently visited Hursey's Bar-B-Q again in Burlington and have a more current opinion on where it belongs on my list.  See below.

1. Allen & Son Barbecue, Chapel Hill
2. The Barbecue Center, Inc., Lexington

3. Bridges Barbecue Lodge, Shelby

4. Hursey's Bar-B-Q, Burlington

Hursey's is an institution in Burlington, so naturally I expected top-notch barbecue.  I wouldn't go so far in saying that I was disappointed, but it wasn't the best I've had.  Definitely worthy of being on the trail, though.  The meat had nice texture and moistness, but the sauce was a bit sweet for my liking.  The Brunswick stew was spot on, though.  It had a generous serving of meat, and the soup held its own quite well.  I've had runny and watered-down Brunswick stew before, and this one was far from that.  The slaw and mac & cheese weren't much to write about, though.  Hushpuppies were above average.  I finished the meal off with some peach cobbler a la mode, and it was ok - the cobbler was a little bready, but it still tasted good.  Definitely worth a stop if you're ever in the Burlington area.  Driving on I-40, you're bound to spot the billboard to direct you to a good meal.

5. Stamey's Barbecue, Greensboro
6. Lexington Barbecue, Lexington

goodbye summer!

summer has gone by so quickly! I guess it's really over, since the official 1st day of Autumn was last week. and the cooler weather and all the ads on TV certainly speak to that. 

goodbye summer 2011...

The Bubbles, Acadia National Park

Portland Head Light, Maine

best taro bun I've ever eaten, Boston MA

delish xiao long bao, Flushing NY

yummy blueberries, Chapel Hill NC :)

aren't figs beautiful and so intricate? God is so creative!

what a great summer it has been. 

but with Autumn comes butternut squash, apple pies, the state fair, colorful foliage, and thanksgiving! :D

Followin' the NC BBQ Trail

North Carolina is known for their barbecue - so much so that there's a North Carolina Barbecue Society that has come up with an NC BBQ Trail.  The trail highlights restaurants that: (1) cook their meat on pits fueled by wood or charcoal, (2) make their own sauce, (3) have had their pit in operation for 15 or more years, and (4) have stinkin' good barbecue.  Here's the full list of the restaurants on the trail.  It's been a goal of mine to eat at all the restaurants on the list.  So far I've only eaten at six (of the 24).  Of the six I've eaten at, I really only remember well the barbecue at five.  And so of the five, I've decided to rank the places based on how much I liked their food.  I left out Hursey's Barbecue in Burlington, because it was a while since I've eaten there and did not want that to skew my judgment.  So without further ado, my (running) list of restaurants from the NC BBQ Society Historic Trail.



1. Allen & Son Barbecue, Chapel Hill

I wrote about this in a previous post, and Allen & Son Barbecue in Chapel Hill is still my gold standard when it comes to NC Barbecue.  They pack in the perfect combination of texture (tender, juicy, but firm enough so it's not mush) and flavor (smoky, vinegary goodness) in their pulled pork.  I have yet to taste barbecue that I enjoyed more.  Their hushpuppies are also one-of-a-kind - crunchy exterior with a light yet sweet and starchy inside - incredibly tasty.  Their cole slaw is standard - nothing too special there.  But the quality of barbecue easily puts Allen & Son at the top of my list.

2. The Barbecue Center, Inc., Lexington

Lexington is the self-proclaimed barbecue capital of the world.  The Bar-B-Q Center definitely helps legitimize that statement.  To give a little background, Tina and I went to Lexington Barbecue first, and was rather disappointed with what we got (see below).  But I decided to give the town of Lexington another shot, and the Bar-B-Q Center did not disappoint.  While I'm used to eastern-style barbecue, I really enjoyed the flavors of this barbecue.  It still had vinegar in it, but had more of a tomato base with some peppery-ness.  Very tasty.  The texture was near perfect as well - nice mix of tender juicy meat and occasional "crust" (what I like to call it).  I think I prefer the red cole slaw served in the western part of the state - it's a red slaw with vinegar, some ketchup, and black pepper, so it's a lot less creamy and a bit tangier than the white slaw, which I like.  Bar-B-Q Center served solid slaw.  Their hush puppies were also pretty good.  Even though I had just eaten a meal from Lexington Barbecue, the meal I had at Bar-B-Q Center was still delicious.  Just imagine what it would have tasted like if I were starving (because you know that things taste so much better when you're super hungry).

