Tarheels Tea and Tobacco!

Friday March 6

By all accounts Buffetbuster owns this trip report. But I've been getting a little rusty. Considering that  I haven't really had the opportunity to really do a trip report since last October and the fact that I don't do a trip report everytime I go to the supermarket, local coffee house or my friend's birthday party, Buffebuster and I agreed that I would take the lead on this one.

In the words of Travelin' Man my flight from TF Green left at "O' Dark 30", literally at 5:30  in the morning which meant I was up at 3:15 am! Unfortunately this is what happens when you save $100 on your flight with priceline. The good thing is I arrived in Raleigh-Durham NC at around 10am.

After getting my insanely cheap rental- a PT Cruiser, I found myself here!




Allen and Sons. It's been too long- 13 months too long. You see, I rarely get Travelin Manned, and when I do, I get angry  .....very angry ....vengefully angry  Well  after seeing that bright orange "open" sign I knew I've been vindicated!

I walked in a little after 11am at the start of lunch hour and there were plenty of empty tables.

After reviewing the menu



The "stew and q" combination caught my attention. What's this? No boiled potatos?!! But this is eastern style "Q". I inquired with the waitress who relayed that the usually offer the boiled potatoes as a special and it is on their catering menu. Ok no boiled potatoes, I can live with that.

I asked for unsweetened iced tea, all they have is "sweet tea" ok, I guess I can live with that too.

These suu-weet crispy hushpuppies arrived first



Hot, crispy crunchy, fresh from the fryer and with a intensely sweet corny flavor, these alone were worth my visit to Allen and Sons.

Then the Q n' Stew  arrived...

 


I'm not sure if I came at the right time, but this Q tasted like it was fresh from the wood burner.  Chopped n Shredded, with just the right texture of dark crunchy and light silky morsels of piggy goodness with just a hint of smoke. The brunswick stew had a nicely thick consistency, slightly sweet with shreds of pork.

I spritzed just a little of the vinegary sauce that was at the table on the pork for a little added depth




After the main meal, I viewed the dessert board and noticed the sign said "yes we have sweet potato pie today" That's all I needed to know so, that's what I ordered..



I was somewhat dismayed by the size of the pie, I thought the serving size was "slight" however the pie offered a rich intense flavor somewhat overpowering with cinammon and nutmeg, but not offensively so. The whipped topping was  nice touch. Overall despite the slight disappointments (no boiled potatos, no unsweetened iced tea and small serving of pie) my first meal was very much a satisfying one.

After lunch, I called Buffetbuster from the parking lot to let him know I arrived safely at Allen and Sons and felt like a huge 13 month long weight....er...I mean wait...was lifted off my  shoulders.

After Lunch I decided to head to head to University of North Carolina  and take a stroll. I'll be the first to admit I'm not one to tour college campuses, it's just not my thing, but It's obvious that Raleigh Durham is "college central"  and as I always say..."when in Rome"...besides it was a beautiful day with temp's hovering around 70 degrees.

I arrived at the Campus



found an open parking meter but realized I had no change, luckily there was about 45 minutes left on the meter so I wandered around amelessly and took pictures of these pretty buildings having no idea what they are.









After walking around obliviously, I had to return to my car before the meter ran out....

My next stop was the Patterson's Mill Country Store in Durham






An interesting mix of an active country store and museum. I spent some time browsing around and enjoying some of the quaint knick-knacks being displayed.





There's even an authentice recreated apothecary



offering not only



liver syrup, but also



cod liver oil- mint flavored too!

and of of course you never know when you may need a crutch.



Here's a couple of folks I ran into...



I guess they were browsing around too!

I was amazed at the abundance of antiquated items..

Old bicycles..



old radios..



and of course being in North Carolina...you can't forget...



Good ol' Aunt Bee's cookbook!

Being the history buff I am, I literally ate this place up...

My next stop was....The Duke Homestead and Museum in Durham



As most of you know, Duke University was named after....well the Duke Family, who were famous Tobacco Magnate family....



I always wondered if they were related to the Dukes of Hazard?

The museum offered a guided tour.....

Raw tobacco was apparently processed in these buildings.







This is where the Duke's resided



And this was their kitchen...


Overall, a very informative tour...

My next stop was Downtown Durham...

Unfortunately I have not yet had the opportunity to see the Triple AAA Durham Bulls, so I thought I would at least catch a glimpse of their ballpark...

The ballpark is located in the American Tobacco Historic District, an area of downtown which is currently undergoing renovation..



This lucky strike smoke stack caught my attention..



