A Yankee's Observation of the South: Food

As it is proving to be a large part of life down here,

my first observational post of the South is about Food...

1. Chain Game: I have never seen so many chain restaurants in a 10 mile radius in my entire life. From KFC, to Bojangles, to Chiles, to Checkers... Greenville has every chain restaurant known to man... makes me feel a little sick...
2. Farm Fresh: To counter the fast-food revolution in Greenville, the county has a WONDERFUL farmer's market... really one of the best ones I've been to in the states (the ones in MD are just too overpriced). It is so amazing, I'll be writing a separate post about it later!
3. Fry me home: Everything you order comes with something fried... fried hush puppies, fried corn bread/corn sticks, fried potatoes, and fried okra. My arteries are searching for an exit strategy.
4. All things meat: It would be hard to be a veg-head here. Meals aren't meals without a large portion of some sort of animal. Not only is the meat the main attraction, it usually takes up 2/3s of the plate. This meal was from Uncle Yammy's Ribs... beef brisket and Yammy's chicken. (Note the fried corn sticks (top left) and fried okra in the picture!)
   
5. Royal Pigs: The south isn't good for a kosher diet either. Pork is the meat of the south. We drove towards Raleigh a few days ago (to go to Trader Joe's for our organic, preservative free products... ha!) and drove past a sign that read "Take the next exit and visit our Pork Center!" As if a center of pork isn't bad enough, who was inviting us? A cute little pig, his little red tongue sticking out, balancing a large crown on his head. We are admist royalty here!
6. NC BBQ: I am learning that barbeque is nothing to mess around with down here. Maybe it's because the pig is king or maybe it's because it is just that good. Eastern Carolina barbeque is vinegar based and is becoming a fast favorite. The whole hog is cooked slowly over coals, chopped up and laced with slightly salty, slightly spicy sauce. I don't take it as seriously as the locals, but I do like it. The texture and saltiness reminds me of kalua pig in Hawa'ii... YUM! Somehow I've failed to get a pic of the bbq we've eating... this one will have to do (what we've had looked better than this, though).
7. Mean, Lean Grilling Machine: I'm not sure if #7 has much to do with the South as it's more about our love affair with grilling. Fellow apartment dwellers can commiserate I'm sure. When you live in an apartment, the opportunity to cook outdoors is either limited or.... illegal (silly fire codes....) so we have always coveted our parent's grills, barbecuing any chance we could. Our new place boasts 6-8 grills on the premises, most near the pools. Tongs, lighter and full propane tanks are even included!

We've grilled every meal this week, including dessert....
let's just say I'm not a huge fan of grilled cantaloupe!