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Head West to Go South: Ivoryton Has Become a Down-Home Dining Destination

Head west down Main Street through Centerbrook and into Ivoryton and, if you close your eyes and take in a deep breath, you might think you’d crossed far beyond the Mason-Dixon Line. With the Blue Hound Cookery and Taproom now joined by Porky Pete’s BBQ and Craft Brew in the Ivoryton Inn, the village has become a hub for Southern cookery and hospitality.

Porky Pete’s has been an Essex fixture for years and still offers takeout at 90 Plains Road, across from Scotts Farm stand. The new location at the Ivoryton Inn offers an expanded menu (including beer). Open since February in the new spot, Selene Sweck, who owns the business with her husband Pete (thus the name), said so far the new location has been very successful.

“We are housed in what was once part of the lobby of the old inn and the old restaurant,” said Sweck, who noted that a lot of business comes from the thespian community that performs at the Ivoryton Playhouse and stays at the Inn.

Labeling her food as “millennium-type BBQ,” Sweck, with her southern accent, can make your mouth water just by describing her dishes, such as her 100-year-old Tennessee recipe for potato salad—the recipe comes from Sweck’s great aunt, and try as you may, she will not reveal it to anyone, except to say it has a lot to do with the unique way in which the potatoes are cooked.

Sweck also serves up all the makings of a traditional BBQ, ready to order for a catering event or for eating on site, indoors or out, including Tennessee and Texas coleslaw.

“The Tennessee slaw has more vinegar, however New Englanders tend to like the Texas slaw a little better, because its sweeter, but those who have tried the Tennessee variety now love it,” said Sweck, who also serves Texas Caviar. “Its like a relish…with vegetables and black eyed peas. It’s very good.”

By the way, Sweck uses her culinary prowess to also pickle her own seasonal vegetables for her dishes, because fresh makes better food.

A favorite at Porky Pete’s is the Pups—no, not hush puppies, Pups, which are essentially pork balls, deep fried in batter served with BBQ sauce and aioli.

Sweck says with a laugh, “We nick-named them Pups, because we just didn’t know what else to call them.”

The main course is, of course, barbecue, and Porky Pete’s makes beef brisket, pork, and chicken with a trio of different sauces to choose from: Tennessee, Texas, and Kansas City. And yes, they are all made in house right here in Ivoryton.

“The Tennessee sauce is lighter with more vinegar, the Texas is sweeter, and the Kansas City is the sweetest,” explained Sweck, who hails from Tennessee, but came to Connecticut via New York.

“I didn’t come up here to do this, I was in real estate,” said Sweck, who made the decision, along with her husband, to reinvent themselves. “It’s been a lot of fun and we enjoy the people we meet and being able to bring Southern food to the North.”

The one thing Sweck said she can’t get here and she misses eating the most is fried corn.

“You just can’t get it here. I had my brother ship some up once for a special and I couldn’t cook it up fast enough,” said Sweck, who explained (for those Yankees who don’t know what fried corn is) that fried corn is “cattle corn,” grown to feed the cattle, and it’s 12- to 14 inches long, with very large kernels. “You have to cook it as soon as it’s harvested and it’s not a pretty dish, but it is delicious!”

Blue Hound Cookery and Taproom, another Southern-inspired eatery, serves up coastal southern fare to New Englanders hungry for something “just a little different,” which is their tag line.

Checking off menu options like Mason Dixon salad, Low Country crab cakes, and redneck turkey Reubens, customers sometimes have to check their GPS to make sure they are still in Connecticut after ordering from the Blue Hound’s menu.

“Our dishes are a representation of our travels through the south and my relationships with different chefs there,” said Executive Chef and owner Matt Carroll. “We serve what we call Southern Coastal Creole food.”

The restaurant got off the a quick start from its ground-floor location at the corner of Main and Summit Streets, then expanded to include the upper floor of the building as well, with a taproom offering craft beers and new menu items.

Returning to Connecticut from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, owners Matt and Tracey Carroll brought back with them a wicked taste for southern food that shows up each night in the dishes they serve.

“We have tried to be creative with our menu and add a Southern nuance to our dishes that make them all a little more than different,” added Matt Carroll, who has been in the trade for 25 years and owned a restaurant in North Carolina for 10 years.

“We decided to come back to Connecticut because this is a special place, and we wanted to bring a little bit of the South with us,” said Carroll.