CRESTVIEW — Want a pulled pork sandwich? It’ll cost you a unique shot glass, and it better be a real special glass.
Hub City Smokehouse and Grill pitmaster Mike Carroll has been collecting shot glasses since high school and always welcomes new acquisitions — provided they meet his standards.
“I started in 1976 on a high school trip to Disney World with my girlfriend at the time, who later became my wife,” Carroll said. “I knew I was going to go into the military and I wanted to collect something from my travels.”
Shot glasses were just the ticket because of their convenient size, Hub City manager Mark Kane said.
“He needed something smaller that he could pack and take with him when he moved,” Kane said.
The original quest became a search for a Disney shot glass.
“We found one from the Contemporary (Resort) and the Polynesian Village, but we couldn’t find anything from Walt Disney World,” Carroll said. “They told us we’d never find anything with Walt Disney’s name on it related to alcohol.”
“His goal was to eventually find a Walt Disney World shot glass,” Kane said. “That didn’t happen until the mid-‘90s when they started selling alcohol at Disney, but at the related parks, not in the Magic Kingdom.”
Eventually Carroll’s wondering days ended, though enhancing the shot glass collection, which now tops 1,000, Kane said, continued.
“When I opened up the restaurant four years ago, my traveling days stopped,” Carroll said. “I get a lot from the 7th Special Forces guys from their travels. I picked one up the other day from Jordan with water from the Jordan River water in it.”
And he has one that contains a vial of holy water blessed by Pope John Paul II. At least that’s what the donor claimed.
“We have a family friend who’s a Jesuit priest and he spent a year and a half at the Vatican,” Carroll said. “When he returned home he told me it was blessed by the pope, and I can’t call him a liar.”
Hub City Smokehouse and Grill pitmaster and owner Mike Carroll will swap donors a shot glass unique to his collection for a smoked pulled pork sandwich.
But the glass has to be special, Carroll and manager Mark Kane said. And what makes it special? Well, that’s up to them to decide.
To donate a glass or view Carroll’s shot glass collection, visit the restaurant, 168 Main St. S., Crestview.
WANT A PULLED PORK SANDWICH?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview pitmaster trades pulled pork sandwiches for shot glasses