And here's Bull Durham




And of course



Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Right about the time I was heading back to my car, Dennis in Cary called. We chatted for a while and I advised of him of my plans for the rest of the day, or at least until Buffetbuster arrived later that evening. He was surprised I survived walking through downtown Durham without being shot. I really didn't think it was that bad...

After our conversation, I was running short on time. I drove around both the west and east campus of Duke University, my final "touristy stop" of the day. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to get out and take some photos....I found it interesting that the two campuses had entirely different styles of architecture. One Georgian, and the other Gothic....

Well...that's it for now... much more to come...

Nice pictures Dale.  I love the Triangle area in general, and the People's Republic of Wake County in specific.  If anybody's interested in the socio-ethnographic perspective, the documentary 'Bright Leaves' by Ross McElwee deals a little with the history of tobacco in North Carolina and what it's left behind.

Curious to see where your boiled potatoes are coming from.  

Nice, thanks for posting and great job on the pics.  I am a huge Duke fan, and try to make it to a couple basketball games each year, however I have never been to Allen and Son's.  It is def. on my list next time I'm nearby.

thanks for the many pics....been a long time since I've been
to Chapel Hill (the southern part of Heaven).

Fabulous food pics!!!

I am not sure that we visited the SAME University of North Carolina.  You did go to the Chapel Hill campus, right? 



I know that the place I went did have some amazing architecture.  This is the Alumni Building.



But, I cannot imagine you could have gone to this campus without taking a photograph of one of the most iconic collegiate structures in all the land.



Maybe you went to the Wilmington campus???

Wonderful report, WJ. My absolute favorite part of the country-I usually get down there about once a year.Havent tried Allen and Sons, though, so that will be a must on my next visit.

TTM-Have been to the Chapel Hill campus, and it is beautiful! Thanks for the pics.

The Travelin Man


I am not sure that we visited the SAME University of North Carolina.  You did go to the Chapel Hill campus, right? 

 

Oh I'm fairly certain it was. It was right in the heart of Chapel Hill. I'm just not big on touring college campuses, it's just not my thing. I had very limited time to walk around anyway.. You know my thing is historical homes,  sites and museums and tacky tourist stuff.

After my quick drive by around duke, I was trying to figure out the best route back to Chapel Hill. I had the worst map and I had no idea where I was. I saw signs for I-40 and ended up going the long way back to Chapel Hill in rush hour traffic.  45 Minutes later I ended up here...




Mama Dip's Country Cooking...

When I spoke with Dennis in Cary, earlier, he recommended the Fried Chicken

Dinner starts out with some warm sweet n grainey cornbread  and of course some Unsweetened Iced Tea




The fried chicken arrived. I chose squash casserole and The Greens of the day which happened to be turnip greens for my sides

 





The fried chicken had a rugged crunchy exterior with a nutty taste that did not detract from the juicy interior. I wish the same could be said for the sides. The squash casserole only faired slightly better than my experience at Swetts last month in Nashville. Either I'm not a fan of Squash Casserole or my taste buds have changed.  I enjoyed the squash casserole I had at The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle GA and Lady and Son's in Savannah much more. Or maybe that wasn't Squash Casserole at all- perhaps it was eggplant casserole? The greens were devoid of flavor, spritzing some vinegar on the greens didn't make for much of an improvement.
As I was enjoying most of my meal, I saw Mama Dip herself engaging in conversation with some of the customers.

For dessert (twice in one day)

Believe it or not...I chose



Sweet Potato Pie- again!!

I wanted to compare the pie to Allen and Sons. First of all the slice was bigger, and the cinammon-nutmeg combination was a little more subtle than the slice I had earlier that day. I think I preferred this slice of pie over the one I had at Allen and Sons, although don't get me wrong- both were good.

After dinner I drove back to Cary and arrived there a little after 7pm. I checked into my ridiculously inexpensive motel which was near the airport.

Just under an hour later, Buffebuster called. He arrived in Raleigh and had just gotten his rental car and was on the way to my hotel to pick me up. (more food!)

For those who know me, I'm usually good with 2 solid meals a day, but now that a pro has joined me, I'm being led on a no holds barred eating frenzy.

Our first stop was The Pit in downtown Raleigh. This is pitmaster Ed Mitchell's new place. The best way I can describe this place is "upscale bbq" in fact this is the first bbq joint I ever went to that offered valet parking!
Unfortunately there was a 45 minute wait and you don't keep a hungry guy like Buffetbuster waiting. So we decided to ditch the place for possible visit later in the evening.

We were off to our next stop in downtown Raleigh..



