BarB Que and Jesus

BarB Que and Jesus

The culture in the Carolinas is a great deal about Bar B Que. Well, of course Basketball and Country music are important there also. We call it the BBC.

“We have the BBC here. Basketball, Bar B Que and Country Music.” But Bar B Que is sort of like a holy topic.

As a member of the Chapel Hill, N.C. Kiwanis Club for many years I can remember that the number one topic EVERY week, ALL year, would be about our annual Bar B Que cook-off. The rich variety of sauces, the logistics of getting cookers with their trailer ovens, the proper firewood, the whole pigs, the roasting procedures which lasted overnight, where to find the right slaw, which local celebrities should be judges, trophies, signs to advertise the event along the highways. But the basic concern was the taste and texture of the end product, mouth watering Carolina Bar B Que.

Folks up North are oblivious to how important our dedication is to Bar B Que. Tell a Carolinian visiting up North that there is going to be Bar B Que tonight and then toss some hot dogs and hamburgers on a grill, you will break his heart then and there.

So you can imagine how dubious I was when my wife told me here in Akron that a new restaurant just opened ten minutes down the road which is called Classic Carolina Bar B Que.


To make a long story short, we drove over there to what looked like a clean, attractive place with a menu that was just like it is back in North Carolina. It was lunch time and it was crowded even though it had been opened less than a week.

How could those Yankees learn so fast? This was the real stuff. It was the whole deal, hush puppies and all. I was so excited that I went around to all the staff, waiters, cookers and especially the cashier who even looked like a cute Southern Belle, praising what they had done. My bright Carolina Blue jacket with “Tar Heels” on the back helped confirm my sincerity. They even got the sauces right. Sauces are a closely guarded secret down South.

After filling myself and ordering some more for take-out I grabbed a bunch of menus to share this amazing discovery with all my friends.

Off went e-mails to family back in North Carolina, “We have Carolina Bar B Que right here in Akron, Ohio!”
Answers came back, “Yeah, sure, we’ll see when we get up there for Christmas.”

Waving menus I carried this good news to as many people I met. Our pharmacist was a little startled when I told him about my discovery with such enthusiasm. Repeating the message to his cashier caused her to furrow her brow as if I was relating some strange mystery.

Our church secretary was surprised at my sudden sales pitch while she was absorbed in her regular duties. But since she was originally from Tennessee she tried to understand. (Even though Tennessee “Que” would hardly qualify in the Carolinas as the real thing.) The ministers and fellow choir members were polite as I relayed my hot news to them. We were in church after all.

It was shortly after my latest mission around town for real Que as I stopped at a red light that I heard a voice from above.

“Chuck, you have been running around town excited with this good news about Carolina Bar B Que coming to Akron.”

“You used to feel that way about Jesus. You couldn’t wait to share that message back then. As a young man it propelled you off to seminary, and carried you to far away places to share the “Good News.”

Then the voice said, “It’s been a while Chuck.”

I had to brush away tears as I headed back to Classic Carolina Bar B Que.