3. Bridges Barbecue Lodge, Shelby

On my way to Charlotte from Asheville, I decided to stop by Shelby to check out Bridge's Barbecue Lodge. It was a pretty good meal.  The barbecue was not bad - tomato-based, but still with a little bit of vinegar in it.  I enjoyed the extra sauce they provided with the meat - otherwise, the meat would have been a bit dry.  The highlight for me was the slaw.  Similar to Bar-B-Q Center, Bridge's served red slaw, and it was especially peppery - the tangy-ness it had went really well with the meat.  It's probably some of the best slaw I've ever had.  The hush puppies were standard, as were the baked beans.  Overall, a good place to have a quality barbecue meal.

4. Stamey's Barbecue, Greensboro

Tina took me to Stamey's because it was the place to go for barbecue in Greensboro.  The barbecue was alright - a little too mushy for my liking.  The flavoring was not bad, but I couldn't get over the texture, which is why Stamey's got bumped down on the list.  The hush puppies were pretty good, but the slaw wasn't that memorable.  I'd like to think there's a better place for barbecue in the Greensboro area, but it's still on the Barbecue Trail, which counts for something in my book.

5. Lexington Barbecue, Lexington

Tina and I both believe that Lexington Barbecue has caught what we call the "Food Network Syndrome."  We've found that when places become super famous, either through Food Network or other media, they either raise their prices and become overpriced, or the quality of the food decreases significantly, or both.  Prime examples - Mama Dip's in Chapel Hill and The Pit in Raleigh.  Lexington Barbecue is supposed to be the place to eat barbecue in North Carolina, if not the country - it's featured in near all the articles I've read about NC Barbecue.  So naturally, I had very high expectations.  Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.  I'd like to say it's because of my high expectations, but honestly, it would not have been good barbecue even if I had low expectations.  The meat was dry and tough.  There was hardly any sauce or juices in the actual meat.  And the sauce they provided was more like liquid ground black pepper in a bottle - it only made the meat taste more peppery, which was not too pleasant.  Their slaw was underwhelming, and their hush puppies were not impressive.  There was very little redeeming value in this meal.  Plus, it was the most expensive of all the meals on this list.  Maybe I just don't get it.  But I won't be coming back to Lexington Barbecue.  If I'm in Lexington and want some barbecue, I'll be going to Bar-B-Q Center without hesitation.

If I Could Only Eat 5 Foods... (#1) + Honorable Mentions

And my #1 food that I would eat if I could only eat 5 foods...

1.  Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs (Cha Shao Pai Gu)
And I don't mean just any ribs from anywhere.  I'm talking about the ones my mom makes.  I don't have a photo of them, unfortunately, but you can just imagine.  Ribs marinated for days in the cha shao sauce - a smoky, sweet, delicious flavor - so that the flavor truly penetrates into the meat.  The ribs are cooked and basted every 30-45 minutes so there's a nice crusty exterior and juicy interior.  She seriously makes the best Chinese BBQ ribs - and I don't think it's because of my bias.  I haven't tasted better - period.  You really just have to try it to believe it.

Not in its ideal form, this was some Chinese BBQ Pork from Ting Wong Restaurant in Chinatown in Philadelphia.

So that's it - my top 5.  There were many things that got shafted, so I decided to put together a quick "honorable mentions list."  Here it is, in no particular order:

Lamb - just because it is the most inherently-delicious meat.  I like it on a stick or in a gyro.

Shaved Ice - especially with condensed milk, red beans, mung beans, and mochi

Da Bao - Steamed Bun with deliciousness inside - usually ground pork with some type of greens, a quail egg and a Chinese sausage

Sun Chips - I could eat these all day.

If I Could Only Eat 5 Foods... (#2)

2.  Red Bean Steamed Bun

Red bean bun from a pastry shop in Taiwan.  This one had mochi as well, which was different, but not bad.

This is basically the perfect combination of things I love eating.  Chinese steamed buns + red bean.  I like pretty much any kind of Chinese steamed bun - stuffed with ground meat, Chinese sausages, vegetables, eggs, scallions, taro, milk powder, or nothing at all - it's all so good.  But in my mind, the ultimate steamed bun is one with red bean paste (and preferably with actual red beans as well) in the middle.  The bun is soft, fluffy, and slightly chewy, while the red bean paste with red beans are sweet, not too heavy, and just pure delicious. Hands down my favorite dessert / pastry (although shaved ice is up there as well) - I could eat red bean buns all day long and my stomach would be very happy.

