Bye Week & New Games Added

We took our first bye week last week to hang out with a few friends and take in a few minutes of relaxation. There were a handful of decent games to watch all day, especially the Wisconsin vs. Iowa and Missouri vs Oklahoma games. Fear not, I still gorged myself on some green egg smoked burgers and ribs courtesy of the skilled hands of Bryce and Heath.

This week we'll be back on the road, however, with a much anticipated trip to another SEC school - Ole Miss! In addition to the game, which features the unbeaten Auburn Tigers as the opponent, this is a trip to the Holy Grail of all tailgating spots - "The Grove". The Grove, according to most pundits, is considered the preeminent tailgating destination in the country.

Finally, take a gander at the bottom of the upcoming schedule for a couple of games that I just locked in flights for (to avoid any further airline pricing shennanigans). In addition to the Texas vs A&M Turkey day game, I've added a trip to Nebraska (for their final Big 12 Game), as well as Ohio State, for the most heated rivalry in College Football (Ohio State vs. Michigan). I'll be giving my thanks this year at some of the finest College Football venues in the country!

Texas A&M: Aggies host Missouri

If you follow the schedule closely, I had originally planned for a trip to Wisconsin this past weekend to watch the Ohio State matchup. Regrettably, flight prices a few weeks ago had risen prohibitively high, and I had to pass yet again. This proved to be a rather unfortunate miss as it turned out to be the ESPN Gameday game, and had I attended it would have been the second week in a row of watching a #1 team get upset. Fortunately, a quick glance at the schedule revealed Texas A&M was in town, and I don’t need much convincing to head down to College Station for a game.

If you followed the blog at all last year, you know that I’ve been quite enamored with my trips to Aggieland, to the point that I would consider Texas A&M my adopted Texas team. There are few places in the country that can match the College Football atmosphere you will find in College Station, and I relish any trip down there. Irritatingly, however, the game was scheduled for an 11AM start in a stroke of scheduling ineptitude. Early start times completely deflate gameday atmosphere in my opinion. Fans have barely had a chance to roll out of bed by this time, and pre game tailgating is all but non existent. It makes for a flat, sluggish crowd, and College Station on Saturday was not up to its usual grandeur compared to some of the other trips I have taken there.

On the docket today was Missouri with their perfect 5-0 start to the season on the line. Given the Tigers dubious level of competition thus far, however, this figured to be a coin flip between Texas A&M and Missouri.

Unfortunately, the game was an absolute mess for the Aggies, who struggled to do anything all afternoon. The touted Tiger defense stifled the Farmers on offense, almost completely shutting them down until a late touchdown in garbage time. Not even the 12^th man could rouse them out of their funk. This Aggie team has been a perplexing team to watch and especially frustrating for long time fans, as they came into the season with rather lofty expectations. Unfortunately, the year has been mired in wildly streaky play that leaves the Aggies on a performance rollercoaster. Prior to the year, I had picked them as an outside shot to win the Big 12 South given their abundance of returning playmakers, but they can’t seem to put it all together. Missouri walked away an unblemished 6-0, and ready for an epic tilt next week in Columbia against the unbeaten Sooners.

We’ll be returning to College Station again in a few weeks for a more “official” visit, and hopefully they can show up to play next time around.

Thanks to my friends Pat and Christine for coming down, as well as finally meeting Pat’s brother Ryan. I was long overdue to catch up with them for a game and get them some proper brisket commensurate with Pat’s discerning taste buds.

It was also great to meet up with my old roommate, and former Aggie, Federico. We were able to snap a photo with the 12^th Man statue, proof that I was able to get him back for a game in College Station. Hopefully he manages to remember what real college football is like from his perch in New York City…not so long until the next visit my friend.

Martins Place BBQ

Martin’s Place had been on my list for quite some time now, and after knocking out the famous burger joints in College Station last year, I thought it was high time to sample some cue’ in Aggieland. Martin’s place is an institution in Bryan, with continuous family ownership dating back to 1925. The original location was sold after surviving the Great Depression, and the family upgraded to the present brick location which dates back to 1939 and has since been registered a historical landmark. It’s a rare find to step into a building with this kind lineage and history oozes from the smoke tarnished walls. Countertops worn through from decades of diners plates scraping against the linoleum dot the horseshoe shaped bar, and I hurriedly straddled a stool like generations of hungry Texas before me.

