KKPdude wrote: > > I'm going to Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC in about a week on business. > Anybody care to suggest where I can obtain "Authentic NC BBQ"? I've attempted > a few pork butts using information obtained in this NG that turned out mighty > tasty. However, since I rarely venture East of the Mississippi river I really > can't compare mine to the original item. Since this is the heart of Q' land, > send me to the best of the best folks... Hey "Dude". You are coming to my neck of the woods. There are a NUMBER of great places to find 'Q here! How much "driving time" will you have? There is some decent stuff in the RTP area but to get the best Q you have to drive a little farther to other parts of NC like Reidsville or better yet Lexington. Check out Dave Lineback's "Lexington Collection" web site. He has a collection of all of the known BBQ joints in the state, all ranked. http://www.ipass.net/~lineback/bbq/jnts.htm WARNING: I disagree with some of Dave's recommendations STRONGLY. For example, he ranks Stamey's in Greensboro as a "Best of the Best Log Burner". I thumb my nose at Stameys and contend that they don't even cook with wood anymore . They have a token woodpile out back but hardly any wood at all when you think of how much Q they are producing. Judging by the flavor of the Q I think they STEAM it. Ack! Maybe they used to smoke it but I don't think they do anymore. Right near the park, hmmm, you can drive west into Chapel Hill on I40 and get off at exit 266 in Chapel Hill. Make a right at the end of the ramp which will put you on route 86 northbound. Within about two miles on the left you'll see a whole bunch of VW beetles parked behind the trees and the BBQ joint (Allen & Son) is right after it on the left. If you pass the railroad tracks then you've overshot it. Allen & Son is not representative of most NC BBQ as it is a little bit eastern style, a little bit western style, and a little bet (get this) BUTTER. Yes, they have a little butter in their sauce. Odd. But it is good Q. Another one you'll see on Lineback's page which is one of my FAVORITES is Short Sugar's. It's a bit of a hike to get there from RTP but not too bad. Real good eastern style Q. Bring extra $$$ to buy a LOT of sauce to take home. Their sauce is the stuff of legend. Lineback recommends a couple of places out east that were a real waste of a drive, IMHO. For example, Pete Jones's Skylight Inn in Ayden. Real dump. Don't waste a drive out there. Their idea of table sauce is Texas Pete. The Q is served cold, and I doubt it was even smoked at all even for a short finishing run. The slaw tastes like Food Lion made it. Blech! No thanks. I was out that way on business and felt sick the rest of the day after eating that crap. Lexington Barbecue #1 10 Highway 29-70S, Lexington, NC 24465 (910) 249-9814 The above mentioned joint is considered by most people around the state to be THE best representative of NC Q anywhere. I haven't been there yet. I figure I will fast myself for a day or two first because Lexington is the BBQ capital of NC and has some of the best joints in the state (supposedly) all in one small town. Murray's Barbecue in Raleigh is okay. Wilber's Barbecue in Goldsboro is okay. It's only a little further to Short Sugar's Drive In in Reidsville though. Lineback says that they recently made a few changes that are unfavorable, but last time I was out there it was some GRADE A BBQ.
Barbecue
Durham, NC Business Trip...
Dude, you might want to check out a couple of the places I visited on my BBQ tour last summer: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~thc/bbqtour/. One, Bullock's, was in Durham...it was OK but not great. We went to 6 places in Lexington, and we thought that 4 of them were very good. The best in Lexington, IMO, is Jimmy's. Then again, what the hell do I know about authentic Q? I live in New Hampshire. --THC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas H. Cormen Voice: (603) 646-2417 Associate Professor Fax: (603) 646-1672 Dept. of Computer Science Email: [email removed] Dartmouth College URL: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~thc/ 6211 Sudikoff Laboratory Hanover, NH 03755-3510 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
go west on i-85 to hillsborough. a very historic and lovely small town, just a few miles from durham. go north on main st through town and look for hopgood's. you won't find better bbq in the area.
Chris H. wrote: > > KKPdude wrote: > > > > I'm going to Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC in about a week on business. > > Anybody care to suggest where I can obtain "Authentic NC BBQ"? I've attempted > > a few pork butts using information obtained in this NG that turned out mighty > > tasty. However, since I rarely venture East of the Mississippi river I really > > can't compare mine to the original item. Since this is the heart of Q' land, > > send me to the best of the best folks... > > Lexington Barbecue #1 > 10 Highway 29-70S, Lexington, NC 24465 > (910) 249-9814 > > The above mentioned joint is considered by most people around the state > to be THE best representative of NC Q anywhere. I haven't been there > yet. I figure I will fast myself for a day or two first because > Lexington is the BBQ capital of NC and has some of the best joints in > the state (supposedly) all in one small town. > Last month I finally got to try Lexington Barbecue after many years of waiting. It was worth the wait! If you go, order a tray with "coarse outside" or "coarse brown" meat. This is big chunks of succulent 'cue, with the skin still on. The skin provides an amazing contrast to the melt in your mouth pork. (talk about "inside baseball," this is inside barbecue!) Also, they have great hushpuppies! They're small and crunchy. For your drink, try Cheerwine. There is a good article at the Charlotte Observer web site by staff writer Jack Betts called "Go East or West; either way, barbecue is the best." Since Charlotte lacks first rate bbq for some reason, locals go elsewhere for cue. This article mentions places all over the region, and several are right off I-85. Go to www.charlotte.com/livinghere/eat/con2.htm Good luck! Bob Wells