Earlier this year, I took a two-day “circumnavigation” of Alabama, just driving around the state in a big circle and eating a spectacular amount of barbecue. The resulting series of chapters here at our blog, which you can begin reading here, have proven to be among the most popular things that we’ve written in two and a half years. I’ve been planning a follow-up ever since. Continue reading “Circumnavigating South Carolina – part one”
Tag: south carolina
Mutt’s BBQ, Greer SC
I never realized how difficult it would be to find new barbecue in South Carolina’s Upstate! On Friday evening, I told the girl at the register at Brioso in Clemson that I would be going to Greenville the next day. She told me that she had gone to school at Furman, and I asked her whether she could recommend a place to get some barbecue. She said that she always went to Henry’s Smokehouse, which Marie and I had visited in February. Since I knew that one, could she recommend another? She thought for a moment and shook her head. She honestly couldn’t think of another barbecue place besides Henry’s. Continue reading “Mutt’s BBQ, Greer SC”
Clock Drive-In, Greenville SC
Hello, my name is Grant, and I’m addicted to Urbanspoon.
See, I had this bright idea when I set out on this road trip. After the first three stops, I would just end up where the road took me. I would not plan ahead, and I would not look at Google Maps or my Urbanspoon wish list. I would just end up in Clemson, ask how to get to Greenville, drive around, stop at whatever looked interesting, maybe mosey up to Spartanburg, possibly detour through Anderson, and come home. I’d take pictures of neat signs or bridges, I would pull into any bookstores that caught my eye, and I wouldn’t be enslaved to a schedule or a timetable. And pigs would fly. Continue reading “Clock Drive-In, Greenville SC”
Up and Down Tiger Town
The road took me north, as hoped, to Clemson, which, as college towns go, is a little underappreciated if you ask me. Sure, it’s no Athens, Chapel Hill, Morgantown or Oxford, but it’s a darn sight more impressive than Starkville. Plus, the campus is a real beauty. Continue reading “Up and Down Tiger Town”
The Kingsman Restaurant, Cayce SC
For the second time in an afternoon, the road took us to one of the meals that John T. Edge spotlighted in his famous article, “100 Southern Foods You Absolutely, Positively Must Try Before You Die”. Edge, whom I have mentioned here previously as the Professor Emeritus of Eating Real Good at the University of Mississippi, really loves pimento cheeseburgers, and spent a mouth-watering chapter of his essential book Hamburgers & Fries waxing eloquently about them. So to have just this one burger at a lovely old place called the Kingsman singled out for that article, that sounded to me like a burger that needed a visit. Continue reading “The Kingsman Restaurant, Cayce SC”
Midway BBQ, Buffalo SC
Every once in a while, a travel plan comes together quite spectacularly. As I mentioned earlier in the week, Marie and I planned to make the South Carolina trip a little more affordable by cutting off the Rock Hill-Charlotte side of the square, while taking the opportunity to do a little exploring off the interstates. The very best way to get from Spartanburg to Columbia with minimal use of I-26 is by taking US-176 through the Sumter National Forest. This road goes through the town of Union, which appeared to have a couple more interesting places to stop the next time we’re in the area, and it’s right next door to the smaller town of Buffalo, where, seventy-one years ago, Jack O’Dell first started selling beef hash and chopped pork for the Fourth of July. Continue reading “Midway BBQ, Buffalo SC”
The Beacon, Spartanburg SC (take two)
When we first visited the Beacon in February of last year, we were a bit overwhelmed by just how huge, wild and chaotic it was, and that’s despite very old familiarity with Atlanta’s similar Varsity. The spectacle of the Beacon makes for a real experience, and we could not wait to get back and give it another try. Continue reading “The Beacon, Spartanburg SC (take two)”
Marie, Let's Eat! 