Cheerwine Ribs and Green Man Beer

There are three things you talk about in North Carolina at your peril if you are a tourist:
1. Politics
2. Religion
3. Barbeque

#1 and #2 are obvious.  #3 - well, barbeque is a religion in North Carolina (I was told that by several people) and everyone has their own theory on which style is the best.  After talking to several people, we had several recommendations.  No two were the same.  As tourists in North Carolina visiting from upstate NY, we now had a problem.  Where should we go?

We ended up in a "casual barbeque" restaurant in Asheville, NC called 12 Bones, where #1 and #3 merged.

We never made it there two years ago when we visited Asheville for the first time.  First, we were never able to find it and second, we never realized it was only open for lunch.  (Not being able to find things in Asheville is the norm, as the highways in Asheville form a Moibus Strip.)

12 Bones has become nationally famous because a certain person who happens to be the current President of the United States has visited.  Not once, but twice.

(Photo on the wall of 12 Bones - hopefully OK for me to take picture of.)
Of course, being tourists, we had to ask where Obama had sat, and our waitress pointed to the table next to where we were sitting.

And that is where Ms. "I don't care about politics or celebrities" swung into action. Of course, the waitress could have been putting us on.  But let's assume she wasn't.  I had to sit at that table!  The table where the President had sat!

We looked at the nice couple sitting at that table, who (to their amusement) had overheard the conversation.

"We were getting ready to leave anyway" the woman said.  "Would you like me to take your picture? You can sit here and we'll take it."  So we quickly scooted over to The Table.

And so she took our picture.  I'm not going to post it but I immediately sent it to a long list of friends.

Instead, I will post a picture of my meal, on The Table. Ribs, corn pudding, vinegar cole slaw, and corn bread.

The beverage is Green Man beer, one of Asheville's many local beers.  Yes (as the locals would say) I am a Drinking Woman.

These are baby back ribs, and they were cooked with a Cheerwine glaze.  I know purists all over North Carolina probably would not vote for these flavors, but this Northerner would vote the straight Cheerwine ticket if it was on the ballot.

The walls are covered in stickers.

Of course, there was an Obama sticker.

Some other stickers.

And last but not least...I don't know if this was political commentary but I got a big kick out of it.

I don't know if this was 12 Bones' recipe for Cheerwine Ribs, but it sure sounded good.

Whatever we had yesterday, it sure tasted good.