Sweatman's Barbeque
To visit the rural roots of South Carolina's barbecue, head for this legendary restaurant, a family cotton farm turned barbecue lodge in the countryside of Orangeburg County. Featured on roadfood.com and “Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation,”’ Sweatman's long front porch is lined with flower pots and rocking chairs, while multiple dining rooms boast polished wood floors and fireplaces. The all-you-can-eat buffet offers whole hog barbecue, hash, slaw, cracklins and meaty, tender pork ribs. Diners choose "light" and "dark" pork: the tender inner portions, the greasy, chewy outside meat pulled from the edges of the hog; or a mixture of everything on the table. Sweatman's "dark" meat carries the smoky taste of the oak, hickory and pecan wood that fuels it's 12- to 14-hour cooking process. The meat is basted and sauced with "Carolina Gold," a mustard sauce with enough twang without overtaking the flavors of pork, fat, and smoke. For more, the buffet includes a water cooler full of the house-made sauce. The smokehouse is just as famous for its signature side: a sweet-and-savory rendition of barbecue hash. For a taste of pure hog heaven, diners pour the pork, potato, tomato, onions and liver stew over steaming rice.
Pro tip: Because it takes four days for the restaurant to prepare its whole-hog barbecue, meals are served just two days a week: Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to about 8 p.m.
