Anthony Found the Country's Best Barbecue? | Full Episode | S06 E08 |Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

the south is not a monolith there are pockets of weirdness awesomeness and then there's Charleston where for some time now important things have been happening with food a lot of them having to do with this guy [Music] I took a walk beautiful world felt the on my [Applause] shoulder found something good in this beautiful world I felt the rain [Applause] [Music] gettinger la [Music] what are we drinking beer we drinking harder stuff what what's going on I usually go with a Budweiser and a Jagermeister Budweiser any Jagger might say so you any notion of going local right out the window two know uh yeah two Jager cheers see again [Music] man the first one's never good the first one is never [Laughter] good but it gets easier after the first one so look um this is not my first time new uh to Charleston as you know uh I did do a show here before and I'm still taking [ __ ] about it apparently I really up the first time I came here because I made a number of Errors apparently none more egregious than going out for for like doing an oyster roast and drinking champagne I never heard of such a thing well champagne of beers is okay with oysters see that's what it must have been a t somebody got yeah confused somewhere yeah anyway I got it wrong this time I'm getting it right which is why I've come to [Music] you you could be forgiven for underestimating sha Brock first time you meet him I know I did I saw a scruffy looking dude in a trucker cap who always seemed to have a bottle of really good bourbon on hand Steller 1991 18 years old this is the end of great with whiskey it didn't come in this bottle this is my travel bottle cuz it's plastic you see so it don't break when you get [Music] Rowdy brige it took me a little time to discover the Ferocious intellect the inquiring nature the uniquely focused and purposeful Talent of The Man Without A Doubt one of America's most important chefs a guy who's redefining what not just southern cooking is was and can be but American Cooking as a [Music] [Music] whole we're going to talk a lot about this El next week about the Notions of of universal awesomeness is the Waffle House universally awesome we have one choice for the late night eating and it's the waffle house and they create this environment where no matter how blitzed you are or how normal you are you are welcome and treated equally with an experience it's not just like you know eating a plate of food you're talking about like a magical spiritual place it's beyond a magical spiritual place [Music] it is indeed marvelous an irony free zone where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts where everybody regardless of race Creed color or degree of inebriation is welcomed it's warm yellow glow a Beacon of Hope and salvation inviting the hungry the lost the seriously hammered all across the South to come inside a place of safety and nourishment it never closes it is always always faithful always there for you when I was a kid I was obsessed with this place because I wanted to be a chef and this is the only place i' ever been to where I actually watch people cook this was action to me CU I would see these people cooking at a pace and and cooking for people who were completely out of control but still providing Hospitality it was one of the things that really helped me fall in love with with cooking WAFF yes I can't believe I didn't know about this I am unbelievable in spite of my world travels new to the wonders of the Waffle House and unfamiliar with its ways the terminology for instance is new to me now look I'm looking at my hash brown and I am already confused and enticed saage you can't go all in you want everything I I need to make a choice so there's a balance and then when you find your balance you memorize it I go scattered covered smothered chunks which means I gather scattered on the griddle heaped with brown onions cheese and chunks of hickory smoked ham that's my style like I've been doing that since since day one and I didn't even know what that means you know what I know I I I I don't want waffles at the Waffle House [ __ ] man you have to have waffles okay you have to have a pecan waffle now so what what I've devised as as a as a chef is a a tasting menu experience where you can sit down and really experience what this place does and you start out first thing you have ban waffle really right gentlemen oh the bean waffle you just crush it you put every SLA it I I want it to be swimming in syrup and P's vegetable oil oh oh that's good that that's good see you don't come here Expecting The French Laundry you come here expecting something amazing this is better than the French Laundry [Music] man and then second course patty melt [Music] splittin M come on that's not insanely delicious oh godamn insanely delicious no meal is complete without Sunny B oh yeah and then a green salad with some thousand island dressing would be amazing would you rather have thin cut pork chops or uh T-Bone I would like both hind 57 is the best man what are the more complex sauces than the American repertoire really you want to talk [ __ ] about it this is this is sauce work trust me this is this is going to change your life no that's wrong man come on so there was a brilliant human being who had a recipe that was amazing and you got a bad rep you're talking about like Ronald McDonald he had a good idea no you're you're wrong I'm sorry here's who we here's who we we part ways my friend here's my sauce after a few bites of waffle a burger a hunk of generic T-Bone and some hash browns one feels drawn right to the center of what makes our country great an America yeah moment that drives me to clamber up on the counter and start reciting Walt Whitman The Star Spangled Banner