'Cue Checks

Where have I been eating barbecue?

Gary's, China Grove. First the important stuff: This is a beloved institution in a sweet little town, so everybody from miles around goes here. Go at lunch and you'll see half the town. Go at dinner and you'll see the other half.

I love these community gathering places. And Gary's is the real thing, with the walls covered with metal advertising signs and ice-cream colored classic cars on display in the showroom at the back.

Less important: the barbecue isn't stellar. Sorry. I went back after many fans have insisted on its greatness. My verdict was the same as my first visit several years ago - meh. Reheated barbecue with a steam-table taste, no saucing or smoke.

I never tangle with fans, and Gary's has a passle of them. I'm glad it makes you happy. But if I visit a third time, I'd go for the chili dogs.

Art's BBQ, 900 E. Morehead St. I pass this place twice a day, and I've stopped for breakfast. But I was never drawn in by the neon "BBQ" sign until a source urged me to give it a try.

Verdict? I'd put them firmly in the PGQ column: Pretty good 'que. The chopped plate came with a big pile of chopped pork that was flavorful and already mixed with sauce, good texture and a fresh taste. Baked beans were even better. The slaw isn't yellow or red, it's a fresh, green, chopped version, but it goes good with the barbecue if you squirt in a little barbecue sauce.

If you're exploring urban barbecue choices in Charlotte, Art's definitely earns a place in the discussion.

Cooking the books

It must be fall. The new cookbooks are burying my desk thicker than fallen pin-oak leaves. I can't read them all, but here are a few that are worth getting excited about:

"The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion," by the late Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst (Barron's, $29.99). Herbst's indispensable little paperback, "The Food Lover's Companion," has finally gotten the star treatment. Gilded page edges, hardcover, a ribbon for marking pages. Sharon is gone, but her book is getting new life. Hurrah for that.

"The Visual Food Lover's Guide" (Wiley, $16.95). In the spirit of "The Food Lover's Companion," this is a small-but-beefy guide with pictures and drawings of pretty much everything. Want to know if what you've got is a winter melon or a bitter melon? Page 48.

"Sweet Carolina: Favorite Desserts and Candies from The Old North State," by Foy Allen Adelman (UNC Press, $25). Edelman visited N.C. families in their kitchens to gather these 200 recipes, covering black walnut pound cake to butter mints. Give it for Christmas presents or better yet - use it to make Christmas presents.

I'll Bite - Will You?

Welcome to my new food blog. Why are we calling it I'll Bite?

If you're familiar with my writing in The Observer, you know that I have a sense of humor. So yes, I do sometimes say things with a little bite.

But really, it's because this blog is about all things surrounding food, cooking and eating. I'm a food writer, not a restaurant reviewer (my colleague Helen Schwab has that job), so I lean toward cooking and food shopping. But I eat in restaurants, too, so sometimes I'll share observerations about that as well.

There isn't much I'm not willing to try, either in the kitchen or on a menu. (Although I reserve the right to refuse chicken livers, livermush, lemon meringue pie and Peeps. I've tried 'em, and I still don't like 'em.)

There also isn't much about the subject of food that doesn't interest me. Almost 20 years, after a decade in journalism that had taken me all around the newsroom and through a half-dozen news beats, I turned to food writing because I realized it was the most interesting beat of all.

Food is history, it's sociology, it's economics, it's health. Everybody eats, whether they pay much attention to it or not. And everybody can relate to food.

If you're looking for articles we printed in the Observer food section, you'll find those at www.charlotteobserver.com/food.

Look here for recent news, events in Charlotte, and interesting developments in the food world.

For the next few days, I'll be in New Orleans attending the annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists. I'll try to at least post a few things on Twitter; search for #obsfood. (And I promise to put down the Blackberry if I pick up a Sazerac.)