Where’s the cheese on that mac? Viral tweet sends Texas reporter in search of truth
I wish I could say every day started like this, but today was special. I was on the hunt for mac and cheese.
It all started when my editor mentioned a viral tweet of a photo of a barbecue plate. A quick glance didn’t reveal much. But a closer inspection showed what all the hullabaloo was about.
Beside the brisket, ribs, green beans and toast, a bowl of mac and cheese sat next to a small dish of… shredded cheese?
My curiosity piqued, I thought, “Could that just be more cheese for the macaroni?” Turns out the twitterverse was asking the same question.
A poster on Twitter claimed the plate of barbecue was from Virginia, much to the chagrin of many native Virginians. In total, the tweet garnered over 32 million views — even catching the eye of Virginia state senator, L. Louise Lucas.
Lucas debunked the claim on Instagram arguing that the plate could not possibly be from a restaurant in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “After some investigation we learned this picture was taken in Texas so I refer all questions to them,” Lucas wrote.
A Twitter mac and cheese debate: Where’s the cheese?
The plot, or should I say the cheese in this case, thickens. I scoured the comments and found someone linked the photo to a Yelp page for the Decatur barbecue restaurant, Ritzy B’s Smokehouse and Grill.
Digging deeper, I discovered that the photo was originally posted on Twitter almost a year ago by someone who said they did stop by Ritzy B’s — but without the false claim that the plate of barbecue came from Virginia. Instead, the tweet simply read, “Lets see whats up with Texas BBQ”.
The one thing that had offended the barbecue sensibilities of so many was the container of yellow shredded cheese sitting next to a bowl of macaroni so pale many opined it had no cheese. I had to know the truth.
So, I hopped in my car and drove the 56 miles to Decatur to find out for myself what was up with the cheese. Or, lack thereof.
As I approached the front door of Ritzy B’s, a cool…
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