Mason/Dixon Line? These people think not!

[Nightwalker]

I'm not sure if I want a double espresso, a Full English breakfast, coleslaw on my pulled pork sandwich, an In-and-Out burger, a Baja style fish taco, a Pacifico Clara, potato soup, a carne asada burrito, grits, hashbrowns, home fries or a sweet tea to wash it all down with...

I wanna eat at your house!!!

[Jester2000]

In my travels around this country about the only place the topic of the civil war comes up is down south.

I'm guessing you haven't visited Gettysburg? The Gathering is there this year. You should come.

As for me, I've already written a poem about the making of scrapple on this site, and I prefer the demarcation of North-South to be the IHOP-Waffle House line.

Covered and smothered!

[prozac]

The Waffle House is a good demarcation line but there is a smattering of them up north along truckstops. The best indicator is when you see more then two people at once with a Dale Earnhart hat, your in the South. P.S. A good ole #3 baseball cap increases your chances while thumbing it by an order of magnitude of roughly 10.

[TIDE-HSV]

Never really thought about the western NC mountains as being solid rebel territory, since they placed about as many soldiers in the Union Army. My family, on both sides, is north Alabama back to when it was first settled by whites, around 1800, and one great-grandfather fought in the Union Army and another was a member of the Union League (the Confederacy confiscated all his property and he sued them for years, but the same politicians defended themselves on the grounds that they were formerly acting illegally for an illegal government - Kafkaesque, but hard to argue with). And my family history is by no means unusual for NE Alabama...

[Dances with Mice]

I like to take baby back ribs and boil them in salt until they are just tender enough to tear from the bone. ... That's Bar B Quing to me, and you can use this same strategy on any type of meat except fish.........

Everyone else is being too polite to point this out but ... OK, first let me say I'm sure those ribs are real tender. And tasty. But what you're making is smoke and sauce flavored boiled ribs. Boiled-beque. It's not Barbeque.

Just sayin'.

[Lone Wolf]

Everyone else is being too polite to point this out but ... OK, first let me say I'm sure those ribs are real tender. And tasty. But what you're making is smoke and sauce flavored boiled ribs. Boiled-beque. It's not Barbeque.

Just sayin'.

i agree. ribs should never be pre-cooked in any way

[Uncle Silly]

I prefer the demarcation of North-South to be the IHOP-Waffle House line.

Covered and smothered!

i'm confused. so IHOPs are North, WHs are South? i've eaten at both (here in the South)... tho i do prefer the Waffle House, it's not a terribly strong preference. anywhere i can get my greasy breakfast on at 4am is fine with me.

[Alligator]

i'm confused. so IHOPs are North, WHs are South? i've eaten at both (here in the South)... tho i do prefer the Waffle House, it's not a terribly strong preference. anywhere i can get my greasy breakfast on at 4am is fine with me.

What you'd be looking for up north would be a 24 hr diner.

[Appalachian Tater]

I thought IHOP was everywhere:

http://ihop.know-where.com/ihop/

Waffle House is just now working its way up North:

http://direct.where2getit.com/cwc/ap...nt=wafflehouse

Huddle House is probably more southern at this point:

http://www.huddlehouse.com/locator/locator.asp

[Dances with Mice]

So where's the kudzu line? That would be the true dividing point.

[Appalachian Tater]

Kudzu map:

http://www.invasive.org/eastern/species/2425.html

It's not just in the south anymore. It has also been discovered on the west coast but they apparently have been able to keep it eradicated.

[Dances with Mice]

Kudzu map:

http://www.invasive.org/eastern/species/2425.html

It's not just in the south anymore.

Omigawd! It's gone as far as New York?! And our government is worried about human terrorists?

If it ever spreads into New York City it ... well, that might be an improvement. I can see the movie "Planet of the Kudzu" where in the final scene someone finds the Statue of Liberty Torch just barely sticking out of a kudzu field.

[Jester2000]

i'm confused. so IHOPs are North, WHs are South? i've eaten at both (here in the South)... tho i do prefer the Waffle House, it's not a terribly strong preference. anywhere i can get my greasy breakfast on at 4am is fine with me.

