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.

Adventures in Construction Land

I love travel because of the unexpected.  And sometimes, the very humorous.

Spouse and I. over the past two days, traveled (by car) from the Binghamton, NY area to the Charleston, SC area.  Our heads are still spinning from the road, but by tomorrow we should be recovered and all set to explore the Low Country.

So what did we find just outside our motel? 

Road construction.

But not just any road construction.

We are in "Construction Land". And not only that, it even has its own website.

At the end of the construction area - yes, there a sign telling us we are leaving Construction Land.

So what is happening at South Carolina's newest "theme park"?  A lot of improvements for the boulevard we are staying near.  The project should be finished by December and one hopes it doesn't impact local businesses - quite a number, from the looks of it - too much.  (We did manage to get to the Harris-Teeter supermarket after a couple of attempts at figuring out how to enter the shopping plaza, and picked up 4 cases of Cheerwine, some crab cakes and a container of she-crab soup for dinner.  Earlier, I had bought some Goo Goo Clusters for dessert.)

You  gotta love people who can joke about road construction.

That was our warm welcome to the Charleston area.

Cheerwine

What do I, and my spouse's cousin who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have in common?

Love of a certain softdrink, native to Salisbury, NC.
 Cheerwine.

Cheerwine is not wine.  It is a cherry like (but not quite cherry) soda - hard to explain.  It is more carbonated than most,and is strangely addicting.  And, it is not sold anywhere near my home in upstate New York. (well, that isn't quite true.  You can get small bottles in Cracker Barrel restaurants.  And, on Cheerwine's website.)  So, at best, I can buy it once a year, if I go south.  I've found it as far north as northern Virginia.

I first had Cheerwine two years ago, and I was hooked.  Apparently, a lot of other people are hooked also, because I understand that Cheerwine intends to have nationwide distribution by 2017, its 100th anniversary.

My New Mexican cousin in law will be happy to know this.  She discovered Cheerwine on a vacation several months after I did. 

Some people use it as a cocktail mixer.  I just like to drink it straight. When I went to the Carolinas last year, I bought enough to last the year, rationed very strictly.  Now I am almost out.  So I guess I will have to go back to the Carolinas soon.

Are there any other Cheerwine addicts out there?