Education and Eats: The Summer of BBQ

Journal of College Admission, Summer 2007 by Riggs, Ryan

Colleges Visited

University of South Carolina

Clemson University (SC)

Furman University (SC)

Wofford College (SC)

University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Davidson College (NC)

Wake Forest University (NC)

Elon University (NC)

Guilford College (NC)

Duke University (NC)

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

North Carolina State (NC)

Visiting 12 colleges in seven days does not sound like a bunch of excitement (to most rational people). Even veteran college counselors suffer from "tour guide ennui" after seeing the ninth or 10th school on a long trip. All cafeterias look the same, dorm rooms blend together and it becomes tough to tell or even care about the differences among a Fighting Paladin, a Blue Devil and a Demon Deacon.

To break this monotony on my college tour this past summer, I ate my way through the Carolinas, picking my favorite meal, barbecue. Having grown up in Memphis, the self-proclaimed "Barbecue Capital of the World" (sorry, Texas), I knew a thing or two about good barbecue, so to begin my Carolina college and barbecue odyssey, I had to have some ground rules:

1. No place that advertised on the interstate.

2. Recommended by a local.

3. No regional or national chains.

With these parameters, I began in Columbia, SC, the home of the University of South Carolina (USC) Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier. While I enjoyed the downtown location just blocks away from the state capitol, I was itching for some lunch. After walking around the famous "horseshoe," the oldest part of campus, and visiting the brand new Strom Thurmond Center for student fitness, I asked some students in the library where the best local barbecue joint was. They debated back and forth and finally settled on the Po' Pig. I got directions, and was off. While I was filling up my plate with chopped pork from the all-you-can-eat buffet, I felt a little sorry for the poor animal until I saw and dipped up some fried okra, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and hush puppies. Topping the perfectly cooked meat with a vinegar-based sauce and filling my styrofoam cup with tea so sweet it made my teeth hurt, I was ready to dig in. I was not disappointed. The meat had very little fat, and soaked up just enough of the sauce to give it some bite. The meal was so good I had to go back for more; after all, it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. I finished that meal with some banana pudding, poured a refill for my tea, and hit the road.

The small schools of Furman University and Wofford College were a marked change from the much larger USC and Clemson University. Furman's distance from the center of any major area hid its absolutely gorgeous campus. "Engaged Learning" was the catchphrase there, and it permeated every class, dorm, academic event, and social function. The even smaller Wofford felt more like an upscale neighborhood than a distinguished college, which immediately put me m a good mood. Driving up to the admission office (formerly a faculty residence house), I could tell quickly that this was a special place. I was impressed when the director of admission, offered to call Wofford's president to let him know I was there. I was absolutely floored when the president took a full 20 minutes out of his schedule to talk to me about Wofford-he even knew my tour guide's name and a little about him-and then about his upcoming trip to Iceland. At Wofford, this personal attention trickles down throughout the whole campus and gives everyone there a strong sense of community.

A toothless man at a local fruit and vegetable stand told me about Henry's Smokehouse in Greenville, SC. There, the setting was the highlight: NASCAR photos everywhere; open pit smoke wafting through the one small dining room; bankers, truckers and farmers sitting side-by-side eating delicious barbecue with a sweet sauce. This mix of men shared tables, swapping sections of the newspaper and actively debating the upcoming college football season. Oddly, the only woman in the place was the waitress. I'm not sure what that meant, but the food was good.

It was pouring down rain when I left Davidson College to drive to Wake Forest University. The facilities at Davidson were overwhelming, considering the small size of the school. At times it was raining so hard that I couldn't hear my tour guide-all I could do was look around at the impressive new buildings, but I wasn't disappointed.

On the way to Wake Forest, the sun peeked out as I pulled into Lexmgton Barbecue (Lexington, NC), nicknamed the "Honeymonk." Sitting at the counter, I discussed this odd name with the owner of the place. Honestly, I never grasped the origin of the nickname, but I remember that the owner took the time during the lunch rush to talk to a total stranger. I also remember that he cooked only pork shoulders, and served the meat chopped or "coarse chopped" in cubes that retained flavor, but soaked up less sauce. Even the coleslaw (not typically a fan) was wonderful here. Lexington Barbecue actually mixed vinegar and other barbecue spices, rather than mayonnaise, m the slaw, which looked bad but tasted good. I topped it off with homemade fresh peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream. As I dug in, it became obvious that peaches were m season. Waddling out to my car, I was off to my next group of colleges.