what is this carolina barbecue you speak of?

let me say this first:
by simply complaining about the "obama is black, in case you didn't know" thing earlier this week, it seems to have gone away for me. perhaps the powers that be heard my rantings and have converted him into simply being "president-elect obama" at last. heave ho, historical overkill! i realize that yes, it is a big deal. however, i also think he got a job and he has to do that job regardless of what he looks like. (but if we're going to focus on his looks, can we can him president cutie patootie instead? that's just as musical as his real name!) i am still interested in the dog, though. those girls are adorable and i bet they are his little princesses, so i can totally see him having to take a teensy weensy toy poodle named pizza for its morning poopies.

this evening we go back to oklahoma. we've spent the week here at tim and mary's on a foodfest and goof-off-a-thon. hooray for sweet tea! yesterday we went to a barbecue shack out in the boonies to get some real carolina barbecue. there was only one meat option (pork) on the menu, which was the first odd thing i noticed. then came the proliferation of hushpuppies. i heart the carolina hushpuppies. they're a sweetish cornbread style, very warm and squooshy. the meat itself was strange and wonderful. the "sauce" came already on the dish, which is a new thing for me, and was very thin. it had a flavor reminiscent of italian dressing on its own; something of a vinegar base with seasonings we couldn't quite identify, as each bbq shack's sauce recipe here is supposed to be something of a well-guarded secret. combined with the pork it reminded me of something we would order at the cha-cha chicken stand (caribbean food) we used to eat at with tara out in los crapeles. what i would have given to see our faces as we tried things! mary was about to bust out laughing at our quizzical expressions. i wouldn't exactly call the meal barbecue, but once i got past that label i enjoyed it.

other things i've seen in north carolina:
millie
the nasher museum (whee!)
dunkin donuts
universities
millie
tall skinny pine trees
me dressed as an indian superhero rock star
short buildings
millie
monkey artwork to take home
trader joe's
bollywood musical kung fu comedy
avocados
an art-o-mat machine
millie

things i didn't see much of:
sidewalks
small houses

it's been unseasonably chilly here this week, so we didn't do as much walking as we would normally do on a trip. unseasonable in winter sounds crazy, right? i suppose it doesn't normally get to the single digits on the thermometer here, being as it is the south. no matter - the next time we come we'll get out to the farmers' market and drive to the beach. tanya says that if i plan it right and give her some notice (spontaneous travelers, unite!) before we actually get here, she'll try to take off and get a train down or something. besides, there is a lot more food to be consumed in the area. we haven't even gone to locopops yet!


a super fun movie you must see:
chandni chowk to china