The Char- Grill, introduced by George Motz in his book "Hamburger America"

After my stellar experience at Stella's in Omaha another establishment included in the book, I figured I could trust Mr. Motz's opinions..

A classic mid century style burger joint with outdoor seating, I new I was in for a treat...




Here is a photo of buffetbuster taking a photo

and here is their menu




We chatted with some people who were waiting in line as we were waiting for our order who were of course amazed that we came all the way to Raleigh-Durham from Pittsburgh and Rhode Island just....to eat!

We also met quite a colorful character who could have been Larry the Cable Guy's long lost cousin...I'll let Buffetbuster elaborate if he chooses to.

I got a cheeseburger loaded with lettuce tomato, onions, pickle, mayo, ketchup and slaw- yes- who would have thought- a slaw burger- I even had the option to add mustard, chili and bacon but I opted not to.



This was a good burger with a nicely char-grilled flavor. Our only complaint was that the burger cooled down quickly.

The fries that came with the burger were ok but nothing special..



After our meal, we left Larry The Cable Guy's lonely cousin, who was still babbling away to himself (or to anyone that would listen to him)

Buffetbuster opted not to return to The Pit which meant that I was going to be deprived of my beer for the evening since all I planned to do was watch... I forgave Buffetbuster for being a light weight and he dropped me off at my hotel and we called it a night. Besides it was  10pm and I had been up since 3:15 am that morning!

much more to to come...
I

What-a-day...I'm very jealous, but keep em comin

WOW.  I am so psyched you went to the Char-Grill; I adore the Char-Grill and not just because you run into colorful folks there.  The folks just get more nutty as the night wears on.

Nancypalooza


WOW.  I am so psyched you went to the Char-Grill; I adore the Char-Grill and not just because you run into colorful folks there.  The folks just get more nutty as the night wears on.

Nancy,

The description of "colorful" certainly fits the guy that was hanging around near Buffetbuster and I.

Saturday March 7

Since Buffetbuster tends to hit his first breakfast at around 6am, and I had to have some much needed beauty sleep, we agreed that we would go our separate ways for breakfast and meet up later on in the morning.

I knew exactly where I was going for breakfast...




Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill.
This place is strictly take out and when I arrived at around 8:30AM, there were already a few cars lined up to give their order.
Buffetbuster has been here before with "Cousin Johnny" and recommended the pork chop biscuit.  I decided to get the country ham n' egg biscuit and the pork chop biscuit. I then parked at the neighboring State Farm office to eat my breakfast.

The biscuits fresh and warm, although the ham had a nice salty taste, it was just way too thin for the biscuit.



The pork chop n egg biscuit on the other hand was thick and substantial, the crispy fried chop enveloped a mild porky interior intertwining harmoniously with the silky soft biscuit



It's definitely a good thing that I don't eat like this every day- This place gets a big thumbs up!

I then headed back to Cary to get my cuppa joe for the day and stopped at a mediocre local coffee house called Crema which is housed in a strip mall. I guess my gripe is that it's pretty sad that the house bend was the darkest roast they had that morning.

At this point I called Buffetbuster who was already on his 2nd or 3rd breakfast. We hooked up a little after 11am and headed back to downtown Raleigh to check out



The Roast Grill

A Greek owned hot dog shop. They specialize in the Carolina Slaw Dog.... and apparently have alot of NC State Memorabilia



We got a couple of sodas served in old fashioned glass bottles.




Buffetbuster decided to "eat light" and got only 2 slaw dogs with everything (chili mustard and onions) I got one dog..

We waited in anticipation while our dogs were being grilled..



And out came the finished product.



The slaw was particularly good. The chili was  not overpowing unlike the weiner sauce that I'm familiar with here in Rhode Island and it complimented the dog quite well.  At the end of the meal the guy at the counter (I'm assuming he's the owner) gave us each a "roast grill" sticker and a couple of complimentary tootsie rolls!

After our snack, we took a short drive to the State Capital only a few short blocks away..



The building itself was somewhat ordinary, and Buffetbuster thinks is probably one of the most boring State Capital Buildings he ever visited..

I did like the cannon on the Capital Grounds..



While we were there we noticed a gathering of folks, many of whom were older bikers with their harleys.  We inquired as to what was going on. If I can recall properly, there is a short ceremony every 1st saturday of the month honoring Vietnam War Soldiers  who are MIA. I thought that was a very honorable and noble gesture...

Here is one last state capital building photo



Buffetbuster consorting with 3 former  presidents all of whom were born in North Carolina- Andrew Jackson, James K Polk and Andrew Johnson..

