@johnb ans @bbqbboy: Chicago is among many non-Southern places that has great old-school BBQ, and I think your respective points can reinforce each other.
Fact is, traditional BBQ in Chicago–rather than the boutique treatments there, a thing that Chicago also does with all kinds of “ethnic” foods, e.g., tacos with Korean gochujang sauce; pupusas with duck, arugula and gruyere --is largely descended from Southern Black-Folk who migrated in various waves from the Southern USA, all the way from Jim Crow years through the Civil Rights battles.
Like pizza, BBQ’s all over, but it often still reflects historical facts of ethnic migration and in due course, variations. But numerous South-Side Chicago BBQ joints have very Southern cultural ambiance.
Long thread: I guess it should be no surprise that BBQ, like chili and pizza, gets people taking a stance.
I’m not a bread historian but I have a difficulty with some pre 1960 references above to soft bread. I have long been under the impression that the squidgy stuff was invented in about 1960 in a London outer 'burb called Chorleywood. Or is it another case of the Brits falsely claiming credit for important inventions - television, computers etc.
Interesting, @alexjames10, that Cold War timing. Like the Big Macs of the world, microwaveable foods, Twinkies, etc., artifacts of a brave new modern world order. Among the bread’s properties is its spooky, chemically enabled lack of staling and molding. Progress!
I grew up with Wonder Bread but it was called Melita in North Carolina. We ate it with pimento cheese. I am not a liar. I hate Velveeta and I hate Melita and Wonder Bread. We used Melita bread to feed ducks and pigeons. I will never eat a grilled Velvetta sandwich on Wonder Bread.
When Chris Schlesinger (native of southern Virginia) open Jake and Earls BBQ and the East Coast Grill decades ago, he was famously quoted as saying he needed a cheap white doughy roll to go with his Eastern NC vinegar style BBQ. He made great Eastern NC BBQ, and it did soak up the sauce. But it as a roll, not just plain doughy bland white bread.
As I have already mentioned, I have no credentials as a bread historian but the story around the Chorleywood bread process was that it was a successful attempt to make “bread” using mainly UK produced soft wheat rather than imported US/Canadian hard wheat. The forex saving was very much required by the government of the day.
I’m interested in learning what the difference is between wonderbread and the Chorleywood process stuff. The two variants are synonymous in my understanding. Generally filthy but, as pointed out above, it has its application in various sandwich applications.
And, yes the Brits invented a precursor of TV. But it had little or no commercial application thus is null and void in real terms.
I don’t know about the history of TV, but the Brits did invent the jet engine so props for that.
I know Chicago has plenty of BBQ places. I have been there many times and now my daughter who is a major foodie lives there so whenever I visit I get a tour of all the latest places, (tho not so much BBQ). However, my original point was that while cities in the north do have BBQ these days, they are still greatly outnumbered by rural joints in the South, and in that sense I have to believe that, looking at the country as a whole, there is likely lots more soft white bread being served with BBQ, especially traditional BBQ, than fancy upscale breads.
Please I stand by my comments…and I accept your comments as being younger than you…but…
yes it is a vehicle…and a staple… but remember to pick it from the roof of your mouth…
Is it still there?? My parents are (were?) fans, although we would often go to Phil’s fish market- back when it was the original small local spot, i would order the shrimp louie with the shrimp on the side (for dad to have)
Abundant here in the PNW. I found out about it in the 80’s from a butcher’s wife in Reno Nevada and now Wa - have been using it during most of my cooking life. It’s a great cut. Of course eating it at bbq places too, although half fatty brisket is my favorite. But perhaps it’s a tie between that and chopped or pulled pork. All the best bbq joints in my opinion have served the soft white bread. Never thought about it until reading this thread. It just is.
(for dad to have)