Jose can you see and you know what I doubt I'd be the first oh my God give me a great the Umami happen yes yeah give me a break you know what Umami means in Japanese actually the literal translation of umami orgasm no Umami means in Japanese if you literally it means I will stuck your bite [Laughter] of that [Laughter] burger you went you bite the pork chop [Music] [Applause] [Music] everybody needs a place a community something larger than oneself to care about to be part of a place to hide when times get tough where you're accepted for who you are where the rhythms of a Summer Afternoon the crack of a bat the Roar of the crowd are music Behold The Mighty Charleston RiverDogs a minor league feeder team for the New York Yankees [Music] [Applause] meet one of the owners of the Charleston River dogs Charleston resident Bill Murray she said I've had too many beers to drive I'm going to take shotgun we're going to see how fast he can go all the way around the Outfield today the river dogs are facing the evil forces of the dreaded Savannah Sand Nets yaow that's going to score a run and that's going to leave a mark he going to hold him bad day for the Sands you're hated you're hated we will crush you like a well San a San has almost no backbone almost no skeletal structure they fold as difficult as it might have been to foro the joys of the bacon wrapped foot long corn dog known as the pig on a stick we knew we'd be coming here husk Sea's restaurant in Downtown Charleston one of two that have helped make the city a fine dining destination so I want to know Southern livings it's very different up there and down here it's a big transition easy easy for you or not it's easy the only the driving was the real transition because I drive like a New York person and when you come here here driving like New York you you you know it takes you a while to recover but you know I'm right on the edge here like telling people that this is a really nice place to come and really I don't want anyone else to come I like it the way it is there's a lot of insects it's really really hot in the summer and the traffic is worse than it ever was husk directly addresses Southern culinary Traditions using the best of modern techniques but always always respecting the originals and who made them it's a it's a pressing matter to redefine southern food if I were a southern I would I I I would make it a personal mission because it it was distorted for so long but as a northerner why should Northerners care well I think if you if you look at the history of food in America there's no denying that southern food was the first you know true Cuisine that had this foundation and that's important to preserve and you know to though it kind of goes back to the idea of it should be you should be cooking and preserving and celebrating the food of your grandmother people take a real pride in their ability to cook my aunt's recipe my grandmother's recipe this is how we made these and and the standard of food here is so high that when I go around any place I just [Music] go country ham bread and butter pickles and of course Sha being sha there will be bourbon I just like to start a middle with pickles and ham I'll try not to geek out too much but this is a very special breed of pig that came over here in the 1500s called aabal the Spaniards brought it it has a very particular flavor this one's aged 3 years it's ridiculously good that's the best American ham I've ever had far away that is unbelievable these two things together these are my two favorite things in the whole entire world stits well whiskey and Old Country Ham [Music] so this is an old dish um that I dug up in one of those old books that I that I study it's a it's an oldfashioned oyster pie oh so just grab your spoon and just dig all the way down the oysters are in the bottom how old is this recipe it was well documented in the 19th century pre- Civil War that's [Music] good so shrimping grits is the dish of Charleston I mean it really is it's the dish I crave when I leave Charleston and come back this version is one of the older ones where we actually um make Hony first by nalizing the Cor so you'll taste a little the Grits are a little bit different oh yes oh that's really great looking and then we make a brown gravy um which is the most classic way and on top crispy pig ears you get Granny's coming and saying I I haven't tasted this since I was a little kid yeah exactly man wow that's good [Music] we were trying to to replicate the emotion of s that the southern food provides you in a time where good ingredients weren't available so we made up for tasteless ingredients by frying them or dumping butter on them right now we don't have to wow what what's going on here this is an onslaught of Awesomeness here we didn't order this so hop and John so pit beans that have been cooking over the fire all day these are the red peas that came from from West Africa this is the original Carolina gold rice uh hand harvested with Benny grilled Whiting which is what nobody eats in Charleston in restaurants that's what everybody eats in in homes uh with some spring vegetables and then there a suckling pig that's the same breed oall as we had earlier with the ham mixed with a a mule foot uh cooked on a spit some cream corn and Cornbread wow so this is going to be my first mule [Music] foot this is like my favorite way to eat you know just family style pass stuff around the rice is amazing it's amazing [Music] yeah you see bubba gum you get angry I get very angry for me it's chilies because you see chilies along the Mexican border it's like what the do we have a shortage of Mexicans in this part there's like a shortage of good food and you're eating the Chili's I really want to like pull up the get a tire iron and walk in and just straighten some people out you know Clean House Road House