Q Tour

This entry is dedicated to our dearest friends Wendy and Linda.

We essentially just spent the last 24 hours with the girlzzz. Friday night we all hunkered down in the RV over some beers. Linda insist that we become a little more inclusive of the integral part that beer has to play with BBQ. So, of course, they walk in with 2 jugs of brew. Green Man Brewing Company- we sampled the pale ale and the IPA. I’m pretty sure the IPA was the clear winner. After blathering for a bit, we decided that the best course of action for Saturday would be a small hike nearby- I mean we are completely surrounded by national forest. There was also promises of Linda’s homemade beef jerky and fruit and cheese on this lovely hike that we were going to take.
We were picked up around 10 and drove back towards Asheville . Wendy was driving, Linda navigating. They are champions of this dance, mind you. But, for some reason, Linda was talking and we were talking and 26 East was really supposed to be 26 West, and are we supposed to be on 240, or was that supposed to be the Blue Ridge Parkway- oh jesus- let’s just drive into town and get some coffee, then decide. Well, for those of you who know us, then you know where this day is headed. Shop shop, so Wendy could spend that birthday money that is burning a hole in her pocket….and then on to the Bier Garden …of course.
Meanwhile, Pola and Hayward have zipped down the road to do a bit of due diligence in Maggie Valley .

They were having their 4^th Annual Western NC BBQ festival- Whaaaaa? Had we known about it, we would have planned accordingly. So mom and dad went down and did some scouting around for us. There were tales of grand rigs and Green Eggs and mega smokers- but no tastings. Mom did manage to chat with a gentleman who owns Keifer’s BBQ- where a lot of the proceeds go to Joan Roberts Foundation for Ovarian Cancer- Joan was his mom who lost her battle to Ovarian a few years ago.
OK, so you’re probably wondering, what’s on the list for Q today? Well Asheville is not the hot bed of BBQ- liberal artsy tree huggin organic weirdos, yes, BBQ enthusiasts, not so much. But we did manage to find Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ. The unique thing about this stop was the plethora of sauces that Ed had to offer. The meats were definitely the accompaniment to the sauces. There was Texas Two Step, Voodoo, Mississippi Mud, Kentucky Black, Rebel Uprising, Memphis Red, Lexington, Mole Poblano, Rajun Cajun, Ed’s Original Creole and on and on. We sampled all of the sauces before our meals arrived- which was ridiculous- because it was all about the marriage of the meat with the sauce. I think the clear winner(for me) with the ribs was the Rebel Uprising (mustard, vinegar, onions and chipotle). Everyone had their own faves, but I think the Memphis , Rebel and the Texas Two Step were definite pleasers. We will provide more conclusive data on tastings, evaluations, etc later. I’ll leave that up to T.

We came back to the RV after rolling out of Ed’s- we’re going to have to manage the moderation thing better. The Girlzzz packed the fiddle, the guitar and the mandolin and we got a JAM session. What a sweet sweet treat- sitting in a room with the people you love listening to the song of birds flowing out of the fiddle. We then had to say goodbye to our good friends, which is always so sad for us all. Happy Birthday, our dear sweet Wendy- be good to yourself today.
At the moment, I’m tucked on the pull out with Terry and mom- under blankets- with books- ordering dad around to get us coffee. Dad’s only complaint this morning was that someone put the toilet paper on backwards, well if that’s all we had to worry about, then shit. We are headed north today towards Boone and Johnson City . I think there are 3 joints on the list today.
Now it gets serious.

Nugget:

This little nugget is from mom- sorry mom- you gotta watch what you say.
I was trying to get into the drawers under the pull out. Mom made these nifty little drawers out of plastic buckets that had matching cushion facades on them- they were real cute. Anyway, I was having trouble pulling one of them out and mom says “Sorry, those were kind of Afro-engineered”. I suppose I should get used to my jaw dropping on this trip.

Other Beers to note: HIghland Brewing Company, Linda- you'll have to comment on the rest (Pisgah, Catawba, etc)

There is something about waking up in the Colorado mountains and taking in a big fresh crisp breath.

