From the category archives:

North Carolina

A few months ago I told a few food stories about my time visiting Todd in North Carolina.  I never really got to share all of the pictures I took because we ate enough to feed a damn army.  I thought I would save them for times I felt inspired by something that related to a specific picture.  The first inspiration happened last night.

I was on Google last night searching around for any local food news that I should be aware of.  Everything was going pretty well until something popped up that I hadn’t paid much attention to lately..

Mount Nacheesmo.

As you can tell, I have taken a break from ripping Tios Mexican Cafe apart on a monthly basis.  It’s not because I have given up my quest to rid the world of the worst resturaunt of all time, it’s just that I’ve tried to direct my attention to more positive things such as double decker cheeseburgers, TupTim and gigantic burritos.  It’s really helped with my quality of life.

Trying to stay positive, I remembered back to my trip to Salsa’s in Ashville, North Carolina where I was served what I believe to be the best nachos ever.  Crispy corn chips layered and topped with Vidalia onions, beans, curry verde sauce, fontina cheese, sour cream, chicken, and two salsas.  After it was brought to the table it was also topped with tears because I cried like a little bitch.

I honestly feel like going to Wikipedia and changing whatever picture they have for their Nachos entry to this.  Those are nachos.  If you ever make nachos you should strive to make your nachos as close to that as possible.  That picture should be your nachos blueprint.  If you’re not making nachos like that, consider it an epic nacho fail.

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As I clearly stated in post number one of this multiple part saga of my trip to North Carolina to visit my heterosexual life mate, Todd, we engage in many acts of tomfoolery that usually is inspired by large amounts of alcohol.  One particular night in Chapel Hill, we walked many miles to one of the creepiest dance clubs I have ever been witness too. I’m not exaggerating when I say that.  While standing at the bar enjoying one of the worst drinks ever poured by a bartender and breathing in the fresh stench of what smelled like cottage cheese, I was asked by a girl who was with another guy if I wanted to dance. This was my que to leave.

After our exit, we ended up at a small bar where I enjoyed a delicious Tanqueray and tonic and talked to the bar tender, who was a serious New Yorker, until about 3:30am.  After listening to many stories about his former life as a bookie, his Jewish girlfriend of 9 years and his $900,000 condo that was paid for by his Jewish girlfriend’s parents, we took the party to the streets.  A mile and several road cones later, we ended up at Time-Out.  If the place sounds familiar to you, it’s because Adam Richman stopped in to visit before completely destroying his show by going to Tios.

Time-Out is the epitome of drunk food.  The whole point of the place is to ingest enough grease to soak up whatever you drank that night.  Apparently there is a cop stationed at the place at all times to deal with the drunks.  I’m surprised this place doesn’t just open up at 11:00 PM and close around 5:00 AM.   There’s absolutely no reason to eat at this place any other time.  Don’t get me wrong, it might have just been the many drinks that I consumed that night that led me to believe that I wouldn’t be caught dead in this place before 2 AM, but I just can’t imagine myself craving the kind of food the serve during the day.

To make matters worse, the place is named after one of the worst moments in University of Michigan sports history.  If you’re not familiar with this moment, it’s when Chris Webber decided to call time out in the NCAA Championship game and allowed North Carolina and Eric Montross’ dumbass to win the national championship game.   There’s pictures on the wall of UNC alumni, including Tyler Hansbrough’s dumbass, who I’m convinced is Eric Montross’ dumbass son, flashing the time out sign.

Seriously, what was I doing at this place?  Oh wait, I have pictures to remind me.

In all seriousness, the place is actually a pretty cool little southern style cafeteria right in the middle of a college town. Bars surround it, so college kids flock here at all hours of the night looking for one thing. Chicken biscuits.  Apparently they serve other things, but I was only interested in the chicken biscuits. No mac and cheese here, sir, I’m here to get down to business. Chicken biscuit business.

In case you can’t tell, chicken biscuits are a biscuit with fried chicken.  Hence the name.  I opted to add cheese to mine to make the experience complete.  The biscuits are buttery and the chicken is surprisingly tender, making this little sandwich into some of the best drunk food I’ve ever had.  To go with the sandwich, there is entertainment offered to you in the form of drunks stumbling around and occasionally spilling their entire tray.  That’s the kind of entertainment you just can’t buy.

Stay tuned for part three of my trip to the south.  I would give you a preview but I really don’t have anything planned yet.

