BBQ Jew

Swineday Bloody Swineday
According to an informative paid advertorial article in the News & Observer, when international supergroup U2 visited the area this past weekend for a concert they ordered out for barbecue from Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue in downtown Raleigh.  Cooper’s co-owner Debbie Holt received a late afternoon call from a member of U2’s staff from on board their private jet a short while before it touched down at RDU.  (Do private jets come equipped with $3.99 per minute Airfones in the seatbacks?  Can even Bono himself afford these rates?) 

Despite rumors to the contrary, Bono is not a vegetarian, though his bandmate Larry Mullen Jr. may be.  Despite the presence of a vegeterian in their midst, the U2 entourage placed an order for slightly more than $225 worth of barbecue and sides, which had to be delivered to the jet after their concert ended in time for a 10:50 p.m. departure. (“We love you, Raleigh, but it’s time to go… there’s barbecue waiting on the jetway.”)  Debbie Holt, her husband Randy Holt, and cook Chess Smith stayed well past Cooper’s usual 6:00 p.m. closing time to cook up the food for the hungry, pork-loving Irishmen. 

Interestingly, this is not U2’s first NC barbecue encounter.  There is a vintage photo of U2 on the wall of fame at Bullock’s Barbecue in Durham, where famous visitors to the restaurant are honored.  The photo features a picture of circa mid-1980s U2 along with the classically underwhelming caption, “U2 – Band from Ireland.”  A couple decades and more than a few millions album sales later U2 is back eating ‘cue in NC again.  Apparently, slow-cooked pork is a hit Where the Streets Have No Name.

Filed under: Porky's Pulpit | Tagged: Raleigh, Wake County |