16Aug07Authentic NC Cuisine 101
The thing about local cuisine is that it is never what you think it is going to be. Curry in Bangladesh is not the same as curry from your neighborhood Indian restaurant. Sushi in Japan is not like what you get at Benihana. In fact, you might actually prefer Thai Heaven’s Tom Ka Gai to what you got in Bangkok. Our instinctive aversion to most regional cuisine stems almost entirely from expecting one thing, but getting another.
As tourists, we carry with us distinct palatal biases resulting from years of falsely believing that we are familiar with ethnic cuisine because we purchased it at the local strip mall, and this erroneous preconception is what hinders our ability to enjoy food that actually is authentic. Our only hope, really, is to either shed these biases completely or, at the very least, adjust our expectations.
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with dining in North Carolina. After all, it’s American food. How different can it really be? If this is what you’re thinking, then clearly you have yet to blindly enter a NC seafood or barbeque restaurant—two instances that illustrate so clearly the above-mentioned phenomenon.
Eastern North Carolina is known (at least we like to think we’re “known”) for barbeque. Now, this is important: East of Interstate 95, “barbeque” has only one meaning. It isn’t a cooking method involving a variety of meats; it isn’t another word for “grill”; it isn’t a ketchup-based sauce; it isn’t an event. Barbeque is a noun, and it refers only to shredded pork in a clear, vinegar-based, seasoned liquid. This is not up for discussion or argument. You need to just accept it.
If you go to a barbeque restaurant in Eastern North Carolina, you will find the following menu items: Barbeque, fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, hush puppies, and banana pudding. The only red sauces available are Texas Pete’s and Tabasco and there aren’t any ribs.
Another important piece of information: In Eastern North Carolina, barbeque sandwiches come with coleslaw on them. If you don’t want coleslaw on your sandwich, it is your responsibility, and yours alone, to specify accordingly. Once you’re onboard, all again is well in your world, as I promise you’re in for a treat. Eastern Carolina BBQ is indeed a delicacy to treasure…once you know what it is.
The same is true for seafood. In Eastern North Carolina, “seafood” is battered, fried, and served with ketchup and/or tarter sauce, and your choice of sides (which, coincidentally, mirror the sides offered with barbeque.) There is typically a “broiled” alternative, but that’s the extent of it. Does that mean that it is impossible to find grilled tuna or shrimp over pasta? Absolutely not. The difference is that these dishes are not available in “seafood restaurants”. This is the coast. Fish is everywhere.
Therefore, most restaurants don’t feel the need to advertise that they serve it. It would be like going to Texas and thinking that, in order to find a good ribeye, you’d need to go to a “steakhouse”. Ridiculous. The term “steakhouse” carries with it its own stigma, as does…and you see where I’m going here…the NC seafood restaurant. Think basket-o-fried-flounder-with-hushpuppies-and-slaw. Yes, you can order it broiled, but that’s not the Eastern North Carolina way. Again, don’t fight it—just adjust your expectations and all will be well. Here’s the bottom line: If you enjoy fried fish, or if you really want to sample local cuisine, I highly suggest patronizing a “seafood restaurant”. If, on the other hand, you want a nice piece of grilled local fish (like grouper or mahi) served with pilaf as your starch, you’ll simply need to look elsewhere. (Oh, and we have “buffets”, but I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you to proceed with caution.)
Does iced tea in NC come sweet enough to form sugar rock crystals on the spoon unless otherwise specified?
August 16th, 2007 at 11:07 am