Venison Four Ways at the Old Post Place

While enjoying a nice visit with Elise and Tom at Tom's old family home in West Virginia, we put together an impromptu venison tasting menu. With a decently equipped kitchen, but not much in the way of ingredients, here is what we came up with:

• Venison Puntas al la Mexicana, doctoring up some red sauce left over from breakfast pizza the day before.
• Venison kebabs, wrapped in bacon and cooked on the barbecue.
• Venison with a red wine reduction, using a bottle of wine that had been steaming in our trunk since we left San Diego.
• Orange-marinated venision, with an orange and red onion relish.

All of the dishes came out really well, particularly the orange-marinated venison that Elise put together. The citrus juice was a surprisingly good complement to the venison flavor, and the marinating gave the meat a nice, soft texture.

So, why the plethora of venison dishes? Given that this area was obviously deer country, I happened to mention in passing that it would be great if we had some. Word spread, neighbors-brother's-friend-style, and soon we had a bunch of venison on our hands:



When we thawed it, it turned out to be pre-cut in thin slices:



Here's a shot of venison prep in full force:



When not cooking and eating, the most popular activity while we were in West Virginia was Porch Sitting.



Porch Sitting is always a good way to spend time, but it is even better when your view looks like this:

Blue Ridges, Boiled Peanuts and Belly

We didn't spend all of our time in Asheville eating a drinking - we did get out and experience some of the lovely surrounding scenery. One day we took a nice drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Ok, back to food. On the way, we stopped in at the WNC Farmer's Market. Just outside of Asheville, it is open 7 days a week.

Here we tried boiled peanuts for the first time. Once you get past the initial shock of soft peanuts, they were actually pretty good.



There was a lot of nice pork product for sale, including big hunks of cured pork belly:



And cured hams:



We bought some really nice ham hock and a big slice of country ham. In retrospect, though, I wish we'd gotten a whole ham to take home with us.

Riding the Purple Bus - LaZoom Tours in Asheville

Not to be missed if you are visiting Asheville is a ride on board the purple bus operated by LaZoom Tours.

One part historic city tour and two parts zany "children's theater for grownups", the bus runs on biodiesel and the energy of the three-person crew.



In addition to the bus driver there is "Babs", your tour guide:



The third member of the trio plays a host of characters you meet along the way, including this bear (I'm not even going to try to explain):



and a floating djinni:



Not to mention a squirt-gun fight with a crazed bicycle rider on the streets of downtown Asheville (we were too busy participating to get a picture).

And, of course, there is a grand finale:



Great fun, made even better by the fact that you can bring tasty adult beverages on board. Not to mention a brief stop partway through at the Thirsty Monk for a quick Belgian beer fix.

Beer Blessed in Asheville, North Carolina

We spent several very enjoyable days in Asheville, North Carolina, and were surprised at the wide variety of very good beers available in the area.

Our first visit was to Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria. While the pizza was pretty mediocre, the taps were excellent with a wide variety of local options. Among the beers we tried were the Solstice Belgian Tripel and Vortex Triple IPA from Pisgah Brewing Company:



The Solstice was particularly good. We're really starting to enjoy the Tripel style, and this was a nice version - prominent, but not too heavy belgian yeast flavor.

Another great spot is Jack of the Wood, a comfy pub with live music several nights a week. They serve their own Green Man Ales which, while not our favorites of the local offerings, were pretty good.

We caught two shows here - a fantastic performance by a band called The Belleville Outfit (definitely check them out if you get a chance) and this bluegrass band whose name I can't remember:

On an evening bus tour with LaZoom Tours, we had a 15-minute break at the Thirsty Monk - a great little Belgian beer bar tucked away around the back of this building and down some steps.



We had just enough time to partake in a Houblon Chouffe and a Pisgah Solstice before we had to get back on the bus.



Fridays during the summer, Asheville has an outdoor concert series called Downtown After Five. A number of the local breweries were represented:



Served in compostable cups, of course.



In addition to the great options on tap around town, there was a fantastic little bottle shop a few blocks away from our hotel. Brusin' Ales had a great selection and let you buy individual bottles from six packs.



They had a number of beers I had been wanting to try but hadn't been able to get my hands on. We picked up a Double Simcoe and a Hops Infusion from Weyerbacher, and a Two Hearted Ale from Bell's:



The Double Simcoe was very good - it tasted a lot like the San Diego Pale Ale we have been making. The Hops Infusion was ok, but didn't have nearly as much flavor.

I have been wanting to try Bell's Two Hearted Ale for quite some time. I was worried that it would be on the maltier side (like the offerings from Dogfish Head) and I wouldn't like it. Turns out that it is fantastic. Nice, light color. Complex taste, with hints of apricot. Wish we could get it in San Diego...

