I watched in horror Rachel Ray's $40 A Day show in my hometown of Chapel
Hill, NC.
I know they do research, that she just doesn't walk around town in one day
and find all these neat places to eat. That lame bit about her checking a
local bookstore and happening upon Mama Dip's book was just so staged.
Anyway her staff should be shot because they are total idiots for their
menu selections. She goes to Mama Dip's and gets freaking gumbo? Holy [censored]
that's like going to Louisiana and getting BBQ. No one native to NC eats
gumbo. Isn't the point of the show to eat the local fare? I mean, this is
NC and Mama Dip's is famous for traditional black and southern cuisine.
That includes fried chicken, chitlins, chicken and dumplins, not friggin'
gumbo!
Then the real kicker was her going to the BBQ Joint. Look, if you have
never been to eastern NC you don't understand what BBQ is and how to eat
it. It's slow cooked pork that is usually chopped and mixed with a spicey
vinegar sauce. That's simple enough. It's what she didn't get with it that
totally blew my mind. The *traditional* side dishes are cole slaw, which
she got by default. Another traditional side side and a real must have
when eating BBQ is brunswick stew. Hushpuppies are also traditional. What
does that idiot Rachel Ray get? Well, she didn't actually order it, she
let one of the owners recommend it (obviously that was totally setup,
too). Now get this, he recommends BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!!!! LAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG, me and my friends who watched the show almost went completely
bonkers. I can't even tell you how damn stupid that is. I mean, I can't
tell you what a let down that was. That is NOT traditional and maybe 1 in
1000 would order the damn things. Hell, most people hate the stupid things
as it is. I have worked in and eaten in BBQ restraurants for 40 years.
Brussel sprouts are so far down on the scale of what to eat it's not even
funny. My 90 year grandmother might eat them, then again seeing how they
cooked them in garlic she might not. It looked like they were going for
that high brow NY style of cooking instead of traditional eat with your
hands BBQ style. On top of that she got cornbread instead of hushpuppies.
That is just wrong. I can not believe anyone serious would come to
central/eastern NC, go eat BBQ and NOT order brunswick stew and
hushpuppies. It's just mindboggling. It makes no sense. She and her effete
staff totally blew it.