Vacation

[Matt]

Greetings. I left DC Saturday morning with a bunch of friends for a beach house in North Carolina, and I'll be here on the Outer Banks all week on vacation. That doesn't mean I won't blog at all -- I like blogging, and don't think I've skipped a day since some time back in 2003 -- but I don't intend to keep up the full-service posting volume you normally see here on a business day. Consequently, I'm enlisting the assistance of some guest-bloggers. Specifically, we'll have Kay Steiger, associate editor at Campus Progress (sort of like the Komsomol for the new liberal revival in America); Alyssa Rosenberg, staff correspondent at Government Executive (like Forbes or Business Week for the public sector is how they describe it); Kathy G. whose self-titled blog has been taking the intertubes by storm and describes her as "a shrill feminist, bleeding heart liberal, hardcore policy wonk, political junkie, ardent cinephile, and lover of 19th century novels"; Ta-Nehisi Coates author of a self-titled blog, this great article, The Beautiful Struggle, etc.; and last, out of white male solidarity, I've recruited Isaac Chotiner whose work you can often see at TNR or in yesterday's Week in Review and who's promised to say something about the NBA.

And, as I say, I'll almost certainly keep chiming in. So enjoy! And be nice!

Comments

How many of those friends are also bloggers? Going to be hosting any big beach parties?

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | May 26, 2008 5:59 PM

How many of these guest bloggers happen to be trust fund scumbags? If Petey's going to need to make up new epithets for every time a post doesn't reaffirm his established world view of the day, you really should give him some notice.

Posted by LittleMac | May 26, 2008 6:11 PM

And be nice!

Why start now?

Posted by Delicious Pundit | May 26, 2008 6:15 PM

Is Mr. Chotiner any relation to Murray Chotiner, Richard Nixons' Karl Rove?

Posted by SLC | May 26, 2008 7:01 PM

Hey Matt,

Welcome to the South. Now, go home. Just kidding, but you really should use this opportunity to learn something about a place you so often disparage. Start with cuisine. You aren't kosher, are you? The BBQ in NC has got to be better than anywhere in NY or DC. NC is known for it's mustard based sauce. Also, since you are in the outer banks, try some seafood. Shrimp and grits are a staple, but you might find that the cobia are running about now. Go to a fishing pier and catch one. They are delicious. Although, I very much doubt anyone in your circle has ever caught anything larger than a bluegill much less deigned to clean a fish. For a snack, you must try boiled peanuts. There are certainly plenty of other dishes that are unique to the South. I hope you'll experiment a bit while you are down here.

Posted by Just Karl | May 26, 2008 7:21 PM

Matt: "And be nice!"

Yeah, right! When I have a big bunch of new ignorant suckers to rip news ones in!

They USED to be your friends, Matt. When I show them just how mean your blog readers are, you'll be disowned.

"A shrill feminist"! Oh, I can't wait! "Government Executive"! Oh, the horror! The horror!

But, hey, presumably they can spell and have better grammar! The blog could actually become readable!

Stay on vacation, Matt...

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | May 26, 2008 8:08 PM

What about Spence for hire?

Posted by Linus | May 26, 2008 9:29 PM

He is my great uncle...or was.

Posted by Chotiner | May 26, 2008 11:17 PM

Just Karl has a point in terms of overall NC cuisine, but let's not pretend that OBX falls in that category. The most likely eating destinations for Matt and his friends will be serving trash food and rightfully so. It's vacation, relax. Go to Mama Kwan's, have some Thai money-bags, and down a few Jaeger-bombs. Life is good, enjoy it. Also, make sure to go run Jockey's ridge and check out the blond tattooed bartender at Barefoot Bernies, they're like mandatory tourist spots or something. Other than that, don't steal heavy equipment from Sunset Grille in Duck, they call the cops rather quickly I have found. Beautiful sunset and blended drinks though.

Posted by Chris Peterson | May 26, 2008 11:17 PM

In past trips (this'll be my fourth Memorial Day week in North Carolina) I've had some very good NC BBQ stopping on the road to or from OBX -- my sense is that here on the beach is not the place to find the best possible food. Mostly, we grill and cook for ourselves, though I do like me some fried seafood and have been known to venture out in search of it.

Posted by Matthew Yglesias | May 26, 2008 11:34 PM

Mostly, we grill and cook for ourselves, though I do like me some fried seafood and have been known to venture out in search of it.

Well there you go, rent a boat, buy a rod and reel, and catch some fresh fish. Cobia has sashimi grade white flesh and it's a an outstanding sportfish. I think the state record is 105 lbs. They even move into the Sound, so a Gilligan like yourself shouldn't have to use more than one flare to get home. And for God's sakes, whatever you do, get some sun on that bare chin.

