A local icon: Gene Porter, purveyor of The Man

[scarlettina]

Have you met The Man? This phrase is well-known in the Seattle area. It translates to "Have you tasted (and survived) the hottest hot sauce in the region?" It's a hot sauce purveyed by Gene Porter, owner of Dixie's Barbecue in Bellevue, WA, and the stuff is a genius marketing tool that's made Dixie's one of the most well-known eateries in the area.

Today we observe the passing of Mr. Porter, local icon and brilliant marketer.

Dixie's barbecue is in fact some of the best I've ever had. "The Man" was merely the thing that drew everyone in town--and people from across the country--to the restaurant and catering business. You never actually put it on food. You went to the restaurant and ordered whatever you were having. Gene would come around, table by table, asking "Have you met The Man?" and offering a taste. jackwilliambell, connoisseur of heat, always said that The Man had no socially redeeming value, that it was hot for hot's sake. But it did put Dixie's on the map, and Mr. Porter became a beloved local figure as a result.

News coverage indicates that Dixie's will go on without Gene Porter, which is a goodness. But his passing is indeed a sadness.

And in case you're curious, yes, I've met The Man. But only once. It was enough.

Comments

[julzerator.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to hear of his passing. :(

And, The Man would kill me, so I've never met him.

[botgrrrl.livejournal.com]

The Man was very hot. I don't mind hot foods, but The Man was designed purely to be hot for hotness sake and didn't have much flavor. You aren't missing much.

Having just dissed The Man, I must now confess my love of Dixie's other foods.

I am sad at his passing.

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

Curiously, The Man moved me very little. Oh, it was hot, but it's possible I have an asbestos tongue....but Porter was a good restauranteur - I mean, think about how much coin he made over a hot sauce....

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

...think about how much coin he made over a hot sauce....

Like I said, The Man was pure marketing genius.

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

I am, of course, curious about The Man.

[jackwilliambell.livejournal.com]

The Man didn't die with Gene. You can still get it at Dixies, Porter's BBQ in Tacoma, and the Dixie's stand at the ball park. The part you will miss is Gene going around to the tables with a saucepan full of the stuff, giving people a hard time and laughing his fool head off. It was like getting a floor show with your meal.

If you can come over the the Eastside some weekday, maybe we can all meet at Dixie's for lunch.

However, I gotta warn ya; the Man is just pure evil. It doesn't even taste good. I usually get a little bit anyway, but I always wonder why I bothered.