Smoky Mountain Barbecue - West Jefferson, North Carolina

My wife and I decided to spend the fourth of July holiday in western North Carolina. Things are peaceful and a bit slower paced than the hustle and bustle of the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. While there, we checked out some of the local food establishments - one of which was Smoky Mountain Barbeque. Right up the road from downtown West Jefferson, this restaurant features typical southern food.

The unmarked building with a sign that simply reads "open" provides the backdrop for Smoky Mountain Barbeque, and like this building Smoky Mountain provides a no-frills eating experience. But we're not there for the environment; we're there for the food.

Ordering your meal is like a cafeteria line. You tell the first person what it is you'd like to have, she gets a tray ready, and passes it down the line. Usually within a few minutes several people will stop by your tray to fill it up with food. While it is probably attributed to the holiday, I must confess that looking behind the scenes of this restaurant, Smoky Mountain must have been the largest employer even if it is just for the day. There were so many people working in the back I'm not sure how they could move around!

Obviously their specialty is barbeque while also offering a variety of dishes with fish, ham, turkey, and chicken. I decided to get a little taste of everything and ordered a 1/3 rack of ribs with a fried chicken thigh on the side. Each entree comes with two side items and 3 hush puppies. The sides include your choice of french fries, onion rings, cole slaw (red or green), potato salad, baked apples, pinto beans, green beans, baked beans or a baked potato. I chose the green slaw and potato salad.

The ribs were so tender that they fell off the bone. While barbeque sauce is on every table I didn't need it. The ribs had plenty and the sauce was very sweet and flavorful. The chicken thigh was deep fried and had a great flavor to it. I did however, have a chance to sample their pulled pork. It had good flavor but was very dry. Maybe this is why the barbeque sauce is on the table. One of the best parts of the meal was the hush puppies. They were cooked perfectly with a ton of flavor - and once again, just sweet enough.

Both sides were good - the cole slaw was fresh and handmade while the potato salad shared the same qualities. I didn't get to finish either as the ribs, chicken, and hush puppies filled me up.
Oh, yes, and the sweet tea. Well, everyone in the South has great sweet tea so I suppose that goes without mentioning.

Prices were very reasonable. 1/3 rack of ribs was $7.49. A half chicken plate is $6.89. You can even get a "combo plate" with pulled pork or beef bbq and a chicken thigh for $7.39. And, these meals will fill you up.

I recommend to anyone looking for down home cooking and find themselves in Boone or West Jefferson North Carolina to try this place out.

Raise Time

The folks we can't live without - those in the fast food service industry, custodians, landscapers - are getting another 10% raise; their second 10% raise in as many years. I know if I got a 20% raise across two years I'd be ecstatic. However, it's a different story if all of my peers got a raise along with me.

This looks very similiar to inflation. Let's break it down:

Let's say I'm a farmer who sells milk. I employ uneducated labor and pay them minimum wage to milk the cows, bottle it, and deliver it to the local stores. For this example, we'll say that rent in our area is reasonable, so the federal minimum wage of $5.85 suffices to keep a roof over your head and provide basic necessities.

Now, in the course of two years, the federal government increases the minimum wage 20%. As a farmer who doesn't make much money in the first place this will cripple my business. I can't afford a 20% increase in my labor costs. I have two choices: 1. increase the cost of my milk to compensate for this wage increase or 2. keep the milk price constant and lay off 20% of my workforce. More than likely I would pick choice one.

Overall, I don't like either of those scenerios. And the scary thing is this doesn't just affect the cost of milk - the cost of EVERYTHING will increase and/or unemployment will rise. Food costs at the grocery store or restaurant, dry cleaning, gasoline, getting your oil changed. So, even if you were making minimum wage and received a 20% increase you will likely lose the "extra" cash within the next year or two. And, if you're part of the majority of Americans who didn't get a raise this year that means you'll feel this increase the most.

Most states/localities already have higher minimum wage rates than the federal level. These rates are best determined by the local governments - not the feds.

I'd love to hear your comments!