We were now off to our next stop...

more to come tommorow!

Actually, the thickness of the ham in that biscuit was perfect.  You'd not be able to chew it if it were much thicker.  I will however agree that that's not enough ham.  You need two or three slices for a truly good ham biscuit.  I like it so salty I'm still craving water at lunch time.

What a great report. I enjoyed the report. Neen with family,years ago, to Unc at Greensboro....by the way, that first piece of Swwt potato pie looked like heaven!!

Great report!  Unsweet tea is a must for me.  That chicken looked great.  One of the things I enjoy about your reports is the time you take to explain your surroundings with the local color shots.

JayL


You need two or three slices for a truly good ham biscuit.  I like it so salty I'm still craving water at lunch time.

And I like it slathered with any kind of fruit jelly, but I like red currant especially.

 

Leethebard, that was one good slice of pie- I just wish that the portion was a little bigger-

JayL, you're absolutely right. I've had thicker slices of country ham, but it was obviously on a breakfast plate. An extra slice or two on the biscuit would have done the trick.

Susanll, thanks for the compliment. As an insurance adjuster I'm always documenting claims, sometimes in a very descriptive way. I guess it rubbed off on my trip reports.

wow, you guys just missed a rare event...Bobby Flay popped in on
Ed Mitchell Friday night for a bbq throwdown...ribs.  It will be shown
in the spring.

Mama Dip is a very special Carolinian...she learned to cook as a child
while her family worked the tobacco and farm fields.  Her tiny, tiny
joint became legendary, and she moved to a somewhat bigger
location, where she is now.  I believe her family runs most of the operation now, but there have been reports that the food isn't
quite the same.  Or it could be you went in winter, and the fresh local squash wasn't available.

Any time you have a chance to meet her, take it.  NC PBS had her cooking in the studio one time for one of their fundraiser telethons.  She puts a dab of sugar in just about everything she cooks.  

As we approached our next destination, The BBQ Lodge in Raleigh NC, we noticed that some of the Vietnam Vet Harley Riders from the ceremony at the state capital building were heading there too- that has to be good sign!

The bbq lodge, located NE of downtown raleigh and is housed in a strip mall.
When we got there, we were greeted by this..



Shortly afterwards DLnWPBrown and his lovely wife Wendy arrived...

The Q at the BBQ Lodge is Eastern NC Style, so there were bottles of vinegar bbq sauce already on the table..



We decided to order our meal "family style"

The hushpuppies and cornsticks arrived.



The hushpuppies were different than those served at Allen and Sons but were just as good. Not quite as crunchy and with a more "oniony" flavor. They were delicious. The chewy cornsticks , typically served at eastern NC Q joints were also an excellent accompaniement of what was to come..

Excellent eastern NC Style mustard slaw...



with just a little bit of vinegar and sugar...

And some "tomato sweet" brunswick stew..



Different than the stew served at Allen and Sons, it was more of a soup than a stew, with a sweeter more "tomatier" taste (is there such a word?) and an abundance of shredded pork....

And ahhh..what I've been waiting for...



Eastern NC style boiled potatos. Simmering in the vinegary bbq sauce it adds some zing.

The family style meal also includes



Fried Chicken. With a crispy versus cruncy exterior, it was just as good as the fried chicken served at Mama Dip's a day earlier

And then of course there was...



The chopped q....Spiced nicely, although Dennis thought it was saltier than usual, it was missing that underlying subtle smokeyness that I enjoyed at Allen and Sons. Also the the texture was more consistent, no crunchy morsels of brown meat....

Now the star of the meal in my opinion was dessert....



Homemade banana pudding. Loaded with chunks of banana pudding and vanilla wafers. Although its early in the year, it would not surprise me if this deserves the #1 slot for best dessert of 2009. Dennis said that it's even better when it's served warm, however I can't imagine banana pudding any better than this.

And of course there were pitchers of sweet and unsweetened iced tea

I also cannot omit that we had an excellent waitress as well.

After our meal I noticed this curio filled with pigs in the entranceway...



I like this one in particular



And of course no bbq joint is complete without its pitmaster...



who oddly enough coincidentally resembles our own Al The Mayor!

Buffetbuster also has photos of the four of us which I'm sure he'll post in the near future.

We both enjoyed meeting Dennis and Wendy and are hoping they can join us at next year's president's day weekend meetup in Charleston.

There's still more to come later...

That guy does look like Al the Mayor!

