The hardest secret to keep in South Carolina is one that smells like smoked pork and lets you return to the buffet as many times as your belt permits.
Along a quiet Columbia road, trays arrive loaded with barbecue, chicken, vegetables, warm sides, and homemade desserts that make “just one plate” sound wildly optimistic. The room is casual, the welcome feels genuine, and nobody cares whether your meal looks photogenic before you cover it in sauce.
How does a no-frills buffet inspire such fierce loyalty?…