The Pit - Durham, NC

A mid-January vacation put my wife and I in North Carolina. The weather was agreeable for the most part. Low to mid 60's and plenty of sunshine. A nice reprieve from the cold Iowa weather we were experiencing before we left. Aside from the beautiful views, North Carolina also has a lot of interesting historical spots. It's no wonder Jonathan Byrd pulls such great songs out of the air of his inspirational homeland. There was a coastal Civil War fort and a museum housing a collection of items that were recovered from the wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge. Yeah. Blackbeard's flagship. What really brought us out there? The North Carolina Rare and Vintage Beer Festival. Yeah. We flew halfway across the country to drink. The festival was fantastic and so were the 6 additional standalone breweries we visited out there. There were Girl Scout Cookie flights at Fullsteam and oyster infused offerings, among other great beers, from Ponysaurus.

Unlike me, you aren't here for the beer. Beans, man. Beans!

This side dish was served up in a modest white, ceramic cup. Served with the meal, I had the proper silverware to devour these things. It was a small serving, but there was already too much food on the three meat platter I had ordered. When they came out of the kitchen the top layer of the beans were well on their way to being dried out. That leads me to believe they were dished up much earlier and likely left under a warmer, or worse yet, microwaved. Breaking through the top layer revealed a multi-bean combination that was, otherwise, cooked down very well. I didn't take the time to suss out which  beans were thrown into the mix. My apologies. I've let you down as a food blogger. The beans had been cooked with white onions and green peppers Both of the vegetables in the concoction were a near perfect consistency and added a nice additional flavor to the dish. Both vegetables and beans were served up in a flavorful sauce. There was no heat to it, but there was a solid base of brown sugar sweetness coupled with strong smoky notes. The first time in, a reviewed dish, that this smoke flavor was present. Unfortunately, the dish itself was very dense and dry. This offering could have been near the top of my ratings, if only there was a little more liquid in the sauce. (See above assumption about dryness)

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 1
Flavor: 4
Mouthfeel: 2

Total Score:  7

For what it's worth,
North Carolina beer scene: 5