After ordering up my usual three meat pile, I was crestfallen when my order arrived slathered in unsolicited sauce. The most heartbreaking aspect of this saucing was that I could tell this was extremely well prepared and lovingly smoked BBQ. The ribs were exceptional, cooked perfectly with a deep pinkish ring, and I managed to save one from the depths of red sauce. Brisket wasn’t so lucky, however. While I could tell it was smoked quite well from the texture, I just couldn’t get past the tangy sauce to get a full tasting. My last few morsels of brisket had quite literally been drown in sauce, and were beyond rescue.

Regardless of the sauce-tastrophe, I’d certainly like to hit Martin’s again and give it another shot with a dry order of meat. This is a place that does it right, as an inspection of the deeply charred smoke room quickly revealed. Pitmaster Steve warmly offered me a tour of these ancient brick pits, which have been chugging through post oak (with a touch of hickory) for over 71 years. Smoke and meat folks, there’s no big secret with proper BBQ, and I’ll be back for more.

If you’re looking for a touch of history and some fine smoked meat after your next Aggie game in College State, sidle on into Martin’s Place and plop down in a stool. Just ask them to hold the sauce….

Snow's BBQ - Where there's smoke...

After my BBQ disaster at Maurice’s the week before, I needed some proper smoked meat to get the rancid taste out of my mouth. A trip to Texas A&M meant one sure thing, an early morning feast at Snow’s BBQ. As the best BBQ place in Texas, I knew Snow’s could rectify last weeks aberration. Of course, any trip down to Lexington requires a rather early morning wake up call, so beating back the drowsiness of a Ranger playoff game the night before, I settled into the captains chair of the Jetta at 5:00 am sharp for an 8AM arrival.

There are few more peaceful rides than a sunrise drive through expansive Texas plains as the amber dawn floods over the horizon.

I don’t need to rehash a full review of Snow’s on here, you can read about the prior two posts on Snow’s to get an in depth analysis.

http://pigskinpursuit.blogspot.com/2009/09/snows-bbq.html

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/12/snows-bbq-going-back-for-seconds.html

And if you still don’t believe me, take a look at the line at 8AM.

But to reiterate, this is the BEST brisket in Texas, and therefore the galaxy. If you’ve ever wondered what a picture perfect brisket looks like, please refer to the picture at the bottom.

South Carolina: Gamecocks vs. Crimson Tide!

Some times things just have a way of working out….

And turning into something amazing.

I had to cancel my Notre Dame trip originally planned for last weekend because flight costs had risen egregiously high, and I couldn’t justify the spend for a trip to South Bend. As luck would have it, a work trip brought me to Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday and I ended up falling into an offer for tickets to the South Carolina vs. Alabama game. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, especially when your tickets end up being in the second row on the 40 yard line (not so subtle brag). Needless to say, watching the #18 Gamecocks hosting the #1 Crimson Tide was an opportunity not to be missed, and I gladly made the quick ninety mile jaunt down to Columbia on Saturday morning.

After finishing up tailgating (posted below), I hustled into Williams Brice stadium a bit early. Given that this was shaping up to be an epic tilt inside the “Cockpit” it was clearly going to be a mob scene getting in and I didn’t want to miss a minute of their fabled “2001 Space Odyssey” entrance. Considered one of the most unique entrances in all of college football, “Cocky” the mascot and the rest of the Gamecocks take the field to the tune of Stanley Kubricks famous score from “2001 Space Odyssey” accompanied by the thunderous roar of over 82,000 fans. It was a unique, energizing, intimidating and deafening experience, all the things a great entrance should be.

As for the game itself, unless you spent last weekend under a rock, you already know that I witnessed one of the most spectacular upsets all season, and certainly the biggest victory in Gamecock history. I guess I know how to pick em’. To put it in perspective, South Carolina had never upset a #1 ranked team, and had only beaten a top five team twice before in history. Alabama had looked nearly invincible for the last two years, yet the Gamecocks absolutely dominated them on both sides of the ball, strutting away with a convincing 35-21 victory.

