it probably has a lot to do with that fact that i didn't grow up on collards (parents originally from socal) and so the majority of the time i've had them, i've cooked them myself, in my 20's, more or less a milllenial with all that that implys, and so my greens cooking habits generally deviate from classic southern cooking. it took some time to mature and realize the nuances that exist when trying to balance health, traditional techniques and ingredients, the various trends in the industry and public milieu, and even so simple as the (prospective) tastes of your guests, and the tastes you yourself are not feeling anywhere near done exploring. especially when you have zilch in terms of personal culinary lineage. Anyways, I do my best to reach out to food, statistically, in the us, you're fine, and i'm usually happy. but i digress.
i never used pork, which is traditional and clearly done at NWG. also, while more or less southern, my spicing is pretty conservative (i used 'Butt Rub', again conservatively. intended as a rub - not a seasoning - it can overpower with NaCl if used incorrectly) PLEAS DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A SLIGHT TO THE PROFOUND DIVERSITY OF BUTT RUB. PUT IT ON YOU CANTALOUPE. PLEASE. NWG goes pretty heavy on spices and uses lots of salt (possibly a vestige of the pork, but in some cuisines you just have to respect high sodium content.) salt, pork and the flavor of collard green are my main sensations biting in. the spices are strong, but are mixed in this emulsion of pork fat a collards water. The collards provided excellent texture, which i'll touch on later. Largely, they provide a perfect template for the homogeneous mixing of hydrophilic, bitter, earthy collard green flavors and the spices cooked into them. Concurrently, this portion of the dish is being cooked with pork, I presume at the start, as this is what I've heard is customary. so the hydrophobic delicacy of pork fat is only so slightly mingling with spice and earthyness. and this is fine, because you temporalis will mechanically force this truly special meet-and-greet.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
the mushy, almost boiled/braised, pork-fat infused, heavily seasoned (salted!), green-brown glop they serve at NWG is the antithesis of my culinary instincts. it harkens to the Laulau of my native peoples, embracing the salt as a blunt and effective weapon against gluttonous, robust porcine hydrocarbons and its tossing-away of barriers to the amphipathic apex that is smokey burnt bits of pork detritus smothered in soft, 'very-over-cooked' collard greens infused with a subjectively heavenly and ironically banal (check the 'house spice' label) mixture of flavor.
It is singular in flavor, subtly varied in texture.
At worst its a primer into good collard greens for me.
At best you're solving the Riemann hypothesis while your favorite gainesville band plays you birthday part at the original CG w/ hardback after party and that asshole that used to sell coke 5 years ago is getting out and unloading what's left of his stash on you.