Well, we’ve been immersed in Sowuth Cahrolinah culture for 2 days now. Last night, we were invited to the rehearsal dinner at Jakie’s Barbeque. Being from Texas, I was really excited. Barbeque is one of my favorite food groups!
As I walked down the buffet line, I kept looking for the meat. It was obvious their selections were incomplete. I mean, there was no BEEF! How can a self-respecting barbeque shop, especially one written up in USA Today, not serve real barbeque?
Finally, I got through the buffet, having decided I could live with pulled pork and something that looked like it got ground up in a food processor on steriods. I think they call it hash. It was ground up pork. They even had one dish where this hash was mixed in with rice. Never saw such a thing before.
Arriving at my table with this “pretend” barbeque, I started looking for the sauces. There were two. One was mustard masquerading as barbeque sauce. The other was vinegar with a similar pretention of being barbeque sauce. I mean, where is the Bodacious Barbeque sauce when you need it?
But as I looked around, others were chowing down on this “barbeque”, squirting the pretend sauces. I guess they just do things different here in the palmetto state. I decided to call it a cross-cultural experience. It made the “barbeque” and “sauce” taste better!
LOL! Silly Texan!
To be honest, I don’t like the mustard base sauce. Most of the sauce I grew up on in SC was ketchup-based and sweet with a little kick. Probably what you’re used to. I’m okay with the vinegar-based sauce, but that’s really more NC, not SC.
Now, as for pork or beef…well, all I can say is we’re just going to have to disagree. I think beef bbq isn’t good. Only pulled pork for me!
Now I know you’re in Florence…did you get any shrimp-n-grits? That’s more in Charleston though.
Keith,
I’ll have to go with Rob on this one … having grown up about 30 miles from Florence, pulled pork is barbeque (or actually BBQ, I’m not sure it’s actually ever spelled out in SC). Hving moved to Michigan 10 years ago now, I miss my pulled pork, hash and rice and hushpuppies (with sweet tea, of course).