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If you weren’t aware of our history, Epic Portions was launched by myself, John, and Todd.  I call the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area home, while Todd lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Every so often I get my ass down there for some eating, drinking, and general tomfoolery.  A couple weeks ago was one of those times.  This trip will take multiple posts because quite frankly, we ate and drank ourselves stupid.  I feel like the following picture explains our weekend pretty well for some reason.

Probably my favorite food in North Carolina is the BBQ.  Unlike most other versions, North Carolina has that vinegar based sauce that I wasn’t even familiar with until a few years ago.  This isn’t any Sweet Baby Ray’s bullshit, made with corn syrup and a little bit of high fructrose corn syrup.   This is some real flavor. They save the sugar/sweetner for the sweet tea.  I came home after my last visit, made about a gallon of my own version, and invited a few people over for some North Carolina Style ‘que.   People thought I was crazy.  They wanted Sweet Baby Ray’s.  I politely asked them to leave my apartment.  I  In my opinion, the stuff kills any other kind of ‘que.

My favorite ‘que joint in the area is Allen and Son Pit Cooked BBQ.  It’s a bit of a drive and pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it’s worth any kind of a drive(or flight) you may have to make.  The building is old and basic, with the interior matching that basic exterior.  If you ask for sweet tea, you’re given a half gallon.  Trust me, I was in a sugar coma for about an hour afterward.  Be careful with this stuff.  It’s Diabetes in a jug.  The plates are large, yet affordable, and the food is  beyond delicious.  I always like to keep it simple and order the BBQ platter with a side of potato salad and slaw, and an order of hush puppys.

In case the sweet tea coma, the BBQ platter, and the puppies weren’t enough for you, there’s also a dessert menu that is absolutely ridiculous.  I’ve never been able to man up enough to get something, but look at this.  Klondike pie? Seriously?

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Welcome to the end, and the beginning, of your diet.

So last weekend was the 2010 Krispy Kreme Challenge, a race in Raleigh, NC where 6,000 racers compete to scarf more than 72,000 glazed donuts and RUN 4 MILES to raise more money for the NC Children’s Hospital.

This is now one of the most famous and hilarious eating races in the Nation:

The Krispy Kreme Challenge started in December 2004 as a dare between a few North Carolina State undergraduate students. Sophomore Ben Gaddy took home bragging rights that afternoon, running the race in 34 minutes and 27 seconds. After receiving positive coverage from campus news papers and being placed as #85 on the “102 More Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate” by Sports Illustrated. On Campus, organizers decided to publicize the Krispy Kreme Challenge and turn it into something that would not only be an event to bring together people from all over the country, but also to benefit an important cause along the way.  It was no surprise, when organizers selected The NC Children’s Hospital as the most deserving beneficiary of this ultimate collegiate challenge.

A couple of friend’s raced and one actually placed in the top 300 competitors! I did not participate because I’ve seen a video showing what happens when you run 2 miles with 12 donuts in your belly (those of you that have done the dairy challenge may feel me) and I read this article.

If you’re racing competitively (Challenger division), here is the race:

  1. Run 2 miles.
  2. Eat 1 dozen donuts
  3. Run 2 more miles
  4. Don’t throw up
  5. Do steps 1-4 in under 1 hour.

Ah…#4 and #5 – that’s the painful part. Congratulations to all those that took part! Especially those that dressed up!

Here is a video taken by some friends – notice all the folks standing around eating donuts. Delicious Krispy Kreme Donuts, made fresh right here in the Great State of North Carolina.


Could you do it?

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A note on the greatest appetizer ever

February 9, 2010

Tonight, I went to my favorite restaurant tonight (ACME, a restaurant in Carrboro NC).  I will post more on ACME sometime soon – still collecting stuff in order to do it justice.  Well, tonight they had two appetizer specials.  We got both.  No pictures – so close your eyes and ...

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A Delicious Heart Attack at Allen and Son Pit BBQ

January 11, 2010
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Chest pains. Slowed, labored breathing. A giant smile on your face and a bit of BBQ sauce stuck to some part of your face. Not that much lighter a wallet… These are the results of a trip to Allen and Son, one of my favorite NC BBQ joints. Living in ...

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BLT Heaven. Merritt’s Grill – Chapel Hill, NC

August 31, 2009
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Merritt’s Grill is literally a convenience store just south of the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Literally.  Nowhere else could you find exhibit A: In the back of this glorious southern store is a sandwhich counter that might make the best BLT on earth. Evidence? ...

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