Fiddle as Digestivo
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 4th 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)
