Tuesday, August 30, 2011

West Virginia has Problems


There are some good things about West Virginia.  It's a really pretty state to drive through in the fall.  It has a beautiful capitol building with a shining golden dome.  When I was a kid, my grandparents moved to Huntington, WV (home of the original Jamie Oliver Food Revolution show because it was deemed the unhealthiest city in America), so we used to visit there a lot.  It didn't seem too bad at the time.  But then, I grew up and moved to Virginia, and have since had a series of bad experiences there.  We always drive through on the way to and from Indiana, and it seems to coincide with eating time.  There's never a good meal to be had in West Virginia.  Don't get me started on the disappointment of Biscuit World.   Even places I love and trust, like Panera Bread, are bad in West Virginia.

We had a pretty good time in Harper's Ferry, once we got to the town, but the drive in was a little dicey.  After crossing the state line, we saw, and I am not exaggerating, at least 10 people before we saw someone wearing a shirt.  (Cue "Dueling Banjos")

Anyway, West Virginia has problems.  And last night, Kev was reading Mental Floss and came across an item about the West Virgina Road-Kill Cook-Off and Harvest Festival.  What?  I looked it up, and it's a real thing.  The main ingredient in the cook-off has to be a critter that is often found on the side of the road, like 'possom.  (Sorry, Pancho).  As Kev said, W Va isn't doing itself any favors.  There is even a Ms. Road-Kill Pageant!  Can you imagine the winner of THAT?  Good grief.  I am at a rare loss for words. 

I will still drive through West Virginia, especially in the fall, but I am never EVER going to eat there again.

2 comments:

K. said...

I also read that the state of Louisiana is trying to convince people to eat Nutria Rats to keep their population down. The rat population, that is.

Dubbed "the other white swamp rat", they supposedly taste like turkey, and since they are herbivores, they are even Heart Healthy. You might even say they're nutriacious.

Christina said...

You both crack me up! I've heard that there are local numbers you can call (in some states) whenever you hit a wild animal, and people will come and pick it up with the intention of eating the animal. If you think about it, the meat should be fine as long as it's consumed in a timely manner. I guess it's just the thought of wanting to even look at an animal that is so mangled. Of course, if you're the type of person that is willing to put roadkill in the back of your pickup truck, you're probably used to skinning the animal yourself and cooking it.

That said, it's pretty ridiculous that they have a town festival about it. Do they have a contest for the best appearance upon pickup? It's all really gross!