style Roadhouse vastly underrated film you guys are both into Roadhouse such a great film crazy what else do you need to know you can deconstruct this film forever the more you watch it the more Mysteries unfold I've never seen anyone enjoy Road House more than I do what my friend's wife Kelly Lynch plays the doctor that stitches upy in the movie yes she's the romantic interest right the unattainable yes romantic interest and I have for the last I don't know probably about 25 years called his home in the middle of the night and said you don't know me but your wife's getting SL clammed up against the wall by Patrick TWY she's not putting up much of a fight and then hang up it is in many ways a perfect [Laughter] film it's a whiskey talking [Music] what is down home southern cooking where did it come from who responsible well it's always useful when asking those kinds of questions wherever you are to ask first who did the cooking back then in the beginning where did they come from when you meet people here you know that you're seeing a direct descendant of a slave that was here after um the slaves were free Ashley Green grew up on mosquito Beach on James Island in Charleston her mother owns the property which has been in her family for Generations fact of the matter is in the Old South back when the dishes flavors and ingredients of southern cooking which is to say American Cooking as opposed to European chances are that food was grown gathered produced and prepared by African slaves Chef VJ Dennis has made it a personal mission to celebrate and protect The Culinary Traditions his ancestors passed down to him so this is um some local blue crab just fresh and season this is a play on uh some garlic crabs but this a shrimp butter instead of the garlic butter then you have that play of you know the French influence into the cuisine right here the flavors and textures and food WS of West Africa are all over southern cooking and there are few better places to see how short the line between there and here than gulla culture I'm really enjoying this I got to tell you this is so delicious oh my goodness how African is traditional gulla cookie well I think what happens is you changed the location of the people but you did not change who the people were M um you did not change the information that they came with with their Traditions if you look at the history of American food you know you you'll you'll quickly see that this is this is one of the first true Cuisines uh of of America oh what's that what what is this this looks good real we going back to West Africa all right soft shell crabs and conch it a decidedly West African inflected peanut stew with Carolina rice sauteed squash and zucchini oh that's so good man it's been a while since I had conk clearly I mean correct me if I'm wrong Sean there's a different kind of interest in Charleston than existed 20 years ago right is something happening here and is it what what what what's changed so I mean it's good to have people from to have a more diverse community in a sense but then you also lose a little bit the danger is they're coming to Charleston because of the beauty and we're having to fight fight against you know bigger entities that seek to get the land so that they can develop it uh and so we're fighting to keep what's been ours and so it's important for us to preserve this Area Preserve this culture for generations to come according to the US government almost 50% of all the children in this country fail to get their recommended daily allowance of fast food restaurants have discovered that we like our food heavily Sal just add water and two of your own fresh eggs because of industry's Innovations in farm chemicals and Machinery taste it how did it happen that we ended up with Southern food being the most sort of cruy hijacked into this cartoonish uh parody of itself modern clean Advanced complete meat processing I think uh it's a combination of two massive cultural influences that came together at the same time the idea of industrialization came late to the South uh when it hit we got pagro the First Nutrition laws in America were written in South Carolina Ina because everybody moved into Mill Villages and immediately started eating processed food because they weren't growing their food anymore the second thing that happened is there was a massive amount of expertise that was lost during the Civil War a lot of the Southern Revival the whole turnaround started with this guy Glenn Roberts a man who asked a simple question how come grits aren't as good as they used to be and by starting the air Grain Company andon Mills decided to do something about it so why do this why do something as unwanted meaning nobody was particularly crying after you know we need we need rice that used to taste like it did in 1837 we need we need grits the better grits what called to you that you felt compelled to answer I'm a Cuisine [ __ ] you know I I think that culture is interactive with cuisine as soon as you look at Cuisine you're looking at politics you're looking at medicine you're looking at the advanced thinking I'll agree with you that there's nothing more political than food you got it chef Mike L's Restaurant fig was one of the first and most important on the Charleston scene determined to Source the kind of local products that you used to find everywhere in the low country as much as I'd like to illustrate that solid grounding and traditional ingredients of preparations with my order I could not resist the soft shell crack which are just in season with a pasta and shaved B which frankly I'd slit my best friend's throat for wow that looks great yeah that's beautiful sweet when you had your first Fork full of proper rice is there an instinct to go out and sort of budge in the rest of the world in a understanding what you have just come to understand