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Post by bearman on Mar 15, 2023 14:36:31 GMT -5
Yeah you would think with the eastern part of North Carolina being one of the largest pork producing sections of the country they would have good liver mush. I have a friend who moved to Fayetville from here and everytime he comes back we go to Homer's for liver mush and eggs. Love Homer's myself but not much for the mush. We go out with a group of folks for breakfast every Sunday after early Church. I get a kick out of them critiquing the Liver mush at the different restaurants we go to. Which restaurants serve the liver mush? Haven't eaten breakfast up that way much recently. I know Able's (sp?) up in Morganton and someplace down towards Conover (Granny's, maybe?) serve it. As for why livermush is a western NC thing, I've since heard it's because it's a German/Waldensian thing akin to bratwurst, etc. that came with the immigrants settling in the area way back when. Pretty much any restaurant in our area that serves breakfast serves liver mush. I'm not sure about Cracker Barrel because I don't eat there. Abele's is still there and is good for any meal. Granny's has 3 locations. We were eating there this past Sunday and several folks with us were debating the merits of "fried crispy" liver mush. I don't care for it so I didn't chime in on the debate. You might remember the Snack Bar that served a lot of liver mush over 50 years until it closed last year. A local institution killed by covid and the inability to pay and keep help. |
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Post by Renfield on Mar 15, 2023 14:49:29 GMT -5
Which restaurants serve the liver mush? Haven't eaten breakfast up that way much recently. I know Able's (sp?) up in Morganton and someplace down towards Conover (Granny's, maybe?) serve it. As for why livermush is a western NC thing, I've since heard it's because it's a German/Waldensian thing akin to bratwurst, etc. that came with the immigrants settling in the area way back when. Pretty much any restaurant in our area that serves breakfast serves liver mush. I'm not sure about Cracker Barrel because I don't eat there. Abele's is still there and is good for any meal. Granny's has 3 locations. We were eating there this past Sunday and several folks with us were debating the merits of "fried crispy" liver mush. I don't care for it so I didn't chime in on the debate. You might remember the Snack Bar that served a lot of liver mush over 50 years until it closed last year. A local institution killed by covid and the inability to pay and keep help. I do remember the Snack Bar. Used to be several of them that began closing over the years. One turned into Keever's Keys I believe, if it's still there. The last one open we always called the rock house Snack Bar which I last ate at maybe 10 years ago when my Dad was still alive. Sorry to hear it closed. Kind of a fixture in the community. |
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Post by bearman on Mar 15, 2023 14:57:56 GMT -5
Oddly enough I just saw an article about Southern barbecue is "Southern Living" magazine a few minutes ago. Lexington barbecue was rated the best. Below is the article:
"Founded by Wayne Monk in 1962, Lexington Barbecue is the standard bearer for the Piedmont region’s signature style. There’s no slow-smoked brisket, no ribs, and not even barbecued chicken on the menu. In Lexington, barbecue means pork—specifically, pork shoulders cooked on big brick pits over glowing hickory coals then chopped, sliced, or coarse chopped and dressed in the thin vinegar-based sauce that locals call dip. Served in a tray with hushpuppies and tomato-tinged red slaw, it might just be the perfect barbecue meal."