If I Could Only Eat 5 Foods... (#3)

3.  Honey Roasted Crunchy Peanut Butter

Ashamedly, I don't have a photo of me and peanut butter, so I created this picture using Paint (yeah I'm not even good enough to use Photoshop).  I'm not sure what it is about peanut butter that makes it so delicious to me.  I enjoy the crunch (I am definitely a crunchy guy - I like my textures in my food), I like the creaminess of the "butter" part, and peanuts are yum - so it really just makes a great combination.  And a few years ago, I discovered honey roasted crunchy peanut butter, which pretty much put me over the top with regards to peanut butter consumption.  I'm a sucker for sweet things (so far, all of my foods have been sweet), so it's easy to imagine why I inhale this stuff.  I think I go through a normal 16 ounce jar of peanut butter in about 2-3 weeks on average.  I am mainly a PB&J guy, but peanut butter cookies are my favorite type of cookie, and I like slopping some PB on my banana or just eating a spoonful of it.  In fact, I think I'm going to have some right now!

If I Could Only Eat 5 Foods... (#4)

4.  Gala Apples

Gala apples in a Walmart in China - they cleverly posted stickers on their apples so words would appear on the skin.

Like soymilk, apples are a staple food for me.  It's hard for me to wake up in the mornings and not want an apple.  It's almost become habit - the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" has really struck a chord with me, I guess.  Honestly, I think it's because I became convinced (probably through my parents) that apples help with your digestion and helps clear out your system, making you more regular.  It might be psychological, but I'm usually pretty regular, and I attribute a lot of that to my daily apple.  Gala is my favorite of all the apples, although I do enjoy Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious apples.  Red delicious are my least favorite, probably because it tastes least like an apple and most like grainy junk.  I like my apples crunchy, sweet, and somewhat juicy, which explains why I like the apples I like.

If I Could Only Eat 5 Foods... (#5)

I was recently presented with the question from a classmate: "If you could only eat 5 foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?"  Granted, this is a totally impractical question, it's still fun to think about what foods you absolutely love to eat and couldn't go without.  After much thinking (literally 2 weeks of just thinking about this question and constantly revising my list), I think I've come to a final top 5 list.  I'll be posting them for the next few days (in ascending order of importance).  Feel free to comment with your own top 5 list - I'll have to warn you, though - it takes a bit of time to think about it.  Here it goes.

5.  Soymilk

Cup of soymilk at a small restaurant called Yong He Dou Jiang in Shanghai, China.  They sold good breakfast / snack food.

Soymilk is simply a staple in my diet - it's a drink I can have pretty much at any time of the day.  But I do particularly enjoy it with my breakfast, whether it be with my bowl of cereal, accompanying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with some sao bing / you tiao (Chinese breakfast foods), with some other Chinese pastry, or just by itself, it's just a delicious drink that always seems to hit the spot.  Plus, you can drink it hot OR cold and it still tastes just as good.  Of course, I prefer the Chinese variety, probably because it's sweeter and it's what I grew up drinking.  I was so happy when I found out that they sold a cup of soymilk on the streets of China for 1.5 yuan or less (about 15 to 20 US cents).

Cup of soymilk from the streets of China - I want to say this is in Shanghai.

Tina Visits Asheville

Our 2 year anniversary was last weekend, and since I was in Asheville, Tina came to visit and spend our anniversary in the NC mountains like we did last year.  We went to the small town of Burnsville because Tina found a Living Social deal for a bed and breakfast there - Nu Wray Inn.  It was a nice historic building in the center of town, and we stayed in the Elvis Room, because legend has it that Elvis stayed in that building when he visited Burnsville back in the day.

This was our breakfast, which was french toast croissants with various local berries.  It was very rich and kind of heavy, but I liked the unique concept - I'd never think to french toast a croissant!

We then climbed Mount Mitchell.  It wasn't a crazy feat, because you can actually drive to the top.  We drove to the visitor center which was about 2 miles from the summit and hiked the remaining 2 miles up to the top.  It was a strenuous hike, but we had a good time.  The highest point east of the Mississippi!

We then went to Crabtree Falls - a 70-ish foot waterfall.  The trailhead began right off the parkway and was a 1.5-mile hike to the falls.  Well worth it!

Dinner was spent at Salsa's in downtown Asheville.  We got the Ultimate Molcajete, which was basically grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp in a lava rock bowl with some vegetables (peppers, onions, cabbage).  The meat was nice and smoky (almost like the kebabs on the streets of China), and there was goat cheese on top, which added a nice depth to the flavors.  It was humongous and we both split one and were satisfied.  I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp.

On another note - if you have Spotify, you should friend me!  If not, you should get it - it's a music streaming program (like Grooveshark) that allows you to see what your friends are listening to.

Trip Down The East Coast

From Maine, we stopped in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. on the way down to NC.  Of course, we spent a lot of time eating food.  Here are some photos.

Whole Wheat Honey Nut with Apricot and Date bread and a lemon blueberry pudding cake from When Pigs Fly Bakery in Boston.  Their bread was really good.

