Posted on 08/24/2015 1:30:34 PM PDT by Albion Wilde
The US is in the midst of a barbecue boom. But as television programmes and restaurants celebrate mostly white pitmasters, are the cuisine's African-American roots being forgotten?...
...the Brantleys have enjoyed a great deal of success with their traditional St Louis-style barbecue. There are lines out the door, as well as accolades from both local and national media...
But things aren't as good as they used to be. Daryle once had three locations and sold the sauce bottled at local supermarkets - today he only has the original shopfront.
The decline happened as factory jobs left St Louis and the recession of the 1990s took its toll. Once the outlook improved and he wanted to expand or make improvements, he found no bank would loan to him.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
I'm just guessing here, but much of Southern cuisine is often attributed to blacks, in no small part because black women were the cooks on large plantations that ran the cultural life of early America in the South. Fried chicken is very frequently attributed to African cooking patterns. Early American barbecue methods were originally done outdoors in a pit; something that is more likely to have arisen in hot Southern climates and to have had its antecedents in primitive, no-tech African cooking using hot coals and heated stones buried with the meat overnight, or spit roasting over open flames with tree limbs as the only available technology.
Pig was not cooked in-the tobacco fire
He is the father in the article. I guess he could be 70. And many blacks continued working on plantation-style farms after the end of slavery, where presumably they were then entitled to some form of wage. There are still a number of “plantations” in SC and GA, for instance, that have farm or garden employees. That’s the only explanation I can think of.
I hate to say but I don’t feel safe at urban black restaurants. But I’d be happy to eat at a black BBQ place in Cody if they ever have one!
Obviously BBC doesn’t watch the Travel Channel and Food Network food shows featuring BBQ restaurants and steak places, “Man vs Food,” or “Diners, Drive ins and Dives.” Or if they do, they selectively don’t watch all of the Black/African-American BBQ resturant owners that are featured on those channels and shows.
“It is almost impossible for a restaurant to get traditional financing. Their fortunes can change very quickly, and they probably fail at a higher rate than almost any type of business.”
80% or so in the first 18 months.
L
Reality is that everybody in the South knows the blacks make the best BBQ. You ain’t from around here are you? :-)
I’m in GA, you can find tow-behind pits and smokers on rural roadside corners. It’s torture to drive by!
Thanks for both your comments.
I read them and found them interesting. I don’t have anything to offer up to add to them in return.
Take care.
Beat me to it...
Though there is an awesome little shack in Garland.
Actually, I've lived in the South for about half my life, and am well aware of blacks' expertise and originality in Southern cooking. That's why I posted this article about the disproportionate display of white BBQ chefs on television. Did you read the article?
I’ve lived in the South all my life and I’ll raise you a rib. :-)
Don’t inject facts into the story line!!
Maybe they are great pit masters but not great business people?
Restaurants are hard places for banks to decide o finance, especially if you’ve lost a couple places before.
And here in the greater DC-Baltimore metro area: I doubt if any of the BBQ joints are white owned, except for Famous Dave’s and Texas Rib (single restaurant). Go to Levy’s, Pig on the Hill, and dozens of other excellent small Black owned BBQ places.
“I’m in GA, you can find tow-behind pits and smokers on rural roadside corners”
Oh yeh. We have a tow behind guy that sets up Sat and Sun at a local gas station down the street. Everybody starts lining up. Mr. GG2 gets the brisket plate and I get the pulled pork. Its heavenly.
So 80% of restaurants close in the first 18 months of existence, and the author of this article quotes some guy Daryle Brantley in St. Louis, who has closed two of his three locations but thinks he can't get a loan because of racism.
I don't know the author or this Brantley dude, but I'm certain they didn't meet at a Mensa gathering.
“Carwash & Ribs...how can you beat that?”
Carwash & Ribs & Beer?
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