While there are IHOPS in the South (they are, after all, the INTERNATIONAL House of Pancakes), and there are a few Waffle House locations in the North (Carlisle, PA comes to mind), generally speaking the debate over where to go for a cheap greasy breakfast in the North is between Denny's and IHOP, while the debate in the South tends to be between Waffle House and Huddle House.

I think it would be hilarious to argue about this, by the way.

[Uncle Silly]

While there are IHOPS in the South (they are, after all, the INTERNATIONAL House of Pancakes), and there are a few Waffle House locations in the North (Carlisle, PA comes to mind), generally speaking the debate over where to go for a cheap greasy breakfast in the North is between Denny's and IHOP, while the debate in the South tends to be between Waffle House and Huddle House.

I think it would be hilarious to argue about this, by the way.

OK, I'm starting to see the problem. See, down here, these are two different kinds of animals -- probably part of the same family, but certainly different species. IHOP, Waffle House, and Huddle House are roughly equivalent. Denny's and Shoney's (and maybe Perkins) are also equivalents, but are distinctly different from the first category. (Personally, I think it's the buffet that sets them apart... but that throws Perkins out of the category.)

So a Southerner might debate IHOP vs Waffle vs Huddle, and might debate Denny's vs Shoney's, but by the time they get to debating they've already decided whether they want Waffle House-ish or Shoney's-ish.

Personally, I like Perkins... they have great pies...

[Cookerhiker]

I'm joining this discussion late because I've been away for a while but have a recent relevant experience. I'm in Biloxi, Mississippi helping rebuild houses damaged by Hurrican Katrina and today, my work partners and I partook of a Waffle House. Awful! One guy ordered cheese grits and received plain grits with a slice (right out of the Kraft package) of American cheese on top. I would assume you southerners would not consider this authentic cheese grits.

I try to avoid chains anywhere, whether north or south. In general, it seems to me the south has more chains and it's harder to find a local place. I managed to find a few decent places - had crawfish etoufee today. But the best was last Saturday when one of the homeowners benefiting from our work threw a party with BBQ and a host of saucy dishes including her homemade gumbo. Outstanding!

[TOW]

Everyone else is being too polite to point this out but ... OK, first let me say I'm sure those ribs are real tender. And tasty. But what you're making is smoke and sauce flavored boiled ribs. Boiled-beque. It's not Barbeque.

Just sayin'.

Don't speak for everyone else bro.

And by the way that's how I was instructed from a real southern cook as to the best cooking techniques for undertaking such a task. But on the other hand the way you suggest to cook them which is straight to the deep pit, or grill is as good too. But you to cook them slow and steady to get the same effect. What boiling does is quickens the tenderizing process........

[TOW]

So where's the kudzu line? That would be the true dividing point.

i agree with you on that one!

[Dances with Mice]

Don't speak for everyone else bro.

And by the way that's how I was instructed from a real southern cook as to the best cooking techniques for undertaking such a task. But on the other hand the way you suggest to cook them which is straight to the deep pit, or grill is as good too. But you to cook them slow and steady to get the same effect. What boiling does is quickens the tenderizing process........

Bless your heart.

[emerald]

So a Southerner might debate IHOP vs Waffle vs Huddle, and might debate Denny's vs Shoney's, but by the time they get to debating they've already decided whether they want Waffle House-ish or Shoney's-ish.

Personally, I like Perkins... they have great pies...

One of the fundamental shortcomings of The Green Diamond is its lack of a Shoney's. Denny's just doesn't get it for me. The nearest I recollect are at Morgantown, West Virginia and Waynesboro, Virginia, both of which are a bit too far to drive just for breakfast. When I feel so inclined, I DIM (that's DIY in case you wondered).

[guavaguy]

I have always subscribed to the notion that a "souther state" is where you can get sweet tea at nearly every eating establishment (McD, Golden Corral and Chic-fil-A the exceptions as all their units serve it). West...Arkansas and Louisiana are the last states to qualify.
Once in Chicago, I was told that ice tea was out of season...it was November!