In March of 1913, massive rainstorms over Easter weekend caused the Miami River to swell and break through the levees built to contain it. Water rushed through downtown Dayton reaching depths of 20 feet. The flood would do $100 million in damage, destroy 20,000 homes and take 360 lives. Miamisburg was devastated with much of the city underwater.
Relief efforts arrived with the Red Cross setting up tent cities to provide shelter to the displaced population. Miamisburg resident Sherman "Cocky" Porter volunteered to try and help feed the people and the relief workers. Trying to feed hundreds of people a hot meal is no easy task, so Porter decided to cook up a huge batch of hamburgers and pass them out to the crowds. They were a hit…
I ate out a lot during my stay in South Carolina. South Carolina is definitely a wonderful food destination. With tons of seafood coming off the coast and wonderful farm-fresh meat and produce coming from the Piedmont, it's hard to go wrong. Unfortunately I didn't plan my meals out as well as I could have, nor did I do my due diligence by really researching the places I ate. These long days have kept me busy and I usually ended up eating wherever was open and grabbing a quick burger or a salad. This is something I hope to correct in Tennessee as I eat in a little more often and save my money and my appetite for some well planned out meals. I did, however, find a few cool places around the state so before I move on, I thought I would share some with you today.
I had some really great seafood up and down the coast. When I was out on Daufuskie Island, I had a plate of fresh fried grouper over jasmine rice with green beans and slaw at Lucy Bell's Cafe. When I tell you it was to die for, I really mean it…
It's been a pretty quiet but fun week out here in western South Carolina. I've been trying to catch up on some things, so that has taken a lot of my time, but I'm almost there. A lot of the week has been spent here in Greenville, one of my new favorite towns, but it's been great to be here. This next week will probably be my last in South Carolina.
I started the week by finishing my latest podcast. The stories are from the eastern part of the state and this one came out pretty well. It tells the story of Vanna White, from Conway, South Carolina and her rise to fame. I talk about the revolutionary war history of the state and how it led to the state flag. It may look like there's a crescent moon on the flag, but there isn't. Then I talk about Francis Marion, the legendary Swamp Fox and how is bad ankles may have saved the Patriot cause in the Revolution. Next was the story of Robert Small. Born a slave, he made a daring escape and dash to freedom during the Civil War and went on to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. We hear about the S.S. Central America and how, when it sunk off the coast of South Carolina...
In any discussion of barbecue, North Carolina likes to describe itself as the "Capital of 'Cue". And when you're talking barbecue in North Carolina, you are talking about one thing and one thing only: pork. Forget the brisket, the chicken, even ribs for that matter, it's all about the hog here in NC.
There are two different schools of thought within the state, and the topic of which is better probably depends on where you are from. In the east, purists focus on cooking the whole hog, whereas western North Carolina 'cue, often called "Lexington Style" is just the shoulder. Eastern barbecue joints also give you a liquidy pepper-vinegar sauce whereas in the west you are more likely to find what most would consider a more traditional barbecue sauce, but still heavy on the vinegar...
During my five weeks in North Carolina, I have had some really wonderful food. It is always great to be back in the south where food is often simple, hearty and delicious. In this post I want to highlight some of the unique, iconic and delicious meals I've had here in North Carolina.
This culinary journey began at Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina. I'll start by saying that North Carolina barbecue is not my favorite. As much as I love pork, it is the beginning and the end in classic North Carolina barbecue joints. There isn't a brisket or a rack of ribs to be found. Then there's the sauce - a sweet liquid pepper-vinegar concoction in the east and the same with some ketchup in it in the west - generally it just doesn't really do it for me. I did find some decent barbecue places in North Carolina, but none even held a candle to Skylight Inn. Skylight Inn was a whole different experience...
I am always up to try new things, especially when it comes to food. One of the places I was most looking forward to trying as I traveled around North Carolina was the Tavern in Old Salem, which offers a traditional Moravian menu. When I finally got to that part of the state and made it to the tavern, I was not disappointed.
