I'll go ahead and preface this blog by saying I didn't take nearly enough photos, and for the most part I forgot to eat, so this is going to be more of a festival recap than a food blog. You can skidaddle if you were hoping for pulled pork food porn. I'll go ahead and say with the exception of the BBQ the food wasn't especially unique. Captain, the transformation is complete. New York has officially turned me into a food snob. Maybe next year I'll try a little harder to find some neighborhood gems, because they certainly exist. This is a college town after all.
We flew in on Thursday afternoon, and the team immediately gave me sh*t for hitting the gym within 10 minutes of checking into our hotel room. Hey, a girl's got priorities, right? Afterward, we went to a pizza place called Piola that was near our hotel so I could undo all that hard work. The thin crust pies were only $5.67 each because they run a deal Monday - Thursday from 3-4 PM. I ordered the 12 inch Firenze pizza (house made sausage and porcini mushrooms with mozzarella) on whole wheat thin crust (bonus points!). The crust was nice and crispy, but unfortunately the cheese and toppings were too sparse, and the sauce lacked flavor. It was fine for the price, but definitely nothing special. This was only illuminated by the fact that our server kept telling us that he was from Chicago and that this pizza measured up with the best of the best. Can't say I agree, but he was cool, so he receives the good effort award. We also ordered a couple of mixed green salads and a bottle of Pinot Grigio. At $19 per person with tax and tip, this qualifies as a fine Chapel Hill "cheap eat".
On Friday it was 60 degrees outside, so a fellow improvisor invited us to his brother's house for a catered BBQ and some live Bluegrass music, compliments of Chapel Hill's own Mipso Trio (keep an eye out for these guys. THEY ARE FANTASTIC!) It was a perfect day to spend time outside and stuff face. We had all the fixins - pulled pork, mac and cheese, collared greens, baked beans, Texas toast, slaw, hush puppies and the BBQ slatherings. The important thing to remember that in North Carolina people are very serious about their BBQ sauce, and their style is vinegar based. Personally, I prefer the vinegar sauce to the more popular tomato based sauces you see in other parts of the country. I also love that NC BBQ doesn't eff around when it comes to smoke and heat. Those beans were hella spicy. I ate three plates, and my butthole is still paying for it. GO BIG OR GO HOME!
That night, The Mannequin Room took the stage at DSI Theatre. We had a great turnout, and all of ourNew York colleagues came out to support. You can't ask for anything better than that. I got to play an old man named Jasper who harasses movie goers, as well as a woman who uses her family's body parts as key ingredients in her famous recipes (Auntie's Lee Press On Nails can really compliment spaghetti, apparently). It felt awesome to blow off some steam on stage with some of my best friends. GREAT JOB!
Saturday, we took a lunch trip with our friends, the Day Camp Kids. We visited a famous BBQ house called Allen & Son's BBQ. This place was so whack. Our waiter's name was Kord (yes, Kord), and I think his brain was full of molasses, or maybe bees. I almost died when they brought out the "BBQ Tray" that my friend Nicole ordered. She had used the words, "I'm gonna go ALL OUT!" and I watched her deflate when they said, "No ribs today, Maam". She settled on what she thought would be a heaping helping of Carolina BBQ. What came instead was a Lindsay Lohan sized portion. How was the word "tray" attached to this meal? (As a reference point, those hush puppies are about the size of a gumball, and the silver platter is what you would get your rice in at an Indian restaurant. I love that they then preceded to then put a cardboard plate INSIDE of the platter. "No ribs. No Klondike pie. No Hope." - Keaton)
Other folks seemed to dig on their pulled pork and this place is apparently an NC mainstay. I had some kind of pork stew with corn and beans, and it was a bit sweet for my liking. On a positive note, this place had badass hush puppies! These far exceeded the ones we had tasted the day before. The pork I tried was smoky, and the vinegar sauce here was tasty with a nice level of red peppers. I probably would have been more into the food, had I not been paying the price for my gluttonous display on Friday afternoon.
When I went to the bathroom I noticed that there were very detailed instructions on how employees should wash their hands, like down to the steps on how to create a warm soapy mixture by which to aid in sanitation. Later when Kord messed up our friends cobbler order and said "OH I'm sorry. Sometimes I get the peaches and the apples mixed up." Whhhaaaaaa??? There were redeeming factors, but the humor of this meal alone made the entire experience PRICELESS. Also we asked Kord to take a picture of our whole group, but where the hell is Chrissie? FAIL. I only spent $10 though, so I can't complain too much.
For my last night in NC, we hit up some shows, including Casual Sex Offenders show at DSI Theatre. I loved this one, though I think the woman next to me was not a fan of my cackling. OH WELL, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, THIS IS COMEDY! We went to BowBarr afterward, where I learned an interesting fact about the town. In Chapel Hill, if you are a bar that serves liquor only, your patrons must become "members" of your "club". For $5, I now have a lifetime membership to BowBarr and a card to prove it. I'm so cool. Now I feel like I have to go back just to get my $5's worth. Later, I hit up the DSI after party and danced like a maniac. A live DJ who's not afraid to touch Duck Sauce remixes. Mega win! Also, I was formally introduced to the Harlem Shake this weekend. WTF. Love it.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. NCCAF is always so well organized, and it was a delightfully refreshing trip. It's important to get out of New York every once in while to remind ourselves why we love to improvise. Meeting people from other cities is uplifting, and seeing others perform is always enlightening. I applaud Zach Ward and the whole DSI Comedy team for making the 2013 NCCAF Festival a huge success. Until next year, folks!
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