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 15, 2023 15:46:42 GMT -5
In my opinion if you went to the original Lexington BBQ you went to the Mecca of pork.(I am having a large sliced tray and a load of hushpuppies from there tonight) Your cousin is one smart woman. I told my wife if I am able to eat my last meal, which is hopefully a long time from now, I want to sit at the counter of Lexington BBQ eating a chopped tray, a sliced tray, hushpuppies and sweet tea. Stamey's is great and one of the oldest places in North Carolina. Stamey's "gave birth" to two other mainstays in Shelby(farther west). Two Bridge's barbecue places in Shelby. If you get much east of Greensboro you get into the Eastern style of barbecue which is far different from the Western style, but I am guessing you already knew all of that. Having grown up where bearman now lives and moved east, I'm familiar with both styles and like them both, but I've come to prefer the eastern style with its vinegar based sauce. Biggest disappointment moving east, beside missing the hills, is that there is little liver mush down east. Surprising given the number of pig farms down here. Last time I was in the area, Windy City Grill (we called it Homer's back in the day) still had unbeatable mush and egg sandwiches. Thanks to you two Tar Heels for the barbecue seminar. Now I'm thinking of doing a North Carolina BBQ tour, from Asheville to Wilmington and all points in between. I'll have to convince My Better Half that we can do this without gaining weight (keep that FitBit whirring.) We have so many great regional cuisines in this country. I do appreciate the education you guys are providing. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 15, 2023 15:48:35 GMT -5
Oddly enough I just saw an article about Southern barbecue is "Southern Living" magazine a few minutes ago. Lexington barbecue was rated the best. Below is the article: "Founded by Wayne Monk in 1962, Lexington Barbecue is the standard bearer for the Piedmont region’s signature style. There’s no slow-smoked brisket, no ribs, and not even barbecued chicken on the menu. In Lexington, barbecue means pork—specifically, pork shoulders cooked on big brick pits over glowing hickory coals then chopped, sliced, or coarse chopped and dressed in the thin vinegar-based sauce that locals call dip. Served in a tray with hushpuppies and tomato-tinged red slaw, it might just be the perfect barbecue meal." This town should be more famous beyond the borders of NC. It's a gem. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 15, 2023 15:53:11 GMT -5
Yeah you would think with the eastern part of North Carolina being one of the largest pork producing sections of the country they would have good liver mush. I have a friend who moved to Fayetville from here and everytime he comes back we go to Homer's for liver mush and eggs. Love Homer's myself but not much for the mush. We go out with a group of folks for breakfast every Sunday after early Church. I get a kick out of them critiquing the Liver mush at the different restaurants we go to. Which restaurants serve the liver mush? Haven't eaten breakfast up that way much recently. I know Able's (sp?) up in Morganton and someplace down towards Conover (Granny's, maybe?) serve it. As for why livermush is a western NC thing, I've since heard it's because it's a German/Waldensian thing akin to bratwurst, etc. that came with the immigrants settling in the area way back when. Liver mush sounds a lot like scrapple, a Philly staple. Can any of you compare the two? |
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Post by pippsheadache on Mar 15, 2023 16:06:45 GMT -5
I’m simply not a foodie. There is nothing about the words liver and mush that I can logically combine to even make be believe it would be something I would even want to sample. I might throw up in my mouth if I was eating my standard fare and someone across from me was enjoying their liver mush. Since Ruthie’s parents wound up in western North Carolina, I asked her if she had tried it, and she stated a firm “no!”, but that her mom did make it for her father when the family unit was all together back in the day. The recent direction of the thread, with people munching on raw animal parts with blood running down their arms and doing whatever has to be done to eat liver mush is way out of my league. The Bearman says I’d be kicked out of establishments for asking for well dine prime rib… I guess I’d rather leave than eat something I wouldn’t enjoy and probably would vomit if I was forced to eat it. It’s strange how we are all basically mammals with omnivorous tendencies that some of us become vegetarians (another direction I could never take) and others have various tastes for certain things. In one extreme case I learned of in Ruthie’s family, there is an autistic nephew who from a very young age would only eat pizza. He’s now 17 and recently tasted something, I think it was chicken, and has now added that to his diet. I’m just thankful for the things I do like. At times I think that if I could just take a pill for the day it would suit me, but I know that’s not true. Some foods are just so satisfying that I would hate to lose the chance to chew them up and enjoy them… As with skateboarding, being a non-foodie is not a crime! My parents were great foreign travelers, but when it came to cuisine they would search out any place that had "American" in the name or at a minimum the menu had to be in English and steak had to be an option. The culinary possibilities today must be 100 times greater than they were fifty years ago. If we had to go back to what was available in restaurants or grocery stores in 1970, we would think we had been transported to East Germany under the Soviet Bloc. |