Nice boiled potatoes--you can practically taste them through the screen.  At the BBQ Lodge you had extruded hush puppies--they're usually plopped into the oil from something like a ketchup or sauce bottle with a larger than usual spout.  You get the little pigs-in-blanket shape.  I think the rounder ones are usually made with spoons or a small scoop like a melon baller.

And also, my boss' wife makes banana pudding with Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies instead of banana wafers.  It will make you cry.

Great photos and excellent report, WJ. Enjoyed reading it.

Wow! So far so good!

WJ, a great report as usual. And those photos! Even if the Q at the BBQ Lodge is less than perfect, it still looks damn good to me. Same goes for the fried chicken and hush puppies, along with the country ham and egg biscuit at Sunrise. I'm looking forward to the rest of this report.

Captain Morgan


wow, you guys just missed a rare event...Bobby Flay popped in on
Ed Mitchell Friday night for a bbq throwdown...ribs.  It will be shown
in the spring.

Mama Dip is a very special Carolinian...she learned to cook as a child
while her family worked the tobacco and farm fields.  Her tiny, tiny
joint became legendary, and she moved to a somewhat bigger
location, where she is now.  I believe her family runs most of the operation now, but there have been reports that the food isn't
quite the same.  Or it could be you went in winter, and the fresh local squash wasn't available.

Any time you have a chance to meet her, take it.  NC PBS had her cooking in the studio one time for one of their fundraiser telethons.  She puts a dab of sugar in just about everything she cooks.

You are so correct Captain Morgan. Here is a link to the article that ran in yesterday's paper:  www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1442290.html


I bet buffetbuster & wanderingjew wish they had gotten in the door now.   LOL


Dennis in Cary

Great report!  By the way;   Happy Birthday, Dale!  I bet you are looking really old today...................

Greymo


Great report!  By the way;   Happy Birthday, Dale!  I bet you are looking really old today...................

Greymo,

Thanks for the birthday wishes. After last night...I feel old!
At 44, I've now officially entered my mid 40's!

 Hmmmm. Looks like me  'ehh?  Guess I need to trim the beard a bit!
 
Happy Birthday, Kid!  Keep those reports coming!

After leaving the BBQ Lodge, our next stop was North Carolina State U. in Raleigh. Buffetbuster wanted to check out their bookstore and put the address in his GPS and it sent us to the complete opposite end of town. After what seemed like an hour- we finally arrived on Campus, and as it turns out we got Travelin' Manned for the first time. Apparently it was spring break and the bookstore was closed- All  I can say is thank G-d it was only a book store..

We were pondering our next stop- and Buffebuster suggested we drive the 40 miles or so to check out...........



The A & M restaurant in Mebane



Established in 1948, it seemed promising...

Hushpuppies came with the meal




All I can say is that they were as hard as a rock and not very tasty at all...

I ordered the Q and Slaw plate




As you can see this no longer eastern nc style q, but actually a combo of both Western and Eastern style Q. The Q itself was pretty good and the vinegary-tomato bbq sauce combo actually worked quite well on the Q, the waitress also mentioned that the same sauce is added to the slaw giving it somewhat a pinkish color (you can't really tell from the photo) however I don't think this combo quite worked out as well with the creamy slaw....

This is embarrassing, but I don't remember what Buffetbuster ordered , however he did choose Green Beans and Macaroni and Cheese as his sides...



Buffetbuster said the green beans were good but he didn't particularly enjoy the mac n cheese. I'm sure Buffetsbuster will elaborate.

After leaving A & M, we decided on one last stop. Buffetsbuster mentioned that Stamey's in Greensboro was only 31 miles away, however that would have ment a long drive back to Raleigh and I was also reminded of the time change the next day and  I had an early flight the next morning...I coaxed Buffetsbuster into going to Allen and Sons. I enjoyed it so much previous day that it was worth returning to.
Buffetbuster got the chopped pork sandwich which I'm sure he'll discuss. I got the stew and q which I had described in the first installment...




 Of course Buffetbuster observed the dessert board and thought the chocolate pie sounded interesting- I was  already done...."caput" "finis"

Unfortunately the pie that was delivered...




was not the pie Buffetbuster was expecting....I think he was expecting more of a chocolate cream or pudding pie.. and the chocolate brownie pie that  arrived just didn't interest him...News Flash- BUFFETBUSTER TURNED DOWN HIS SLICE OF PIE!!

I had a sliver and it was actually pretty good, but was stuffed to the gills and couldn't eat another bite...

We were done for the evening. Buffetbuster drove me back to my hotel. I had an 8:20 am fligh the next morning and the time change (that really sucked) My portion of the trip is over....however the trip report itself is NOT over...

Buffetbuster is up next!