@(*$&ing Good Pie
If inaccessibility, WOM buzz, and an Andy Kaufmanesque dynamic with your audience/customers (only very very friendly) are hallmarks of elitism, then the chocolate pie at Cowling's BBQ on Route 460 is the most elite pie of all.
Sometimes, SOMETIMES! they have it. But I have been burned too many times to count. It got to the point where my brain said "Hey, let's go eat at Cowling's," but my heart stopped me--not because the BBQ and fries are so heart-unhealthy, but because I could not bear the disappointment and rejection. I eat the food, it's OK. I've lived here long enough that I no longer wonder why they put cole slaw "ON the sandwich?!?" as my brother once naively queried the staff at Pierce's Pitt. I like the bottles of sauce at each table, plus Texas Pete. (My main peeve with southern BBQ for so long was, "Where's the sauce?") But all through the meal I am just biding my time, waiting for coffee and pie, chocolate pie. So when I get to that point and they say "We're out," I am devastated!
This happens all the time on weekends. They've gotten so they don't make the pie every day. Apparently not Sunday, a day of rest. But how can I rest? Sunday is one of the two days I'm likely to be at Cowling's (Saturday being the other). Their advice? Order ahead. So all year long I've been planning to order chocolate pie for my birthday. Rock beats scissors. Paper beats rock. Pie beats cake, candles down.
I realized this evening about 7:45 p.m. that I had not ordered the pie yet. Would they be open? (People here eat dinner early, and they don't call it "dinner," or maybe it's not called "supper," I forget which.) I had to call. They were not listed in the Smithfield-Franklin phone book, even though that area included Wakefield. Oh, but are they far enough down 460 to still be Wakefield? Not sure! I look online, google and phone directories, etc. There is a listing for the "Wakefield Diner," which I do not believe exists. I get lots of hits for the Cowling's in Smithfield, no relation. I'm sure the 460 restaurant wouldn't serve things like broccoli cheese soup or mozerella sticks. Cowling's does not have a website, just a few mentions from BBQ-curious foodies in search of perfect undiscovered spot. It is mythic and unattainable, like the Odyssey Lounge in Hyde Park, or was it Homer's Pub?! But I've been there, I know it exists. Don't give up!
Finally I found a phone number. It's 804, but I dialed 807 accidentally and got the "beep beeep BEEP, we're sorry..." Shoot, I try again, with a "1" for long distance, but the little man tells me I only need the area code. This little man is related to the one who often answers Mom's phone. But I digress.
Still open. Yes I can order pie by phone. No, I can't pick it up tomorrow. They don't do chocolate pie on Sundays. I can hear the man telling the lady on the phone this when she asks. Can I pick it up at a later date? Monday. OK. OK!
This is not a "soup-Nazi" type of place. The people are delightful and treat customers well. The only thing is, you want pie, you order ahead. It's that good.
Sometimes, SOMETIMES! they have it. But I have been burned too many times to count. It got to the point where my brain said "Hey, let's go eat at Cowling's," but my heart stopped me--not because the BBQ and fries are so heart-unhealthy, but because I could not bear the disappointment and rejection. I eat the food, it's OK. I've lived here long enough that I no longer wonder why they put cole slaw "ON the sandwich?!?" as my brother once naively queried the staff at Pierce's Pitt. I like the bottles of sauce at each table, plus Texas Pete. (My main peeve with southern BBQ for so long was, "Where's the sauce?") But all through the meal I am just biding my time, waiting for coffee and pie, chocolate pie. So when I get to that point and they say "We're out," I am devastated!
This happens all the time on weekends. They've gotten so they don't make the pie every day. Apparently not Sunday, a day of rest. But how can I rest? Sunday is one of the two days I'm likely to be at Cowling's (Saturday being the other). Their advice? Order ahead. So all year long I've been planning to order chocolate pie for my birthday. Rock beats scissors. Paper beats rock. Pie beats cake, candles down.
I realized this evening about 7:45 p.m. that I had not ordered the pie yet. Would they be open? (People here eat dinner early, and they don't call it "dinner," or maybe it's not called "supper," I forget which.) I had to call. They were not listed in the Smithfield-Franklin phone book, even though that area included Wakefield. Oh, but are they far enough down 460 to still be Wakefield? Not sure! I look online, google and phone directories, etc. There is a listing for the "Wakefield Diner," which I do not believe exists. I get lots of hits for the Cowling's in Smithfield, no relation. I'm sure the 460 restaurant wouldn't serve things like broccoli cheese soup or mozerella sticks. Cowling's does not have a website, just a few mentions from BBQ-curious foodies in search of perfect undiscovered spot. It is mythic and unattainable, like the Odyssey Lounge in Hyde Park, or was it Homer's Pub?! But I've been there, I know it exists. Don't give up!
Finally I found a phone number. It's 804, but I dialed 807 accidentally and got the "beep beeep BEEP, we're sorry..." Shoot, I try again, with a "1" for long distance, but the little man tells me I only need the area code. This little man is related to the one who often answers Mom's phone. But I digress.
Still open. Yes I can order pie by phone. No, I can't pick it up tomorrow. They don't do chocolate pie on Sundays. I can hear the man telling the lady on the phone this when she asks. Can I pick it up at a later date? Monday. OK. OK!
This is not a "soup-Nazi" type of place. The people are delightful and treat customers well. The only thing is, you want pie, you order ahead. It's that good.