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Post by Renfield on Mar 15, 2023 16:11:34 GMT -5
Which restaurants serve the liver mush? Haven't eaten breakfast up that way much recently. I know Able's (sp?) up in Morganton and someplace down towards Conover (Granny's, maybe?) serve it. As for why livermush is a western NC thing, I've since heard it's because it's a German/Waldensian thing akin to bratwurst, etc. that came with the immigrants settling in the area way back when. Liver mush sounds a lot like scrapple, a Philly staple. Can any of you compare the two? Similar. I think scrapple uses more varied, umm, "parts" (everything but the squeal) but both come in a loaf which is usually cut into slices and fried. Mush may be a bit more minerally due to higher liver content. By the way, I'm not a fan of liver per se, but love me some livermush, sometimes called liver pudding. I haven't eaten a ton of scrapple, tho. |
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Post by inger on Mar 15, 2023 16:18:33 GMT -5
Liver mush sounds a lot like scrapple, a Philly staple. Can any of you compare the two? Similar. I think scrapple uses more varied, umm, "parts" (everything but the squeal) but both come in a loaf which is usually cut into slices and fried. Mush may be a bit more minerally due to higher liver content. By the way, I'm not a fan of liver per se, but love me some livermush, sometimes called liver pudding. I haven't eaten a ton of scrapple, tho. Yikes! For some reason liver pudding sounds even worse. I ate scrapple as a kid, but it’s off the menu these days. I believe I tasted some about 10-15 years ago and questioned why I had eaten it as a child. I recently mentioned it to Ruthie and she was repulsed. I told her that though we both grew up poor, her family seemed to have just enough more that they had more food options. At least her parents stayed together. With fewer options I would guess there would be less pickiness, yet I am the only one in my family with such an odd palate… |
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Post by inger on Mar 15, 2023 16:26:49 GMT -5
I’m simply not a foodie. There is nothing about the words liver and mush that I can logically combine to even make be believe it would be something I would even want to sample. I might throw up in my mouth if I was eating my standard fare and someone across from me was enjoying their liver mush. Since Ruthie’s parents wound up in western North Carolina, I asked her if she had tried it, and she stated a firm “no!”, but that her mom did make it for her father when the family unit was all together back in the day. The recent direction of the thread, with people munching on raw animal parts with blood running down their arms and doing whatever has to be done to eat liver mush is way out of my league. The Bearman says I’d be kicked out of establishments for asking for well dine prime rib… I guess I’d rather leave than eat something I wouldn’t enjoy and probably would vomit if I was forced to eat it. It’s strange how we are all basically mammals with omnivorous tendencies that some of us become vegetarians (another direction I could never take) and others have various tastes for certain things. In one extreme case I learned of in Ruthie’s family, there is an autistic nephew who from a very young age would only eat pizza. He’s now 17 and recently tasted something, I think it was chicken, and has now added that to his diet. I’m just thankful for the things I do like. At times I think that if I could just take a pill for the day it would suit me, but I know that’s not true. Some foods are just so satisfying that I would hate to lose the chance to chew them up and enjoy them… As with skateboarding, being a non-foodie is not a crime! My parents were great foreign travelers, but when it came to cuisine they would search out any place that had "American" in the name or at a minimum the menu had to be in English and steak had to be an option. The culinary possibilities today must be 100 times greater than they were fifty years ago. If we had to go back to what was available in restaurants or grocery stores in 1970, we would think we had been transported to East Germany under the Soviet Bloc. What we eat and why we eat, is hard to understand… Woody Allen once wrote: Why does man kill? He kills for food. But not only for food. Frequently there must also be a beverage. I loved Woody Allen when he was younger and not cavorting with his step-daughter. Isn’t it strange how a person can seem funny to us, then insult our sense of morality and no longer be funny? Or was it not that he stopped being funny but just stopped being published? I suppose for many Bill Cosby is in that same category. And then ot goes outside of comedy and hits sports… like the Trevor Bauer situation. Still the same pitcher. For all intents I would assume the same person, only now we know that person a little better. Perhaps too well… |
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Post by Renfield on Mar 15, 2023 16:27:17 GMT -5