Barley's Taproom
42 Biltmore Ave.
Asheville, North Carolina
(828) 255-0504‎

Jack of the Wood
95 Patton Ave.
Asheville, North Carolina
(828) 252-5445‎

Thirsty Monk
92 Patton Ave.
Asheville, North Carolina
(828) 254-5470‎

Bruisin' Ales
66 Broadway St. Suite 1
Asheville, North Carolina
(828) 252-8999‎

Western North Carolina Barbecue at Barbecue Center in Lexington

The day after our Eastern-style barbecue at Allen & Son, we headed west to Lexington - the home of Western North Carolina barbecue. Our destination was Barbecue Center:



Unlike Allen & Son, here there were many options when ordering your barbecue. We settled on a small tray of coarsely chopped outside brown.



The tray, as advertised, was small but it was *packed* - there was a solid layer of pork underneath the slaw. The meat was in nice-sized chunks, with lots of charred outside goodness. Best pork so far.

We liked the hushpuppies better here than at Allen & Son. They were rather funny looking, but much less sweet and they were good dipped in sauce.



We also had a sandwich, but this time tried it with sliced pork instead of pulled. It was good, but not as good as the sandwich from Allen & Son. I am definitely coming to believe that different styles are best suited to sandwiches vs straight barbecue.



The extra sauce served hot at the table was thin, spicy and tomato-vinegar based.



It is hard to compare Barbecue Center with Allen & Son as we had different items, but overall, I would give the nod to Barbecue Center because of the variety of options available and the taste of the chopped outside brown we tried.



We had planned to stop in at Lexington #1 as well, but just didn't have the stomach room (I told you there was a lot packed into that "small" tray...)

Barbecue Center
900 N Main St.
Lexington, North Carolina
(336) 248-4633‎

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue at Allen & Son in Chapel Hill

North Carolina barbecue has two major styles - Eastern and Western. Eastern is whole-hog meat, with a mostly vinegar sauce. Western is pork shoulder, with a tomato-vinegar sauce. We wanted to try both.

Our first stop was Eastern style at Allen & Son Barbeque in Chapel Hill. We ordered a BBQ and stew plate. No chopped vs sliced options were listed. My research indicated that asking for "outside brown" was the way to go, but when I asked for it I was rebuffed with "it's all mixed together". Not sure if this is a consequence of whole-hog barbecue (this post by Bisquit on RowdyFood would suggest not), or if it is just time-saving on their part.

Anyway, here is the plate:



Although my first impression was lukewarm (the texture was soft and soggy), it began to grow on me after a few bites. The smoke flavor started hitting me - especially when I got the odd crispy edge bit.

The "stew" part of the combo is Brunswick Stew, which I didn't expect to like but was actually pretty decent.



Their hushpuppies were not that great, but then I don't think I've ever had hushpuppies that I would call great...



We also ordered a pork sandwich which was very good. The vinegar mixed in with the meat really accentuated the smoked pork flavor and helped it not get overpowered by the bun - something that I often find a problem with barbecue sandwiches.



Next stop - Western North Carolina Barbecue at Barbecue Center in Lexington.

Allen & Son Barbeque
6203 Millhouse Rd.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
(919) 942-7576‎

Overnight in Georgetown, South Carolina

We had some time to burn before our scheduled meet-up with friends in West Virgina, so we did a quick hop from Charleston to Georgetown. We had lunch along the harbor at Buzz's Roost, where Sherry had a not altogether unrespectable soft-shell crab sandwich. I couldn't really taste the crab in it, but Sherry swears that she could.



Beer-wise, we didn't have much to work with and ended up with Beach Bum Blonde Ale, a "seasonal" offering from our friends at Anheuser-Busch.



Buzz's isn't a destination spot by any means, but if you're in Georgetown...

Definitely worth a stop is the Rice Museum. Our tour guide was a very nice lady who seemed quite pleased to have guests. She gave a very interesting overview of the history of the area during the times of rice production.

The museum also houses the remains of an 18th century ship hull that was discovered on the bottom of the Black River. It provides evidence for American shipbuilding nearly fifty years earlier than was previously known. They took the roof off of the building to lower it inside in one piece.



Our hotel was not in walking distance of downtown Georgetown. Not wanting to drive back in, and frankly a bit weary of restaurants, we decided to eat in.

Here is Sherry's hotel-room prep area:



The result was very nice - some expertly microwaved country ham along with some much-needed raw veggies.

Buzz's Roost
717 Front St.
Georgetown, South Carolina
(843) 545-1595‎

Rice Museum
637 Front St.
Georgetown, South Carolina
(843) 546-7423‎