No luck with barbecue on the historic Horseshoe

This week I went to lunch at the McCutchen House on the historic Horseshoe at USC because I got wind they were serving barbecue. For those of you who don't know about McCutchen, it is run by the hospitality/retail program and basically uses students as indentured servants. It has great food, at $10 a meal, in a great location. (Someone recently told me the Horseshoe was ranked #2 in the Free Times as the best place for "makin' bacon" in public.)

But back to the barbecue, or lack thereof. In the candle-heated serving tray labeled "Carolina Barbecue," I was dismayed to find roast beef smothered in K.C. Masterpiece or some similar concoction. I can honestly say that if I was on the faculty at USC, I would have been tempted to give somebody an "F" right then and there, on principle.

It really wasn't bad; it just wasn't barbecue. Around these parts, that's a term which, unmodified, is reserved for pork. Otherwise, the meat in question will be named: Barbecue Chicken, Barbecue Beef, Barbecue Possum, what have you.

The Flounder Florentine and Bourbon Walnut Chicken at McCutchen were great, and the peach cobbler made me forgive, but not forget, the transgression. This is a great place to hobnob with the bigwigs and dillydally with the fancypants. It has a dynamic menu that is available online, and wine and beer-tasting classes are offered occassionally. They encourage reservations, but the typical wait for a walk-in is less than 5 minutes.