spoon's bbq

for the past several weeks, i've been wanting some good barbeque.  i had gotten the desire a month or two back, and the bbq place i ate at in anderson, sc, just didn't do the trick.  then i remembered having gotten bbq way back in the day from a place down on south boulevard (in charlotte):  spoon's barbeque.  it's eastern nc style pork with a tradition in bbq that goes back to the 1960s...if they've been around for 50 years, they have to have something going for them!

i had thought about it one day and mentioned it in passing to my mother.  apparently the desire for good pork barbeque is contagious because she stopped by spoon's while she was in town to pick some up for herself.  sadly for mom, the retaurant was closed for vacation that particular weekend.  and luckily for me, i happened to talk to her (and learned about their schedule) before driving down to get some.

today, though, i was down visiting some friends in the northern part of charlotte, and i figured it was a perfect opportunity to get some pork goodness.  they were open, and it was wonderful.  you know you're in the south when the sweet tea is done right, and that's just the start.  then you get the hushpuppies; some places have the spectacular quiet dogs, and i'll admit that spoon's isn't one of them.  but they're nicely browned and crunchy, and they work well for dipping in the brunswick stew.

said stew is also pretty good, and that's next to the cole slaw (which i normally don't eat, but this was sweet and crunchy and rather good) and the pork itself.  most important is the sauce.  i'd forgotten how much i like the vinegar-based sauce on the pork.  particularly, i like how the vinegar evaporates off the hot pork for the first couple bites, and you just inhale it.  granted, it makes me cough, but i likes it.

so yeah, i got a nice lunch today...and brought home some pork bbq, some brunswick stew, and some sauce for later.  i'll have to wander back again!