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You've perhaps heard of
That Little Pork Shop on Monroe St. in Eden, NC. If you did, but never visited, then join my club. This was my first visit, although Debbie had been a time or two.
I think I'd seen the menu on Facebook, but I'm not sure. Everyone told me that I need to go, but never really explained why. No one really said what was so special about
That Little Pork Shop.
The menu looked like an ordinary sandwich shop and the name implied a greasy, out-of-the-way BBQ pit.
The only thing that didn't fit was a photo of Caymus cabernet on a friend's Facebook page. What in the hell was a sandwich shop/BBQ pit doing serving world famous Caymus wine - a sandwich shop/BBQ pit in Eden no less? Rockingham County is Bud Light and Miller Lite country.
I've had Caymus Special Selection cabernet. We used to sell it for $50 per bottle many years ago. Now understand
That Little Pork Shop doesn't sell Caymus Special Selection, but they do sell regular Caymus cabernet for $92 per bottle. I even had the waitress show me a bottle of the Caymus to prove
That Little Pork Shop does sell it. That's significant.
I didn't buy the Caymus at T
hat Little Pork Shop just like hardly anyone bought our Caymus Special Selection. We still have a 32 year-old bottle of the Special Selection in our kitchen. We're saving the Special Selection for a special occasion. Maybe one day we will serve it with some prime steaks and share with some friends. We can get the prime steaks via mail order, but we don't know anyone who drinks wine. Everybody wants their Bub and Miller. Some things never change in Rockingham County. It's a shame. As Donald Trump would say, "Sad".
Here's the
That Little Pork Shop sign in the middle of the restaurant. I guess it was there to remind you where you were eating. You needed a reminder because the rest of the decorations were a bit deceptive. The rest of theme said you couldn't be in Eden in a greasy BBQ joint. I will explain later.
This is Connie. Connie was our waitress. Connie was very nice and attentive without being annoying.
This is my dish. It's King of the Sea, which implies a huge platter of mixed seafood. What you see is what you get with King of the Sea - about a dozen fried shrimp, a generous helping of french fries, and a little dab of slaw (pictured at the bottom). That's paw-paw sauce in the cup at the top of the photo.
Paw-Paw sauce had to be explained to me before I ordered it. It's kind of a spicy mayo sauce for dipping your shrimp. I think there other shrimp sauces available, but I don't remember what they were. Of course the red sauce in the middle is ketchup for your fries.
The shrimp were tasty, the fries were good, and the paw-paw sauce could have been a notch or two spicier, but I like my condiments with a real kick. Most people would have been quite satisfied with the paw-paw.
The slaw was good, but there was not enough of it. I would gladly traded out some fries for more slaw if I had to decide.
I probably should have ordered something with pork in it since I was eating at
That Little Pork Shop, but I didn't. We met someone at the bar when we entered the restaurant. Debbie knew her (Debbie knows everybody). She was eating King of the Sea, so I decided to also order it after I failed to get a rack of Thursday Ribs. It was Friday, so the Thursday ribs were all gone, which makes we wonder if it's really a good idea to order Thursday Ribs on Friday.
This is what Debbie ordered. It's two tiny pork tacos, and I do mean tiny tacos. They were reasonably tasty, but I thought the meat was too cold, but Debbie liked them. She topped the tacos with the
pico de gallo on the left and BBQ'd cabbage on the right.
She also had an small order of nachos (not pictured) with a South Carolina mustard sauce. I'm not sure if the mustard sauce was meant for the tacos or the nachos.
Anyway, Debbie liked her order that's what counts.
Here's where things start to change at That Little Pork Shop. This is the bar. It appears nothing is special. An hour earlier, when we entered, the bar was filled with people eating, drinking, smiling, and talking. I normally don't feel relaxed in crowded situations. It must be something genetic which explains why I don't like avocados. cooked carrots, or miniature tomatoes.
It was somehow a different vibe at That Little Pork Shop. I immediately felt at ease. I have no idea why, but I did.
Here's list of all the chicken or pig sauces available. I wish I had seen the Srirachayaki sooner. I would have ordered to go with my shrimp. I don't know what Srirachayaki is, but it sounds kick-ass. I've loved Sriracha since before CBS News did a feature on a California town that tried to shut down the factory because the fumes burned everyone's eyes. Sriracha is good stuff
This is the wine list. Notice the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc at $52 per bottle. We used to sell case after case of it for $8.99 a bottle. Mer Soleil Chardonnay at $38 per bottle. We sold it. The Caymus at $92 per bottle. And the Cakebread Chardonny at $65 per bottle.
What the hell is this? A blues legend Muddy Waters poster? Holy smokes, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto!
I thought I heard an
Allman Brothers Band tune playing softly in the background. I had to get up from my table and wander around to tune into a speaker near the front of the restaurant.
People looked at me kinda funny. Who is this guy aimlessly wandering around while staring at the ceiling? What's he doing? Is he dangerous?
I kinda reminded myself of the "Cookie Man". "Cookie Man" would regular visit our bookstore. He had this ritual of before the entering the store he would dance in a tight circle outside our door for several minutes. He would then enter and stare at our classics section for several more minutes. Sometimes he would buy a classic novel and sometimes he wouldn't. He often carried a box of cookies - vanilla wafers, I think. I probably struck people in the restaurant as a "Cookie Man" without the cookies.
The song I was hearing was "Midnight Rider" from the Allman's 1970 album Idlewild South. When we were leaving That Little Pork Shop, I spotted this photo. It's a photo of the mid-1980s version of the band. It's a not quite so good edition of the original 1969 group that went on to become blues/jazz/ rock legends. The band called it quits in 2014 and now only two of the original members survive. Two members died in separate motorcycle accidents, one died of alcohol, drugs and tattoos, and one committed suicide after the IRS said he owed $500,000 in back taxes
But, I can testify That Little Pork Shop is still rocking to Allman tunes.
Here is a collage of Steppenwolf, Journey, Jefferson Airplane. Van Morrison and the Eagles, along with two unrecognizables, one of which might be Trump ass-kisser and gun nut Ted Nugent.
This is Chuck Berry who everyone claims is a guitar hero. I always thought he sucked.
Nevertheless, these few photos give an idea of what to expect when you visit That Little Pork Shop. The walls are covered in rock 'n roll memorabilia, the food is good, the prices reasonable, and the staff friendly.
We recommend That Little Pork Shop. Go now. Support your local businesses that are trying to be a little different.
This pig monitors the counter near the cash register. Notice the apple in his mouth.
We hoped to speak to the owner (Donna), but our waitress said she was too busy washing dishes. I told you, it's a different kind of place.