Posted by Just Karl | May 26, 2008 11:42 PM

Replying to Just Karl, and speaking as an NC born-and-raised native who lived there for 25 years and spent a lot of time on the Outer Banks:

(a) The OBX culture is not really the same as Southern culture in general. Also, going to OBX at or after Memorial Day means spending a lot of time around other Northerners and businesses catering thereto. To experience real Southern culture, as opposed to OBX / tourist culture, you'd have to get off the islands and into, e.g., mainland eastern NC.

(b) NC barbecue sauce is vinegar-based, not mustard-based.

(c) As Matt has already pointed out, this is not his first trip to the Outer Banks, or to the South.

(d) Matt hasn't actually disparaged the South much, to my knowledge.

Matt, if you haven't done it yet I hope you'll check out Ocracoke. A really unique bit of America, there.

Posted by avon | May 27, 2008 5:11 AM

(a) The OBX culture is not really the same as Southern culture in general.

Yes, but one assumes that he must pass through the real NC to get to the OBX. Also, he may decide to actually explore nearby towns on the mainland instead of secluding himself in the beach house.

(b) NC barbecue sauce is vinegar-based, not mustard-based.

My bad, I had assumed that NC and SC shared this rare style, but perhaps you are right. In any case, vinegar and pepper is my favorite.

(c) As Matt has already pointed out, this is not his first trip to the Outer Banks, or to the South.

I believe these are his only trips to the "South" outside of Miami and presumably Tampa. He really should get around more.

(d) Matt hasn't actually disparaged the South much, to my knowledge.

Keep reading, he will.

Posted by Just Karl | May 27, 2008 8:27 AM

And for God's sakes, whatever you do, get some sun on that bare chin.

Are you from the Midwest? I'm a lifelong Californian, and after not having visited the Midwest, the past few summers I've spent some time in Indiana due to my wife's work, and it struck me that Midwesterners seem to equate sunburn with vacation. It's called sunscreen, folks. Learn it. Know it. Live it.

Posted by Adam Villani | May 27, 2008 10:17 AM

This is somewhat random, and by no means one of the most egregious errors seen on Matt's blog, but I got a good chuckle out of him referring to Kathy G's blog as "self-titled".

The actual title of Kathy's blog is The G Spot.

Posted by LaFollette Progressive | May 27, 2008 11:14 AM

Glad to hear this isn't Matt's first trip to OBX. He'll presumably know better than to try swimming in the ocean there because (1) it's freezing this early in the season, (2) the riptide is dangerous. The fishing should be pretty good, though, on the Albemarle Sound side.

Also, unless you take the back way via Manteo (bad idea), you don't see the "real" NC driving to OBX. You negotiate the freeways of Norfolk-Virginia Beach.

Posted by allbetsareoff | May 27, 2008 11:47 AM

I believe these are his only trips to the "South" outside of Miami and presumably Tampa. He really should get around more.

I've been kind of skirting around the south -- I've been to Fort Worth, I've been around Florida (not just Miami and Tampa, but also Jacksonville), the Outer Banks in NC, and various parts of Virginia (including Norfolk, Richmond, etc.) but never really to the core areas.

Posted by Matthew Yglesias | May 27, 2008 12:30 PM

Culinary postscripts:

(1) NC barbeque sauce is vinegar with unground black and coarsely ground red peppercorns. The barbeque is pork slowly cooked/smoked over a hickory wood fire. It is properly eaten on a plate with a fork, not on a bun. Obligatory side dishes are slaw (that's where the mustard goes, which is why it's yellow) and hush puppies, which are deep-fried cornbread. (Some people add chopped onions to the cornbread; I'd rather they didn't.)

(2) Shrimp and grits are a SC "low country" (i.e., Charleston) dish, which I've never encountered in NC (not that I would be looking for it).

(3) How to cook shrimp on the Southeast coast: Find freshly caught raw medium-sized shrimp, the size found in the Atlantic; the best is usually found at funky roadside stands run by people who speak English as if they have a mouthful of porridge (local dialect, improving your chances that it's locally caught shrimp). Carry large pot past the breakers and fill with sea water. Boil or steam shrimp in sea water, no other seasoning necessary or desirable. Cook until deep pink, not red. Once cooked, devein the shrimp - i.e., use sharp knife to remove the stringy black stuff along its back, which is its partially digested last meal.

Posted by allbetsareoff | May 27, 2008 12:42 PM