Hey, I'm Jocelyn and this is The Eats of North Carolina
And we're gonna start with one of my favorite beverages, Cheerwine Soda
It's not something that you can get everywhere in the country, but if you find it
you should definitely try it. It is an original from North Carolina
And we actually, I know people who like asked me to bring it home with me when I go somewhere
So I always gladly do that. I get a couple extra bottles or so and bring it back for them
So when you're here, Cheerwine is a definite North Carolina thing you need to try. And while we're talking about soda, I just want to say
Pepsi was invented here too. So much of the South, when you order a soda, you actually say
all the Coke, especially when you're in Georgia. And that means, you know, any kind of soda
but in North Carolina, Pepsi is, you know, kind of King. I don't know. It's, this is where it came
from. So check out those two great sodas and always their sweet tea because it's the South
So one other drink we should probably talk about is beer. I swear to you, there's a brewery on every corner, everywhere I go in North Carolina
And you get some really great craft beers all over the place. So don't be afraid to try out some local brews and, you know, not just the national things
Go ahead and try out some local stuff. You might find some really amazing things
So barbecue is a staple all over the South and North Carolina is no exception to that
But the barbecue here has this nice vinegary sort of sauce. something a little bit different you know most of the places you go and you have it it's like
tomato based south carolina's got a mustard base but north carolina is definitely a vinegar based
sort of thing and for as many people make it it a different sort of something so go ahead and try that barbecue And also barbecue with hush puppies and coleslaw is a definite thing
Those three things together. Barbecue, hush puppies, coleslaw. Try them all together
Something interesting that you can find in North Carolina is called chow chow
Chow chow is, um, it's kind of a mix. It's like, I want to call it a coleslaw
It's definitely not a coleslaw. It's just a bunch of stuff all mixed up together
Like you'll have green tomatoes, you'll have some cabbage, there'll be onion
All this stuff is chopped up and oh, it's all put together and it's just really yummy
and tasty. And so you should definitely try chow chow. So some people around here like to put chow chow on top of their hot dogs
And that leads me to the Carolina hot dog, which is something you really definitely want
to try when you're here. It's a hot dog and it's got several unusual toppings to many people
there's onions there's coleslaw there's chili and sometimes there's mustard on top it sounds like a
weird grouping of food right but it's actually pretty tasty and the things are you know you've
got that that sweet tangy of the slaw and then of course you've got the meat and the heat of the
chili and those onions just give it some bite it's interesting and you should definitely try
one when you're here if you're in coastal north carolina one of the things you'll find that you
don't necessarily get everywhere is a soft shell crab. Soft shell crabs are blue crabs
that are in their molting state, so the crab is no longer hard on the outside. It's soft
shell. And then they fry it and you eat the entire thing. You don't try to pop it open
and just eat the meat inside You eat the entire thing It a different sort of thing I personally really like them but I know a lot of people just kind of can get past the texture of that soft shell
It's just different and you should try it if you're brave. Along with the crab theme
we'll talk a little bit about she crab soup. She crab soup is something you'll find throughout the
south coast of the United States, but North Carolina is like many places. They do great
she crab soup it's a bisque it's definitely creamy and rich and thick and can be really hearty
but the difference between just crab bisque and a she crab soup is that in she crab soup you've got
the roe so the eggs if you will so not only is it the meat but you've got the eggs and then usually
they drizzle like a little bit of dry sherry over the top and it is tasty no matter where you get it
so my favorite thing from north carolina is crispy cream when that hot now sign is on i thank the
North Carolina gods that made it because they're my favorite donuts. I don't even love donuts. Like
I'm not a donut person, but hot Krispy Kremes get in my belly like so good. Right. And while we're
talking about donuts, we can't really talk about North Carolina and donuts and not talk about
duck donuts. Duck donuts originally from the Outer Banks, but you've kind of grown and you might find
them outside the Outer Banks. But if you go, it's an experience. It's kind of industrial where you
get to see them make them on a conveyor belt type of thingy. I don't, I mean, it's, it's just, it's
it's a different experience than, you know, just going and going, I want that donut and that donut
and that donut. And they've got really interesting flavors and all sorts of toppings and stuff. So
definitely if you get a chance check out duck donuts So two fast food places that are original to North Carolina are Bojangles and Cookout Cookout is like barbecue and things like that Bojangles has
the best dang biscuits you can get outside Mama's Kitchen. I swear to you, I've never had a bad
biscuit from Bojangles. Both are, you know, kind of like fast food, whatever, but I just thought
you should know that those are two places to stop as you're driving through North Carolina
So in our house, we're kind of hot sauce fanatics. We've probably got 30 different hot sauces from all over the world, but our old standby
is Texas Pete. Guess what? Texas Pete is not from Texas. It's from North Carolina
I have no idea how that happened. I don't really care because that is my go-to hot sauce when I'm not thinking about, you
know, all sorts of different kinds of flavors and I just want a solid one. Texas Pete is mine
That's my favorite. You know, just stand by. Thank you, North Carolina
I appreciate it. So since Caleb was like a little tyke and he first started taking his lunch to school
the one thing that I've kind of always had to include in his lunchbox are pickles
Specifically, Mount Olive pickles. From where else? North Carolina. That's like another one of those standbys
I'm really grateful to North Carolina for all these standby things in my diet
You know, pickles and hot sauce and Krispy Kreme and Bojangles. So there's so much great stuff
I hope you explore North Carolina and don't forget to get some of those normal southernisms, you know, mac and cheese, deviled eggs, net pimento cheese, all that good stuff
You'll find it all over North Carolina, just like you will the rest of South. So that is it from Highlet Mountain in North Carolina
I hope you all enjoyed this and we'll talk to you later. Bye