I did not run up and down the streets of Charleston it was tough to dislodge people here so I just went straight to s Isco and I gave away tons of product and guess what they went crazy slow baked black bass antson Mills faraoh ramps in season and Lett uses and this Ed to All Things Glenn is responsible for bringing back heirloom rice and peas suckling oaba pig and chicken confi with Carolina gold rice oh that's isn't that great this is phenomenal these peas killer I'm hitting the rice next that's got the entire history of Southern Agriculture in it right here right there in that little bow this whole idea of having a Sentry in a dish none of this stuff was here 20 years ago near the end of the Civil War during General Sherman's scorched Earth campaign Seed stores were a favored Target He was largely African slaves who were able to save the seeds that Glenn is now able to locate and reintroduce it is those people who kept the corn it is those people who kept the cow peas it's those people who kept the vegetables because they couldn't buy their way out of not doing it you know when you talk about chitlins pigfoot POG Ms African-Americans in the north do not Embrace those poor people uh Classics of the South is an overlay of pain and oppression that goes with it how do we combat that what you're speaking about is walking away from your own culinary Heritage because of social sensitivity bottom line is if you want something that's compelling that draws on your soul this is why they call it soul [Music] food I need the finest in Turkey killing Couture I want to be ninja likee and I want to look cool well you know camouflages is the standard go out where in South Carolina so I'm I'm bringing that look to New York a cool clear morning and I do what any sensible charlestonian would do on a day like this look for turkeys to kill so pants need those all right you know in South Carolina our our state bird is the mosquito right so I want to be covered head to toe next thing we need to get your face covered up I'm going in a Waffle House wearing this this is totally me we do have some turkey vest turkey vest yes I just have it this is your last day on Earth Mr Turkey you will die now prepare to meet your makeer here's the thing about hunting the likelihood of me successfully shooting even the stupidest animal on camera are about the same as Donald Trump being gracious to anybody or Adam Sandler making a good movie basically a magical unicorn is going to land in front of me and shower me with candy and Vicodins before I shoot a freaking turkey on camera that shot you heard was me shooting a producer in the calf and telling him to hobble over to the Piggly Wiggly for a frozen gobler before he bleeds [Music] out and like magic behold turkey slow slow barbecue turkey with all the sides you want and need what do we got going on here Chef pigs feet and collar greens pickle pigs feet and collar greens oh yes and then uh barbecue KLA potato salad with ramps baked uh red PE mhm oh there's my weakness right there we made you some very special uh Mac orange mac and cheese I do love bright orange mac and cheese as you know and that's a turkey yep let that be a lesson to you like going to Grandma's house Mike L from fig is here and Jeff Allen owner of rebellion farm so at this point how many others are there like you guys like who are basically keeping it real as far as real Southern culinary Traditions as opposed to sort of jokey ones feel like just about everybody here is more more than you would think well how many people is that 12 yeah in a town like this that's pretty amazing God damn this is good pig feet and green is just ridiculously good this is really moist for a wild turkey like people who say they don't like turkey need to eat this so what's your impression of Charleston it's a you know it's one of those weird distinctly American mutations kind of like rock and roll or jazz or Blues that's what makes Charleston so cool that there's really nothing else like it in America and it's been unique since the early part of the 18th century and the City Works Hard to preserve that we have an incredibly gorgeous City that people want to visit so we have the advantage of Tourism the clientele definitely gives us the opportunity to be this Progressive or they almost push us to be more than we can even be we have an active Cuisine I mean we've recovered all these you know ingredients um and rediscovered a lot of the Agricultural influences that were d destroyed in the 20th century but we're not uh we're not just recreating history we're not going back and cooking the Civil War these guys are pushing the food forward here and we're creating a new Cuisine there's got to be a happy day when you can take you a Caesar R the menu forever going me get some more of that mac and cheese in a minute hell yeah [Music] [Music] we're one of the last few hunters in the world there's no store for us to go offshore to go and pick those fish up we have to look for them we have to go and sort of find the ones we're allowed to harvest we are the last of the final frontier of hunters you know to go and and to feed the world and that's what we do Mark Marfa has been a fisherman since the 70s he takes an unusual and much needed approach to catching fish instead of raking the Sea of the same overfished mindlessly popular species he passionately promotes the just as good and usually better less known and underutilized stuff but one of the great things about the low country is the flavor of our waterways and you know that wasn't being represented properly in all the restaurants then all of a sudden I hear about this guy who has the most beautiful fish you've ever seen but you got to go to the dock and get it frustrated by the conventional wisdom by the mishandling of fish by other Distributors and the narrow range available on