Keep Your Hand On That Plow

Keep Your Hand On That Plow
Keep Your Hand On That Plow

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Deep South Dispatch: Hog Heaven Barbecue in the News

One of my favorite Deep South Barbecue joints gets some love along and along in the news. This time its the New York Times recognizing the place. Located on US 17 just south of the town of Pawley's Island give Hog Heaven great visibility.

If memory serves this place began as a very modest establishment in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The creator was an African American chef who's name escapes me. He did strictly take-out back than. He retired and sold it. The new owners added on the building to create a sit-down space. Then they added on an al fresco oyster bar in the back. Then they enclosed that space and added a new tiki oyster bar to the back.



Hog Heaven facade
I know it's the twenty-first century and I know I am old school, but its hard to accept that a barbecue place has its own website. I will overcome this and eat there again soon tho'.

The bottom line on Hog Heaven is that they have a good chopped pork, fine ribs, and they serve hash with rice which sets them apart as real lowcountry barbecue in my book.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Deep South Dispatch: Madeira Still Getting Love

Madeira wine has been a long standing interest of mine.


I had not heard about this curious wine until I was reading some wine lists written by southern planters in the nineteenth century. I had to look it up after seeing is appear in multiple collector's lists. That happy accident led me on a number of additional fun and even tasty experiences. For a host of reasons - largely coming down to supply of the wines and the harder to track, but likely change in American tastes in wine - madeiras suffered a loss of status. In recent years they have enjoyed some renewed attention as seen in this recent piece in the Birmingham News (AL).

As the piece points out, Manny Berk of the Rare Wine Company has done more than anyone in the US to promote madeira over the past twenty years. Once I partook in a madiera tasting run by Berk and it is a great memory.

If you've never tried madeira give it a taste.