Year of the Pig

I was lucky enough to find myself in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend on a gorgeous fall day. Charlottesville is a favorite town of mine (yes, I am a wahoo), especially in the fall. I had some time to kill and what better way to kill it then to search out some barbecue? I had read some positive reviews of a place called Jinx’s Pit’s Top on East Market Street, not too far from Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall. My friends and I (Mr. Blue and Mr. Red) walked down Market St from the Downtown Mall, not really sure how far it was. We had walked about a half mile or so when Mr. Red spotted Jinx’s in the distance. We crossed the street and made for the place and as we got near, we noticed a figure standing by his car out front. He saw us coming too and yelled out as we came down the block, “I hope you aren’t coming here!,” to which we replied, that we most certainly were. We walked up to him, loading a cooler into the trunk of his car. He nervously and apologetically explained that he had closed the place up and was heading out to a catering job for 300. He was obviously right in the middle of getting everything together, and frankly, he looked a little stressed.

He apologized profusely, and said that he hated to send people away disappointed. He reached into the cooler in the trunk and loaded up a plate with 6 pieces of smoked chicken. He gave it to us free of charge and told us to enjoy. We were all hungry, and most grateful for the delicious smelling chicken.

We had a seat on a couple tombstones at the next door funeral dealership, and got down to enjoying some fine barbecue chicken.

The chicken was flavorful, juicy and good. We sat in the warm autumn sun and enjoyed it to the last bite, all the while watching Mr. Jinx busily loading his car. When he saw that we were done, he called over to see how we liked it, and we let him know it was delicious. We got to talking about barbecue, and I told him I was a big barbecue fan and an amateur “pitmaster” myself. He told me that chicken is not normally on his menu, which is mainly ribs (by popular demand) and his specialty, pulled pork, which he described as Western Kentucky style, NOT that Carolina style. He said the words “Carolina Style” with a sneer and then literally shoved his finger into his mouth and leaned over like he was gonna puke. Fortunately he didn’t, but this man certainly has some strong opinions on Barbecue!

Soon after, he waved me over, and he invited me into the tiny vine covered shack that is the Pit’s Top. The place has like 4 or so tables and a counter, and the wall are all covered with various barbecue ephemera. I don’t know what it normally looks like, but on this day that place looked like a cyclone had come through, and every level surface was covered with a jumble of pots and pans, and other cooking related flotsam. He had obviously been working hard to get everything done.

He pulled out another plate and generously scooped out a pile of pulled pork that looked wonderful. He didn’t offer any sauce, and mentioned that its better without. He looked around unable to find a fork, and I said I was fine to eat it with my fingers. “Even better,” he said, and we headed back outside.

Back on the gravestone, Mr. Red, Mr. Blue and I all sampled the pork, which was by all accounts delicious. Mild but flavorful, and juicy as hell. The pork was pulled in big chunks and pieces that you could really sink your teeth in. The was no shortage of tasty pork fat either. All in all, it was very very good.

Jinx called over again, and I again let him know that it was delicious. He looked pleased, and so were we. I would have loved to chat with him more, but he was obviously in a big hurry, so I guess it will have to wait til the next time I can get back to Charlottesville, hopefully soon. I highly recommend Jinx’s if you find yourself in the area. It’s a treat to have great food from someone who puts a lot of love and care into his ‘cue and takes great pride in work. Thanks Jinx!

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This afternoon I was thinking fondly about how delicous the food was at Texas Hill Country was last week, and decided that I should swing by there for a follow-up sampling after work. It was hot as all hell out today, and I just wanted to go for a “lite” meal of a couple of ribs and a side or something, and I figured that the by-the-pound model they have would make that possible and very affordable.

It was Tuesday, so I was a little surprised to see that the place was pretty much a zoo when I got there at 8:20 pm. They said there was a 15 minute wait until they would even give us a meal card. We gave them our names but ended up not having to wait very long at all. The friendly hostess came and got me and gave me the run down of the restaurant. I have to say that over all the staff at Hill Country is very friendly, and go out of their way to make you feel welcome, which I like.

The line at the meat counter had died down to just a few people. We got in line and decided on our orders. The line moved like arctic molasses while a doofy guy in front of me heckeld his buddies about their inability to decide on an order and proclaimed his opinion that this place was nothing but a gimmick. He seemed kind of like a wiener:

The doofy guy and his friends moved along, and when I got to the front I ordered 2 pork spare ribs and a leg quarter of the smoked “market” chicken. I headed over to the sides counter and got a small order of the “Texas Caviar” which is basically a cold bean salad made with black-eyed peas.

We went down and grabbed a seat. Again, the ribs did not disappoint. They were pretty much just like I remembered which was what I hoped for: simply loaded with smokey flavor, and delicious. The outside, a little chewy and savory with a touch of sweetness, the inside tender and firm and dripping with flavor. Also, I would like to point out that this rib was freaking ENORMOUS:

I thought that bigger ribs tended to be tough and harder to cook. Obviously not in this case. I am in love…I would love to figure out how to cook a rib like this, but it seems daunting to say the least. It is so good.

Now enough gushing about Hill Country. Yes, the food is awesome, but it is by no means affordable. I guess that is fine for them though, cause they are packing the place in every night with a bunch of expense-account weilding Manhattan-ites. My 2 ribs were almost $10. Yes they were big, but 2 ribs for $10, that is pricey. I also got a small leg quarter of chicken (delicious and more affordable, almost $4) and a side of the Texas Caviar, which was fine, but just a small cup of bean salad for another $4. So, 2 ribs, 1 small piece chicken and some beans ended up costing almost $20. That is definitely Manhattan pricing, but then again, it’s in Manhattan. I realize I was spoiled by my first trip there when they picked up the tab for the band…I guess I just gotta hope we get another gig there!

Even though they should probably count as more three, we can add on two more ribs for the Year of the Pig. That brings the count to 108 ribs, or 3 pigs 18. Thank you the pigs!

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