the market he became his own dealer starting abundant Seafood one of the country's first csfs or community supported Fisheries he's Chang the way people think about so-called trash fish look at how beautiful that is today's catch trigger fish any market for these things oh my God yeah well we can't go and keep it in house enough no really really the crazy thing is it's like even 5 years ago there wasn't a single one of these in the menu you know before we all knew Mark everyone had the same crap on the menu tuna salmon grouper Snapper which is delicious stuff but as we all know we've overfished that and Mark really taught all of us the beauty of stuff like this nice this is a half shell style so you just leave the scale on the skin on just cook it one side up it's sort of basting itself yeah yeah yeah makes like a cup it's very uh cre is there something out there that you're seeing that's still a hard sell that you you wish people would one of the hardest cells is amberjack amberjack for amberjack the Japanese love it yeah amberjack oo look at that that is pretty smells good wow yum m oh man I can eat that 365 days ah charcoal and fish I know I know damn that's good [Applause] wow everybody thinks there's all this great barbecue in the South it's 99% terrible barbecue and so to get real barbecue you got to drive way out in the weeds off the main road and good freaking luck if you could find it is one of the most respected barbecue joints in the US of a run by one of the most respected old school pit Masters ask a chef ask anybody who knows good barbecue and they will tell you where to go here A rundown looking takeout about 2 hours drive out of Charleston in Hemingway South Carolina now how long have you been doing this since I was 11 grew up doing this crazy um my family started in 1972 so I grew up running around this place it's hard it is that's why no one does it man that's why there's nothing but bad barbecue cuz in my opinion the only true way to make barbecue is the burn barrel and pits and you got to stay up all night all night [Music] Rodney Scott a man sought after all over the world for some of the finest Whole Hog Barbecue there is Rodney and his family have been doing it like this and only like this for 43 years burn barrel fresh coals slow slow slow cooked all night in the pit there are no shortcuts this ain't a craft this is a calling look at that yes oh man you got to have a little bit of white bread with it at least a little bit of white yeah see this is what everybody always gets gets wrong in New York they serve cornbread with barbecue which of course falls into crumbles you can't yeah you got to have that look at that this is what we call pork spaghetti got to have some [Music] that man that sauce is nice too this is perfect right vinegar and pepper yeah so good that's my dad's recipe do you do not the the standard South Carolina mustard uh dressing at all I'm sure people are going to be pissed at me about this cuz people feel strongly about these things but I was not liking that mustard thing around here you scream mustard think it's going on a hot dog it's the only thing they know about mustard here oh good oh man that's just so good how many hours about that pig is cooking 12 hours not 12 you have to love it you have to be Head Over Heels in love with it to do that every day I mean you ever get sick of eating barbecue no not yet not yet so we're all going to be rolling out of here with the Rodney Scott cologne [Music] on what are we fishing for here well out here we've got um spottail bass flounder sea trout really yeah wo watch out I got you yeah and the way you fish here the idea is just throw it out as far as you can and then you just leave it oh just leave it yeah that's the cool thing about fishing out here oh good so I don't have to be working there no not not so much skill involv so how am I doing in the learning to be a redneck uh Department not wearing shoes you're looking good now that shoes a fishing pole in your hand oh a dock that's pretty awesome [Music] it's a different pace here man you know this this is the way to live I do enjoy it love that Waffle House man I need waffle I trying to tell you that was like a I like your restaurant and all I guess you're some kind of good chef but that Waffle House I'm tell that is a phenomena it really is [Music] let's get with boiled peanuts with whiskey over [Music] there that's good oh that is nice it's so good how's how's is it too to Charleston Oh it's been great this a special place really is oh was very unique it's been a lot of fun to watch the food scene here go from kind of what everybody else is doing and was doing doing something very singular very special and when you got a tradition and a uh when you have a tradition of recipes and a story behind food like you have here uh that's that's a that's a really cool thing well the thing is I'm still discovering stuff here I've been here 12 years that barbecue that riding gave us was sick man he is he is a force to be reckoned with man like you know you talk about Europe everybody travels hours to go to lb or tra travels hours by car to go to Michelle bra it's the same thing here we just do it for barbecue that a hit let's see yeah you did it bit right below the hook yeah so it's a that's an intelligent mother fish too big and [Music] intelligent so this hook up under the bottom lip ouch open open up my my leg because that's anal seeking bit you think you're going buddy it's like one those V it's like one of those anal seeking those fish in the on that swim up your Co nice try [Music] buddy who doesn't want to end with this the old fishing hole quality bourbon no need for shoes I think the crab are down there just a minnow Buffet in such circumstances whether you actually catch any fish is completely beside the point oh man not bad for a Yankee [Music]