Loris Bog Off

Southern writer James Villas describes bog as any stew that contains wet, soggy rice, unlike a pilaf which contains sauteed or seasoned rice. However this highly localized dished can come in many forms but the traditional ingredients are chicken, rice, sausage, onions, salt, and pepper.  For those of you completely lost at this point, trust us this one course dish is truly amazing. So much so that since 1979 Loris, SC has held an annual festival that pits bog chefs against one another in the ultimate bog-off. For one weekend in October Loris, with a population of 2400, explodes into a festival attracting almost 25,000 people. 
This year 13 chefs were competing against each other. After sampling almost all of them, we settled upon two that we felt were amazing. One was just good ole fashion bog with not frills, but a very consistent texture and flavor The other put a twist on the bog by using a mustard base. 
In addition to the chicken bog, the streets are lined with vendors, a car show, animal rides, and tons of fair food if you get tired of eating bog.