This might not seem like a big deal if you’re not from down South, but, if you are like I am, then you’ll understand that what I’m about to say actually is a big deal. Growing up, I didn’t like barbecue. Not ribs, not chicken, not pulled pork–nothing.

So despite my misgivings, I rolled down the window, pushed the call button, and ordered. I was rewarded with a Pork Bar-B-Q Tray with beans, slaw, hush puppies, and a sesame seed bun. Not the best, but better than I’d had since the last time I was down south. Fletcher, who happens to be a Palace Fried Chicken regular back in Brooklyn, got the chicken. It was weird. It was really good. Imagine tossing fried chicken in equal parts Mrs. Butterworth’s and Tabasco, then trying to eat it. I wanted more, but I had a hard enough time getting that first bite from him. Joseph got the onion rings with whatever he ordered. Luckily for me, there were a lot of them, and they were awesome. It boggles the mind as to how they get ’em so damn crispy.

JAMESON PROCTOR

Read the first of Jameson’s food tour dispatches here, and watch his band, The Weight, in their VBS Practice Space session here.