Pho at Pho Pasteur in Chinatown Boston.  It was a much-needed delicious meal after a long morning walking the Freedom Trail.

Tina and her Banh Mi from some small store near Pho Pasteur in Chinatown Boston.

Of course, dan ta.  Chinatown Boston.

They were staging a mock Revolutionary War in Boston Common since it was July 4th weekend.  It reminded me of the time we did this in paintball and how stupid I felt.  But I guess that's how they fought back then.

Tina eating a flower ball thing in Boston Public Gardens.

Me eating a da bao from Chinatown Boston.  Mine was much yummier.

Pistachio cannoli from from Mike's Pastries.

Stopped off at Frank Pepe's Pizzeria in New Haven, CT and got to meet up with Faith for a little bit.  Their white clam pizzas are super legit.  Some of the best pizza I've ever had.

Breakfast in Flushing, NY.  Nom.

Breakfast continued in Flushing, NY.  I think this was dried fish with taro chok.

Took my parents to the underground in Flushing, NY.  Got the dumplings and bao zi.

And of course, xiao long bao from Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao.

Tina found out about this meat-on-a-stick stand in Flushing, so I went to check it out.  Super duper good.  I got lamb meat with spicy stuff on a stick.

And that concludes my travels up and down the east coast this summer.  It was a good time filled with great travels, delicious food, and just straight fun.  Thanks to the 3 of you that actually followed me on this blog.  :-) Next stop.. Asheville!

Wrapping Up in Maine (Food)

As promised, here are the highlights of the food we had during our final week in Maine.

This is a whoopie pie.  I think it originated in Maine, and is also Maine's "official state treat."  This particular whoopie pie is from The Friar Bakehouse in Bangor, and was voted best whoopie pie in Maine by someone somewhere at sometime.  Needless to say, it was pretty good.  It was very very very sweet - so much so that I couldn't eat the whole thing at once - but what I had was pretty good.  It was basically a big oreo, but the cookies were softer and the filling was a little lighter.

Tina and I visited Gifford's for ice cream.  I was surprised there was such thing as a World Dairy Expo and even more surprised that I was never invited to one.  Anyways, we split two scoops of Maine Wildberry (essentially lots of berries mixed with vanilla ice cream) in a waffle cone.  It was delicious.  Just not as good as Maple View (which still stands as the best ice cream I've ever had).

In Bar Harbor, we went to Cafe This Way, and Tina ordered the Pecan Crusted Halibut, which everyone agreed was the best dish out of the four of our dishes that night.  They did a good job with the pecan crusting, and the fish was tasty too.

We also visited the Thirsty Whale in Bar Harbor.  It was mainly bar food - pretty decent bar food, though - but the highlight was the clam chowder.  I didn't get an extensive sampling of clam chowder while in Maine (maybe 3 or 4 different bowls), but this one was the best.  Not too heavy like a lot of chowders I've had, but still chock-full of clams and potatoes.

We ate at The Chart Room near Bar Harbor, which had awesome views (it was right by the water).  Tina ordered the haddock, which is a fish I had never heard of before coming to Maine.  It's a nice, tender and flaky fish, and it became my go-to fish at any meal.

Dysart's Restaurant in Bangor - it's a truck stop restaurant with a unique feel.  Almost like a Cracker Barrel but it's literally in a gas station.  It wasn't a dingy or sketchy place, either - it felt like a family restaurant.  Anyways, the Hot Thanksgiving Sandwich was pure awesome.  Chopped turkey meat and stuffing inside two slices of bread, covered in gravy with a side of cranberry sauce.  Each bite was literally melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  I also got a side of poutine - french fries with melted cheese and gravy on top.  My first time ever trying poutine - not bad.

I heard too many good things about the pies at Dysart's, so I had to try their blueberry pie a la mode.  Even though I was incredibly stuffed from the thanksgiving sandwich and poutine, I made room for the pie and it was definitely worth it.  Surprisingly enough, it was the only time I had blueberry pie while in Maine, and it was a good place to have it.  FYI: blueberry pie is the "official state dessert" of Maine - not to be confused with the state treat, which is whoopie pie.

My parents went to Canada for a few days, and on their way back, they picked up some fresh lobster and clams for dinner.  Like most of the other seafood we had in Maine, it was so fresh and delicious.  No more words to say than that.  These pictures tell most of the story.  Credit Tina for taking these last three.

Yummy lobster.  :-)

Lobster tail meat.

The food in Maine will be missed - particularly all the seafood.  But seeing as how I put on a few pounds during my month in Maine, it's probably better that I'm back in NC for a while.