Wishing You All the Joy of the Season and a Happy New Year

Thanks to all who made 2020 another great year for the Blog. l’ve had a lot of fun and eaten a lot of great meals. I’m confident that I’ve eaten more hushpuppies this year than any other resident of the District of Columbia (admittedly a hushpuppy desert), and certainly more than anyone who’s actually lost a net 5-10 pounds over the course of the year.

And I do apologize to those who, like our great friend Debbie McMullen, were distracted or bemused by my photographing my meals —

My apologies also to readers who have borne with some really lousy photographs. It’s hard for me. I focus on the task ahead and then … Look! A hushpuppy!

Despite my photography, we once again have more than doubled the previous year’s views in 2020. The large majority of views have come from within the US, not surprisingly, but we’ve had readers from a total of 65 countries.

Note that many if not most of the countries with no readers at all are dictatorships. Similarly, we’ve only had one reader from Russia, and Hong Kong views are down nearly 80 percent this year with the crackdown. Clearly, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty need to broaden their programming.

The international readership this year is particularly remarkable — and gratifying — in light of the virus-related travel restrictions that cancelled our travel to Europe and to US destinations popular with those international travelers who have yet to discover Eastern North Carolina. (Rubes.)

Here are the 10 most popular posts for the year as of Christmas Eve:

The 2020 World’s Best Shrimpburger Competition: The Captain’s Kitchen, Indian Beach and Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Three-Peats;

Grady’s BBQ, a post from the summer of 2015 that suddenly took off;

Recipe: Eastern North Carolina Corn Sticks, a 2019 post;

A First Look at the New Wilber’s Barbecue;

The Best Quarantine Dining: 2fifty Texas BBQ;

New Orleans by Myra;

Best Places to Eat Near I-95 from Washington, DC, to Florida;

Muchas Gracias, the only top 10 post in which I gave an unfavorable review;

Rosemary Bistro and Cafe; and

The Brunswick Stew at Parker’s, a 2016 post and a perennial favorite.

Many, many thanks to all of you. Please, please keep the comments and the tips on good places to eat coming — anywhere in the world. I’ll try to get there. Stay safe, and have a wonderful 2021.

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And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box.  Or bookmark us and check in from time to time.  If you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, usually close to sites, like the Louvre or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event).  Comments, questions, and suggestions of places to eat or stories to cover are very welcome.  And check out our Instagram page, johntannerbbq.

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