Mt. Airy, NC

Little Richard's BBQ

This was my dinner tonight at Little Richard’s BBQ in Mt. Airy NC. Both my clients and the hotel staff told me to go here, so I did. That’s chopped barbecue and barbecue slaw (finely chopped cabbage with ketchup and vinegar, I am told — delicious, especially with the meat), and some fine NC hushpuppies, and in the background some corn fritters.

These last were recommended by my client, and they were terrific, little globs of creamed corn breaded and absolutely perfectly deep fried super crunchy, even past the point where the barbecue was et and they went into their little go-box to head home to tallasiandude. THAT is some quality fry technique.

And of course there was vinegar-pepper sauce and sweet tea. They were out of banana pudding.

I was also tipped off by my client to the fact that supermarkets here sell country ham in vacuum sealed shelf-stable packets. Off to Food Lion I went, and now my luggage is full of salty pork. Here’s the loot.

Food Lion loot

There’s a few packets of different brands of country ham slices and ends and trimmings, some smoked pork jowls and chunks of side pork (both for flavoring beans and greens and such), 3 meaty country ham bones that are going to become winter melon soup when the weather gets colder, a bag of salt and vinegar pork rinds, some pork chop breading mix and the cutest damn bag of locally ground cornbread mix I have ever seen.

There is also some pimento cheese, liver pudding and blocks of local sausage that I am going to go back for tomorrow on the way to the airport. They’ve also got a huge array of Utz chips, and those good Lay’s Carolina BBQ chips, plus another flavor in that line I’ve not seen before called Cajun Spice or something along those lines, which I really want to get but probably won’t because I can’t carry it home. Ditto for the bottled vinegar barbecue sauce, Yuengling and Shiner Bock. Stupid TSA and their rules that prohibit me traveling with runny foodstuffs.

Oh, and there’s a Biscuitville next door to the hotel. Stopping there too en route to the airport.

They may vote wrong down here but they sure do eat well.