In my last post, Hog Heaven, I casually mentioned white barbecue sauce.  Almost immediately, my inbox was filled with emails from folks all over the country who'd never heard of the concoction, but wanted to know more.  Who am I do deny barbecue lovers the opportunity to try something new?  That said, I'll start from the top.

The color spectrum of barbecue sauce is rich and diverse—one reason why sampling different styles from all over the South is so much fun, and so delicious.  Ask the average person the color of their favorite sauce and you’ll probably get answers such as brick red, mahogany, or caramel.  Shoot, ask somebody from Columbia, South Carolina, where mustard-based sauces are king, and you might even get, well, mustard-color.

I’ve often said that barbecue is a lot like the martial arts – there’s enormous camaraderie around the subject in general, but everyone feels like they’re practicing the perfect form.  Honestly, the next time you get into a heated discussion about ‘cue think back to the great kung fu movies of the 70s where the typical set-up was two shaolin masters squaring off, one usually insisting the other’s monkey style was no match for his crane style.  Insert “ribs” and “pulled pork” or “wet” and “dry” in place of the kung fu styles and have a good laugh rather than coming to blows.

Why am I bringing this up?  Because I visited one of my “temples” of barbecue this past weekend: Bob Sykes in Bessemer, AL.  I hit other joints around town for, say, pulled pork and chicken (always slathered in white barbecue sauce, a true Alabama specialty), but for ribs, I head for Sykes.  I’m typically a baby back kind of guy, but the meaty spareribs at Sykes are something special.

Last week, iVillage’s “Supermarket Guru,” Phil Lempert, said on national TV (the Today Show, to be exact, as well as his website), that North Carolina is the new Napa.  That’s one bold statement.  To be fair, I think what Mr. Lempert was trying to say is that some areas of the state, the Yadkin Valley in particular, have the necessary attributes (i.e. climate and soil) to produce notable wines (perhaps, someday, even those considered to be world-class) and he feels like wines from the Tar Hill State “will be hot this year.”  I think that’s a more down-to-Earth assessment. 

Actually, I wish Mr. Lempert would have pointed out to his national audience that due to backwards, out-dated, draconian shipping laws, most folks will never have a chance to sample these "hot" wines.  So long as legislators keep up their buffoonery by prohibiting consumers from purchasing wines directly from wineries and retailers, North Carolina will never reach its full Napa-esque potential (read up on the issue at Free The Grapes).