Remarkable about the win, however, was the way the Gamecocks won. They completely shut down the Alabama rushing duo of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. They also pierced the massive Alabama offensive line, which, from my perspective, looked like a herd of mastodons on the field. On offense, they took it right up the gut on the Crimson Tide, amassing 110 yards rushing on the day behind phenom freshman running back Marcus Lattimore (I guess he gets a “seat at the table” for that performance – kudos if you get that reference). One such rushing series included a spirit crushing eight minute touchdown drive to grind out the third quarter. I guess the Ol’ Ball Coach still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The in stadium atmosphere on the day was expectedly spectacular. This is SEC football after all, and yes, it is different. As you can imagine, fans were in a frenzy during the beginning of the game, but the energy level was sustained for nearly the entire contest given how close it was. At one point, the concrete floor was discernibly vibrating beneath me and aluminum benches sure make for incredible noise makers. This was a standing only affair, and the entire stadium only reposed for the half time show.

In fact, on the way out of the stadium, fans were singing and cheering inside the tunnel, still euphoric from the win. I had an interesting exchange with a random older South Carolina fan while shuffling out with the crowd.

Random Fan in deep southern drawl: “I’ve been coming here for twenty eight years and I ain’t never seen nothing like this…”

Me: “This is my first ever game at South Carolina”.

Random Fan in complete shock: “Boy, you sure picked one helluva game for your first time”

Me: “Yeah, maybe you’d like me to come back here more often if this kinda thing will happen?”

Random Fan: “Son, I will PAY you to come back here again for this.”

The only bone I have to pick on the day lies more with the SEC than it does with South Carolina in particular. Evidently the SEC has the foolish rule of preventing students from rushing the field after a win. Should the school allow the students onto the field, students will be arrested and the school fined $100,000. As such, there was an armada of security personnel and SC State Troopers lining the field during the final few minutes, to prevent any “unruly” fans from leaving the stands to celebrate with their team. Personally, I think rushing the field is one of the more unique and appealing aspects of College Football. If you’re team just knocked off the #1 team in the country, there is no compelling reason why those fans, and especially students, shouldn’t be allowed onto the field in celebration with their team. Do better SEC.

Despite the arcane SEC rule, this was simply an unforgettable experience that happened to fall right into my lap. South Carolina fans are noted for their passion and dedication to the team, and it was evident throughout my entire raucous gameday experience in Columbia.

South Carolina Tailgating & The Infamous "Cockaboose Railroad"

After braving the logjam of traffic getting off highway 77 (this was easily the largest game in Columbia in recent history) I slid into a parking space in one of the many warehouse parking lots in this industrial part of town, and began hoofing it over to the stadium area to check out another ballyhooed SEC tailgating scene.

The first stop to be made was over to the fabled South Carolina “Cockaboose Railroad” to have a glimpse at one of the most unique tailgating attractions in all of College Football. A mere fifty yards from Williams Brice stadium, you will find twenty two Gamecock garnet colored Cabooses occupying an abandoned stretch of railroad track. The “Cockabooses” have been completely renovated, and come complete with power, sewer, running water, roof decks, and a host of lavish interior appointments. Forget about your pop out RV, this is how tailgating is done in style.

In keeping with the gracious SEC hospitality I have encountered thus far, a very kind woman noticed my gaping jaw and invited me to have a look inside Cockaboose #10. Once inside, I was greeted by Hank, the owner, a dentist from Gaffney and proud South Carolina alum. After introducing me to his family, we exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes and talked about the upcoming game before I had to leave. On my way out, Hank offered his handshake and business card, telling me if I ever found myself in the area again, to stop on by for a visit. It’s this kind of genuine hospitality, to complete strangers, that make folks like Hank such a pleasant part of my College Football travels.

