Sam Spencer: Midwood a good ’cue place

Reading John Shelton Reed’s Dec. 8 Point of View “How Hillary got smoked in N.C.” made me want to give up on barbecue all together and go to Arby’s.

Sure, Midwood Smokehouse isn’t your traditional Tar Heel barbecue joint, but they should get credit for evangelizing in a city that is by no means a barbecue town. It has taken the True ’Cue pledge from The Campaign for Real Barbecue and its plate – hush puppies and all – lives up to that standard.

Us Queen City barbecue fans suffer many impostors who don’t cook with wood. They’ve also put a great spin on some North Carolina standards.

Cheerwine, which celebrates its centennial next year, is used in a great sauce that may not live up to tradition, but sure passes the taste test.

Finally, President Obama and Hillary Clinton made their stop at Midwood on the suggestion of the Secret Service agents who had been eating there all week.

If the hog is good enough for the women and men who put their lives on the line for our country, it’s good enough for me. Midwood Smokehouse cooks a good pig, and pig doesn’t lie.

Plus, if Donald Trump can win Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska while insisting on well-done steaks, I don’t think the electorate was voting with its stomachs.

This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Sam Spencer: Midwood a good ’cue place."