In First Foray of Fall, Coast’s R&E Racing Team Returns to GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. for PDRA Drag Wars, With Updated #FatMap919 Setting the Table
View Taste the Difference – Benson Edition in a full screen map
Welcoming fall, Coast Packing Company’s R&E Racing team and its ’69 Noonan Hemi ProCharger Pro Mod Camaro smoked the track during PDRA’s Drag Wars at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. – and again waved the flag for hearty eating.
No sooner did the R&E team motor back from the Carolinas than they made a bead for Dallas and the MWDRS Extreme Texas World Finals. The event, set for October 22-23, will mark the return of Coast CEO – and principal driver – Eric R. “Goose” Gustafson.
For this season’s North Carolina stop – the second in 2021 — Coast Packing, the leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western U.S., refreshed and expanded online gastronomic #FatMap919 highlighting local spots where fans can “Taste the Difference” that lard and beef tallow make in popular dishes – and now, in many cases, dine in. The eateries on #FatMap919 all feature dishes prepared with lard and/or beef tallow.
Nestled between Raleigh and Fayetteville, the Benson track is just a stone’s throw from spots offering classic North Carolina fare. Beef tallow fries are on the menu at two popular area chains, Bojangles Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits and Smashburger in Raleigh. In Chapel Hill, Mama Dip’s cooks its greens, black eyed peas, string beans with pork, Gonza Tacos Y Tequila in Raleigh prepares black charro beans and paisa beans with lard, and, not surprisingly, at Oh My Lard in Elm City, “everything is fried in lard at the grill!”
Durham is chock-a-block with spots that truly know their farm fats. The Wagyu Fat Fries at Nana Steak represent tallow fries at their best. Lard lovers won’t go away hungry at La Superior Carniceria. Ditto at Rue Cler, where the duck rilette pays homage to lard. At Copa, take your pick: lard is the ingredient of choice in loaded plantain chips, rabbit rillette, rabbit confit, fried pork belly, masas de puerco, croquetas – pork fritters, tostones con puerco, and pork ribs – costillas de puerco.
Likewise worth checking out are area mainstays Dickson Avenue Public House in Greenville, The Boiler Room Oyster Bar in Kinston (known for herb and beef fat fries) Fowler’s Southern Gourmet in Fayetteville (hand-cut fries in Kobe beef fat), Chef & The Farmer (Brasstown ribeye with tallow confit) and Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen in Cary (skillet fried chicken pan-fried in locally-rendered lard). Fans of tallow fries can also get their fill in West Asheville at Foothills Butcher Bar or the mobile Foothills Food Truck in Asheville proper.
“Galot Motorsports Park is a superb venue, both for PDRA racing at its best and for the local fare that sets North Carolina cooking apart,” said Coast CEO Eric R. “Goose” Gustafson. “In terms of freshness, flavor and texture, foods prepared with the farm fats lard and beef tallow are natural standouts, which is why we’re so delighted when consumers can taste for themselves, as they can in and around Benson.”