Dining This Week
White Swan Bar-B-Q and Chicken
by Sherley Buckland
Since 1960, White Swan Bar-B-Q and Chicken has tempted taste buds with classic eastern North Carolina barbeque, coleslaw and hushpuppies.
But what you might not know is White Swan’s reputation when it comes to breakfast.
Brenda Hansen operates breakfast as a one-woman show — taking your order, preparing your food, talking to you, seating you and refilling your coffee — all at the same time. It is quite interesting … just don’t get in her way.
Hansen offers all the basics: eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, biscuits, toast, grits, hash browns, coffee, juice, milk and tea. She even makes these incredible melt-in-your-mouth pancakes that take up the entire plate.
According to Hansen, she offers “pure country cooking”
and “there’s nothing to flipping an egg.”
Ha! That’s what she thinks. Clearly she has never seen me cook and that’s a good thing.
Hansen’s eggs are perfect every time. Her eggs are scrambled “taught,” that means not runny or dry, but fluffy and flavorful. A big bowl of grits can be ordered with your scrambled eggs. All you’ll need is a little salt and a spoon and you won’t be hungry again until suppertime.
Her over-easy eggs are done on the outside with golden edges and a hot, runny yolk that’s ready to be sopped up by your neatly-buttered and folded Texas toast triangles (Hansen even makes breakfast pretty).
Accompanying my over-easy eggs was the most generous mound of shaved hash browns, crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Hansen assured me there were no calories in my hash browns (I was overindulging myself) and that she does carry items for the calorie- or cholesterol-conscious diners, including Eggbeaters, fresh fruit, oatmeal and turkey bacon.
Whole pork ribs, Brunswick stew, barbeque chicken, fried chicken, fried shrimp, flounder, trout, an assortment of vegetables and hushpuppies are on the menu as well, but White Swan is best known for its barbecue.
Classic eastern North Carolina barbeque in its purest form, White Swan slowly cooks its pork in an enclosed grill, then chops and lightly seasons it. No heavy sauces or marinades are used, however many people, including myself, like to sprinkle a little hot pepper vinegar over the top. Using only fresh pork shoulders from Sims, a more tender meat selection that is great tasting and has less fat content, all of the pork is cooked fresh each day.
When it comes to catering, White Swan can accommodate up to 2,000 people for any meal of the day — breakfast, lunch or dinner. Whole and half hogs are the most popular request but catering expands from there with baked pork loins, honey glazed ham and turkey, or fried shrimp, flounder and trout.
All caterings include a choice of two meats, two vegetables, banana pudding, hush puppies, rolls, tea, ice, and paper products. The catering prices are reasonable, all you have to provide is a place for your guests to sit and eat.
Location
2500-A West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach
Phone
(252) 726-9607
Payment
Options
Cash, local check, Master Card, Visa
10/19/07
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
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