Similar. I think scrapple uses more varied, umm, "parts" (everything but the squeal) but both come in a loaf which is usually cut into slices and fried. Mush may be a bit more minerally due to higher liver content. By the way, I'm not a fan of liver per se, but love me some livermush, sometimes called liver pudding. I haven't eaten a ton of scrapple, tho. Yikes! For some reason liver pudding sounds even worse. I ate scrapple as a kid, but it’s off the menu these days. I believe I tasted some about 10-15 years ago and questioned why I had eaten it as a child. I recently mentioned it to Ruthie and she was repulsed. I told her that though we both grew up poor, her family seemed to have just enough more that they had more food options. At least her parents stayed together. With fewer options I would guess there would be less pickiness, yet I am the only one in my family with such an odd palate… That's funny, inger, cause I think the people calling it pudding instead of mush did so to make it sound MORE appetizing. But I'm with you-- pudding makes it sound like some kind of oatmeal, which it is not--at least when it's set and finished. |
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Post by rizzuto on Mar 15, 2023 17:00:50 GMT -5
Liver mush sounds a lot like scrapple, a Philly staple. Can any of you compare the two? Similar. I think scrapple uses more varied, umm, "parts" (everything but the squeal) but both come in a loaf which is usually cut into slices and fried. Mush may be a bit more minerally due to higher liver content. By the way, I'm not a fan of liver per se, but love me some livermush, sometimes called liver pudding. I haven't eaten a ton of scrapple, tho. In Louisiana, dirty rice and rice dressing (similar) often have a certain amount of liver with the pork, beef, or combination being used. I enjoy both with and without liver, but some people are staunchly against the organ meat. I have always liked liver, whether it was calf's liver and onions, fried chicken livers, or mixed in with a pot of dirty rice. |
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Post by rizzuto on Mar 15, 2023 17:03:29 GMT -5
As with skateboarding, being a non-foodie is not a crime! My parents were great foreign travelers, but when it came to cuisine they would search out any place that had "American" in the name or at a minimum the menu had to be in English and steak had to be an option. The culinary possibilities today must be 100 times greater than they were fifty years ago. If we had to go back to what was available in restaurants or grocery stores in 1970, we would think we had been transported to East Germany under the Soviet Bloc. What we eat and why we eat, is hard to understand… Woody Allen once wrote: Why does man kill? He kills for food. But not only for food. Frequently there must also be a beverage. I loved Woody Allen when he was younger and not cavorting with his step-daughter. Isn’t it strange how a person can seem funny to us, then insult our sense of morality and no longer be funny? Or was it not that he stopped being funny but just stopped being published? I suppose for many Bill Cosby is in that same category. And then ot goes outside of comedy and hits sports… like the Trevor Bauer situation. Still the same pitcher. For all intents I would assume the same person, only now we know that person a little better. Perhaps too well… I have several comments, but I shall resist because we are dangerously close to dancing around the line of what is permitted, and no one wants Kaybli to have to lay the hammer down. It causes him both grief and additional ice cream servings. |
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Post by bearman on Mar 15, 2023 17:32:04 GMT -5
Pretty much any restaurant in our area that serves breakfast serves liver mush. I'm not sure about Cracker Barrel because I don't eat there. Abele's is still there and is good for any meal. Granny's has 3 locations. We were eating there this past Sunday and several folks with us were debating the merits of "fried crispy" liver mush. I don't care for it so I didn't chime in on the debate. You might remember the Snack Bar that served a lot of liver mush over 50 years until it closed last year. A local institution killed by covid and the inability to pay and keep help. I do remember the Snack Bar. Used to be several of them that began closing over the years. One turned into Keever's Keys I believe, if it's still there. The last one open we always called the rock house Snack Bar which I last ate at maybe 10 years ago when my Dad was still alive. Sorry to hear it closed. Kind of a fixture in the community. Keever Keys is still there. Mr. Keever is no longer living but the business is going strong. The Snack Bar was often referred to as the West Hickory Country Club. |
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Post by bearman on Mar 15, 2023 17:39:49 GMT -5
Having grown up where bearman now lives and moved east, I'm familiar with both styles and like them both, but I've come to prefer the eastern style with its vinegar based sauce. Biggest disappointment moving east, beside missing the hills, is that there is little liver mush down east. Surprising given the number of pig farms down here. Last time I was in the area, Windy City Grill (we called it Homer's back in the day) still had unbeatable mush and egg sandwiches. Thanks to you two Tar Heels for the barbecue seminar. Now I'm thinking of doing a North Carolina BBQ tour, from Asheville to Wilmington and all points in between. I'll have to convince My Better Half that we can do this without gaining weight (keep that FitBit whirring.) We have so many great regional cuisines in this country. I do appreciate the education you guys are providing. Ironic that you mention a barbecue tour. I have a good friend, who I call the Prince of Pork, who is obsessed with barbecue. He and his wife just finished a 4 day barbecue tour of eastern North Carolina. He ate at 12 restaurants in 4 days. One day he ate at 4 restaurants in one day starting at 10 in the morning. He is not over weight which is a miracle. |
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