So we have this dish, The Pearl, that is what you might call ugly beautiful. We put a hearty portion of mac-and-cheese in the bottom of a pint container, then add our baked beans, then our barbequed chopped pork — all topped with a dollop of Rocklands Original Barbeque Sauce. Fork, napkin, you’re ready to roll.
Tastes divine, NOT pretty. (You know it: Don’t judge a book by its cover.)
How did it get started? We asked Kim Snedden, originator of the dish: “Mac-and-cheese was not original to our menu, and the Pearl ALWAYS had mac-and-cheese, so Rocklands was maybe nine years old [for those of you counting, that’s about 1999]. I was driving the kids to Timbuktu and back every day, and I wanted a meal I could eat in the car. The order? Well, it just made sense. Mac-and-cheese on the bottom, then baked beans, then chopped pork with our original barbeque sauce — perfect layered casserole you could eat in the car. Like a blue-plate special in one bowl, convenient and yummy.”
The Rocklands Pearl only landed on the menu in recent years. So many customers saw Kim dodging behind the counter to make her own, they started saying “I’ll have what she’s having.” Thus a menu standard was born.
For any of you who have tried to eat a barbeque sandwich while driving, you get the magic of the Pearl. If you haven’t tried one yet, come on in. We won’t even make you eat while you’re driving: You can eat right at your favorite Rocklands.