The Moravians are an interesting group which trace their history back to Moravia and Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic. Their beliefs stem from the teachings of John Hus, a professor of philosophy and a rector at the University of Prague, who protested certain aspects of the Catholic Church. He would be tried as a heretic and burned at the stake in 1415. His ideas did not die with him and in 1457 in the town of Kunvald, The Moravian Church or Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren) was founded. Seeing as this was 60 years before Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Catholic church in Wittenburg, the Moravians are considered one of, if not the earliest Protestant group...
Okay, so I'm going to cut straight to the chase: I have never really understood why anyone would get excited about Eastern Carolina Barbecue. I mean, I get it, they cook the whole hog, but what difference does that make if the finished product isn't good. Yes, seeing a whole hog being cooked is visually appealing, but we're talking about food here - if the taste isn't there then who cares what the cooking process looks like? And that "sauce" which is vinegar with some pepper flakes floating in it? I don't know which is more unappealing, bland mushy pork or a mouthful of vinegar. I want to like Eastern Carolina Barbecue, but I've always just found it incredibly ordinary. I never really got it, and i have tried it plenty of times. So while I had high hopes for the Skylight Inn, as it is lauded as one of the places to get good Carolina barbecue, I was pretty skeptical about the whole process. It's amazing the difference one meal can make. Not only was this the best Carolina Barbecue I've ever had by far, it was some of the best barbecue period I've ever had...
West Virginia is now behind me, fading away in my rearview mirror, but not in my memory or my heart. I chose West Virginia to start this 4 year journey for a reason. West Virginia is one of the most misunderstood states in the country. People have an image in their head of a bunch of backwoods hillbillies picking their banjos and sipping moonshine from a mason jar. And there is certainly some element of truth to that, but that isn't the whole story. West Virginia is a beautiful place with a wonderful State Park system, some top-notch universities, a deeply proud musical tradition, some fun and vibrant cities and a host of off-the-beaten-track sites, shops and restaurants to enjoy. The people, though maybe a little shy, are kind and friendly and generally very welcoming.
Food is an interesting and underrated form of communication and an essential part of travel. Even if we are cooking for ourselves, regional differences can be spotted in grocery stores from place to place. Things you may have never seen or heard of are piled high and the locals are all grabbing some. Every state has its culinary specialties and must-try delicacies and ideally when you try them they will help you understand the State or region better. Hopefully they’ll be made with local ingredients and you can get a taste for what grows in the area, and there will probably be hints of where the people who make them came from as well. America is and always has been a great melting pot of flavors from around the world and our culinary traditions are ever-shifting. I encourage everyone to be bold when travelling to new places and eat as locally as you can. You know those big national chains will be mediocre at best. Even if you want fast-food, the local option it bound to be better. Use Yelp to sift through them (with a grain of salt obviously, but a 1 or 2 star place is probably that for good reason), or better yet, ask the locals. Here are seven of my favorite meals from the month I spent in West Virginia..
’m going to go right ahead and say it. In the incredible ethnic food scene that stretches across America, the most inevitably disappointing is Italian. I don’t know why this is, but it’s true. Having spent plenty of time in Italy I know how good Italian food is. The Italian-American population is huge, and if you go by their houses you will find amazing dishes in every pot. Why then is it that every time I go to an Italian restaurant I find it so underwhelming? If I order pasta I usually feel as though I could have made better at home in 20 minutes. It’s actually gotten to a point where I won’t even go to an Italian restaurant anymore. This is why Muriale’s in Fairmont, West Virginia was such an amazing find...
Tamarack is an incredible idea executed flawlessly. In their own words, Tamarack's vision is to be "recognized globally as a dynamic catalyst and premiere showcase for all aspects of advancing West Virginia arts, crafts and food products and those who produce or perform them". I don't know what I expected when I walked into Tamarack, but it certainly wasn't what I ended up finding there. People had described it to me as a high end arts and crafts market, but it is so much more than that. Tamarack bills itself as "The Best of West Virginia", and after visiting two days in a row, I can say that slogan much better describes what I experienced there.
Sitting right off Interstate 64 in south-central West Virginia and just outside the town of Beckley, Tamarack may be one of the best ideas I've come across in a long time. It opened its doors in 1996 and has never looked back. Tamarack showcases West Virginia's best artists and craftspeople, but is also a restaurant, a conference center, a community gathering place and a work of art in its own right. As soon as you walk through the door, your senses are enveloped by West Virginia...
