Pig Heaven

Whenever I go to North Carolina to visit my sister, I am hopeful of finding really good pork barbecue. People in southern Virginia and North Carolina really get pig dishes. We just returned from a visit to my sister and, yes, I found a good pork sandwich on the way there.

Interstate 85 at this time of year is a long, straight, spring green tunnel heading south from Richmond. The road signs advertised depressingly familiar fare such as McDonalds and Burger King until we noted a sign for Rumorz Cafe. It was time for a pit stop anyway, so why not try this unknown name?

Rumorz is local. Southern local. Good ol' boy local. Y'all local. The customers were all known to the waitresses and to each other. Soft southern greetings accompanied each entry and exit. The waitress called the patrons "honey" and patted some of them on the head as she passed by their table. And the pork sandwich was my dream come true, big chunks of deeply smoked pork with Rumorz's vinegary, tangy sauce on the side, enough to smother the meat if you like slathered but not just dumped on in case you prefer dabs to slathers. The french fries weren't good but I couldn't have eaten them anyway after this man-sized sandwich and the little cup of cole slaw was the perfect accompaniment to literal and figurative Pig Heaven.