Following my tour of the Cockaboose railroad, I headed over to meet up with some of our favorite folks from the College Football tour in 2009 for a remarkable reunion tale. We met Lloyd and Cameron last season during our trip to Arkansas while hoisting a few beers in the Hog Haus Brewery in Fayetteville. Loyal South Carolina followers, they had made the trip out to watch the Gamecocks play the Hogs that day. After exchanging stories for a couple of hours, Lloyd told us that if we ever found ourselves in Columbia, we had a tailgate waiting for us. I bet he never thought I would actually take him up on that…

Reference last years post here:

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/11/aq-chicken-sham-hog-haus-brewery.html

After learning I was going to Columbia, Lloyd and I exchanged a few emails including directions to his tailgate spot and the promise of a beer only a stones throw from the stadium. True to form, I was greeted warmly by Lloyd along with an ice cold Yuengling and some sliders he painstakingly handmade that morning. We spent the next hour and half hoisting a few more Yuenglings, chatting about my travel schedule for the year, meeting various new friends at the tailgate, and postulating on the Gamecocks chances. Finally, I got a chance to meet the rest of Lloyds family that we had heard so much about, and they were all equally pleasant.

Pictured below: Lloyd, Grace (Cam’s GF), Cameron, Barbara and Peter

My only regret was not being able to hang around the tailgate longer, all the folks (Alabama fans included) were incredibly nice and welcoming. Lloyd himself has the rare gift of being a remarkable storyteller, so an afternoon can pass rather quickly around him, and I was almost sorry to head into the stadium.

Maurice's - BBQ Fail

Because of the short notice for my trip to South Carolina, I didn’t have time for my usual research and vetting process for appropriate fare. Couple that with a surprising lack of reliable barbecue reviews for South Carolina, and I opted for a simple, local institution figuring I would get a decent, reliable meal. Maurice’s BBQ fit the bill, with a handful of locations smattered throughout the Columbia area it seemed like a safe choice. This proved to be a stomach wrenchingly incorrect assumption.

Maurice’s “Real Pit” Barbecue turned out to be one of the most atrocious barbecue meals I’ve ever encountered. The fact that I ashamedly paid over twenty bucks for this hog slop was downright insulting. The meat might as well have been shoveled off a county roadside somewhere and I’d gladly eat rancid gutter possum before eating at Maurice’s again. I don’t need to belabor the individual meats with review (brisket, pulled pork, ribs, hash), except to say they were all virtually inedible and completely lacking any resemblance to BBQ (flavorless, smokeless, terribly cooked, cheap quality etc.). Furthermore, the meats were all adorned with an unsolicited South Carolina style mustard based sauce (giant red flag) which couldn’t possibly have saved any meal. It was thoroughly craptastic. Put another way, the highlight of my meal was the coleslaw; and I loathe coleslaw. I’d sooner be waterboarded than return to Maurice’s again.

The fact that a place like Maurice’s not only exists, but evidently thrives in Columbia (they have 14 locations) completely baffles the mind, and is a pox on the good people of Columbia.

Among a handful of the most egregious offenses at Maurice’s were:

1. I don’t know where they get the term “Real Pit” from. There isn’t anything remotely close to a pit on the premises, unless you count microwaves, heat lamps and warming trays. A “real pit” would, by necessity, require an actual chimney. You won’t find anything but a decorative one at Maurice’s, located on the other side of the building from the kitchen.

2. Barbecue, by its very nature, necessitates this thing called “wood”. It’s a fuel source used for cooking, typically derived from deciduous hardwood trees. Some commonly used varieties include oak, maple and hickory. Too bad you won’t find any of this “wood” at Maurice’s. I walked around the entire building to be sure and never found so much as a scrap of the stuff. The only thing I encountered was a drive thru window….ugh.

3. For those of you wondering, this is the reason why BBQ “sauce” is such a hot button issue for me, and why I generally eschew places that put undue resources and pride into their “sauce”. Maurice’s has over 4 different kinds of sauce proudly offered and sold throughout the restaurant, and they undoubtedly consider it a source of pride at their establishments. Unfortunately, the meat (you know the non-specific grey matter which the sauce graces) is so poorly considered here that no amount of sauce could ever rescue it from the depths of nausea.

Given the solid reputation that South Carolina enjoys for solid BBQ in general, I prefer to believe that Maurice’s is an anomaly. I look forward to exploring some more of the state to find something a bit more suitable to the palette. In closing, I can’t tell you where to find good BBQ in South Carolina yet, but I can certainly tell you where NOT to go: Maurice’s.

(I realize the above review was a bit harsh, and I don’t apologize for it. If you read around, I generally write very positive, praising reviews. But Maurice’s really was that bad.)