PodcasterCon.org -- The Pork Roll Story Continues

One of the neatest things about podcasting and vblogging is that it brings out the quirkyest of stories -- what in less complicated times would have been folk tales. At PodcasterCon I spotted a bright yellow t-shirt admonishing one and all to "eat more pork roll."  Now, if you are from Jersey or the immediate environs "pork roll" is very special. I'm from the Taylor ham, not pork roll Jerseyans and remember eating it happily as a special breakfast treat during most of my youth.

So, given my personal history with Taylor ham a.k.a. pork roll, I asked the wearer of the shirt about the significance of "eat more pork roll." Well, boy did I learn all about pork roll. The owner of the shirt was Gene Fitzpatrick of Hometown Tales who was at the conference along with Bryan Minogue. They have made one of the funniest, yet so true to Jersey, vblogs about pork roll. It is entitled -- Pork Roll: The Meat That Divides NJ. I very much enjoyed meeting these two guys and seeing all of the video. Gene showed me some of it from his cellphone, just enough like a movie trailer, to get me really interested in seeing the whole thing.

Now, I've been thinking, next time I go to Jersey, I'll have to get myself a Taylor Ham sandwich -- it just isn't pork roll to me.

Comments

[Martha S.]

Hometown Tales puts me in mind of Weird U.S., also produced by New Jerseyans. (It started as Weird NJ.) Is there something about New Jersey that makes its residence start web sites about various oddball stuff that goes on?

I grew up in NJ and never heard of pork roll until recently. It was always Taylor ham.

[Martha S.]

Hometown Tales puts me in mind of Weird U.S., also produced by New Jerseyans. (It started as Weird NJ.) Is there something about New Jersey that makes its residence start web sites about various oddball stuff that goes on?

I grew up in NJ and never heard of pork roll until recently. It was always Taylor ham.

[Kate]

I'm trying to get the history together on the issue of "Taylor Ham" v. "Pork Roll." I never heard it called pork roll until I was in my 40's, but it must be a locale issue. In North Jersey it seems to be Taylor Ham and maybe South Jersey and Philly call it pork roll?

I'm going to conduct a poll at some point, although I'm not quite sure how many people take their Taylor this seriously ;)
Kate