It’s light and sweet, and well, airy.

I was walking around here the other night and consciously took in a deep breath of Asheville mountain air.

It was different, yet very familiar. The mountain air here is earthy, almost tangible.

I am soaked in the soil and the trees.

It feels grounding.

And I feel peaceful.

Well it’s 7:30. We are rolling through the Cherokee National Forest (also part of the Blue Ridge Parkway) heading towards Asheville . The sun is setting on this dense forest- that blue gray green forest- so thick you couldn’t cut it with a pinto bean fart. Mom is a stealth captain, for sure- I had no doubt- but she is SO little and this rig is SO big. So far, Pola and Hayward are playing well together in the pit- seamless teammates- for now. We arrived around 3 this afternoon. In this short 4 ½ hours, we have already consumed Chic-fil-A, a piece of blueberry pineapple crisp (that was still warm when we arrived at the house to pick up mom), ribs, pulled pork, Brunswick stew, cole slaw, texas toast, a bite of red velvet cake- and if that isn’t enough- I’m eyeing the boiled peanuts that are sitting in the sink. Did I mention that it's only 7:30?

Due to the fact that we were running late coming out of ATL, I thought we would need to forego any Q for the day, given we were supposed to make it to Asheville by sundown. Not 15 miles outside of Clarkesville, mom says “do we need to stop at Oinkers in Clayton?”, “Is it good?”, “Yeah, they have great ribs”, “Well of course we have to stop”. We discovered a few things to note on this first stop. 1) What time do you open? 2) Do you have room for an RV-one that we can’t back up.

Oinkers is of course a humble little log cabin-esque joint with rocking chairs lining the façade, to-go window and scores of overweight people filing in- filing out.Neal Crump- owner and smoker- runs out of his ribs by around 8. So get while the gettins good. Mom wasn’t kidding, the ribs were perfect. Hickory smoked but not too smoky- not sure how that’s attainable considering hickory is a pretty intense wood. Terry suggested that Neal probably just showed the racks to the wood- never leaving them long enough to court one another. Regardless, the pork was succulent, slid right off the bone with a nice marriage of tangy and sweet. The sauce- vinegar based, sweet with a little back of throat warmth.If Tabasco was actually worth a shit, it would taste like that. A bite of rib had to be immediately followed up with the slaw. The slaw, oh this kind of slaw is my favorite. Terry says “You like this kind? But where are the carrots”- Hahaha- as if throwing some color and beta-carotene into the mix was going to matter. The other side, which is always a must for me- when available, is the Brunswick Stew (BS). To anyone outside of the eastern section of the south, BS is relatively unknown. It is basically a tomato based stew with any number of vegetables (carrots, potatoes, lima beans, etc)-the meat can be anything from squirrel to pork (although if I’ve ever eaten tree rat in my stew, I didn’t know about it and don’t need to know about it-some things are better left unspoken). It is cooked down so much that there is barely anything recognizable, except for the corn they throw in for good measure- a little cula, ya know! This BS however, was a bit too much on the side of the tomato- I prefer mine a paler shade of puce.

So, Oinkers, of course this is where we would begin. I have a feeling we can and will live up to that.
We will hopefully meet up with our dear friends Wendy and Linda this evening upon arrival. I’m also hoping to see a sorority sister of mine I hadn’t talked to in 15 years, until 6 months ago. The air is crisp, the sky clear, bellies full (working on expansion), perfect day to start the tour.

I will also be including some nuggets we hear along the way. Some of them will most assuredly come from Dad- so you’ve been warned- he is a good man, but he is a southern man= he don’t know no betta.
Haywardism: “I’ve got Indian shorts on”

Translation : They just keep creeping up on you.

Do you see what we’re working with here. Oy.

One last find for the day- I ran over to the Mobil gas station for some ice when we arrived at the park. On the counter sat “Jerry’s Fried Peanuts”- oh my god. Not just the nut folks, the whole peanut, shell and all.

I didn’t buy any, but now I’m regretting that, so I’ll get some today and report back on Jerry’s nuts.