139362 Thu Sep 08 11:36:15 -0700 2005 32 11 South 0 746061 A buddy and I are planning a seven day barbecue odyssey across the South, the sole objective of which is to discover, sample and document the vast array of barbecue offered by the region. We're not pioneers - this has been done before - but not by us. Unfortunately, we have a limited timeframe. We were forced to make some very unfortunate decisions: we can't make it up to Kansas City, and Kentucky was cut out, too. Our itinerary is as follows: - Dallas, TX - Shreveport, LA - Birmingham, AL - Columbia, SC - Greensboro, NC - Knoxville, TN - Lynchburg, TN (Jack Daniels BBQ Invitational) - Memhpis, TN - Dallas, TX Any and all suggestions for spots in, around or between these cities are very welcome. And to Scott Craig: loved the D Magazine article. Thanks Thu Sep 08 11:36:15 -0700 2005 0 Lindsay Graham 1 746064 columbia - the epitome of mustard-based q is maurice bessinger's piggy park. only the original location (charleston hwy) is worthwhile. please note, i'm recommending it for iconic status more so than for q (when it's fresh, it's quite good, but it's often dry from sitting around too long). you will get your q with a healthy dose of right-wing southern white male politics (so ridiculous, it's more funny then offensive). Thu Sep 08 12:03:19 -0700 2005 746061 0 mark 2 746068 I hope that your Greensboro stop includes Lexington, NC. There are at least 4 must stop places there. Thu Sep 08 15:02:14 -0700 2005 746064 0 BBQJoe 3 746071 if i'm not mistaken (i'm the "buddy"), lexington has been discussed. can you offer any specific suggestions for lexington (perhaps one of the must stops)? Link: http://leibniz.mindsay.com Thu Sep 08 15:40:46 -0700 2005 746068 0 leibniz 4 746091 Lexington #1, make sure to order outside meat in your chopped Q. World of BBQ, make sure they bring out the little cream pitcher or warm Q sauce (they often forget). Great banana splits (large enough for 2+). Do a search and there are plenty of other recommendations for Lexington. I live about thirty minutes away and these are the only two I visit. BBQ festival in Lexington is coming up soon...October???. Fri Sep 09 09:02:05 -0700 2005 746071 0 michael b 5 746098 The BBQ center (top choice) and Lexington #1 are great, I also like Jimmy's but some people are down on it. Fri Sep 09 11:25:24 -0700 2005 746091 0 BBQJoe 6 746110 BBQ Joe is correct...it is BBQ Center not World of BBQ. So I'm an idiot and bad w/ names. Fri Sep 09 15:39:33 -0700 2005 746098 0 michael b 1 746067 Stamies in Greensboro..... Thu Sep 08 14:50:41 -0700 2005 746061 0 orzo 1 746069 Columbia: Not Maurices. It's totally overrated. And I'm told he charges 10.00 for the buffet which is limited to ONE TRIP. Instead try Little Pigs on Alpine Road. Or drive to Batesburg-Leesville for either Shealy's or Hites. Better still, head over to Sweatman's near Holly Hill. In North Carolina do not miss Lexington #1, my all-time favorite. Thu Sep 08 15:28:03 -0700 2005 746061 0 Ellen of SC 2 746090 Maurice's buffet is NOT limited to one trip. Saw one guy eat about six plates of ribs. They started stocking his table after they stocked the buffet. Last two plates of ribs were brought to him, he didn't even have to get up. This was at Piggie Park the original location so other locations may vary. As to Sweatman's...no phone, out in the boonies, vartiable hours and days of operation make it difficult to plsn. Great Q but a true pain in the can. Lexington # 1 is in the same upper atmosphere as Stamey's but remember to order some outside meat in your chopped Q. Fri Sep 09 08:57:22 -0700 2005 746069 0 michael b 3 746092 Let me clarify: Last summer my son and his friends stopped at a Maurice's near Lake Marion. (Santee?) The cashier advised them they must pile all they wanted onto one plate each. They left. I don't know if that was an experiment in that one site, or what. But it caused them to lose a dedicated customer. My son will not go back. Fri Sep 09 09:14:09 -0700 2005 746090 0 Ellen of SC 4 746109 I usually get the hash plate as that isn't available in NC. Got the buffet once and was not overly impressed w/ the food...usual damage from steam tables seems to turn any buffet into a school cafeteria. Watford's in Bishopville, SC is a must stop headed east on 26. Open only Wed-Sat the hash is outstanding. I'm getting this from a hot sauce bottle I bought there a few weeks ago. Bus ph 803 484 6223 Home phone is listed also but I'm not going to put it on a board. Home phone?? These guys are from another time and place. Fri Sep 09 15:38:02 -0700 2005 746092 0 michael b 5 746117 Bishopville is far from 26. It's adjacent to Interstate 20 between Camden and Florence. Fri Sep 09 17:22:00 -0700 2005 746109 0 Ellen of SC 6 746127 20...26 whatever. Watford's uses black pepper more than any other Q place I have ever visited. One of three sauces from Q places I keep in my pantry. Stamey's and Lex # 1 being thee other two. Side note. Headed east on 20 from Columbia about twenty miles is a clothing outlet (World of Clothing?) on the right just before the exit needed for the store that sells hunting clothes. Only outlet for hunting clothes I've ever found in the Carolinas. Sat Sep 10 11:10:13 -0700 2005 746117 0 michael b 1 746075 You should exchange Austin for Dallas. Thu Sep 08 16:34:58 -0700 2005 746061 0 pepper ann 2 746080 Oh, we know Austin, with it's Salt Lick and Stubbs and so on. Turns out, though, that we live in Dallas. Makes a little more sense to start and end there. Thu Sep 08 18:31:25 -0700 2005 746075 0 Lindsay Graham 3 746097 It sounded like you were flying into there. Makes more sense now. hope you have a lot of fun. Fri Sep 09 11:22:01 -0700 2005 746080 0 pepper ann 1 746079 Try this thread. Note that Millenders is closed. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/136602#732843 Thu Sep 08 18:28:51 -0700 2005 746061 0 Sweet Pea 1 746081 Ok, since you're coming in from the east, come in on US 70 through Mason, TN and hit Bozo's. The sauce is weak, but the meat is cooked perfectly, and they toast their buns, a nice touch. Recommendations in Memphis: All-in-one: Central BBQ, EVERYTHING is high quality. Try it all! Shoulder: Central, A&R, Interstate, Tops (underrated meat), Bar-b-Q Shop. Ribs: Central, Corky's (yes, but for Ribs ONLY), Germantown Commissary. The Rendezvous is overrated. Chicken: Central, Corky's Beef: Are you kidding? This is MEMPHIS. Once into Arkansas, I suggest Craig's in DeValls Bluff (off US70), Sims in LR, and take a side trip into Hot Springs for McClard's. That's all I have for the Mid-South on your route! Thu Sep 08 20:58:59 -0700 2005 746061 0 sjs1959 2 746082 I really meant no shoulder at Corky's. Thu Sep 08 21:00:53 -0700 2005 746081 0 sjs1959 2 746095 Just ate a large chopped pork sanwich at A&R in Memphis. Impressive. Sauce was ho-hum. Not a very clean place, but the peach fried pie was killer. Fri Sep 09 10:48:29 -0700 2005 746081 0 steveb 3 746106 South Memphis or Bartlett? My favorite sauce is Central's because they use bourbon to flavor it, makes it RIIIIICCCCHHHHHHHHH. Fri Sep 09 14:44:37 -0700 2005 746095 0 sjs1959@yahoo.com 2 746101 I don't usually enter the Memphis Q debates, but ... If you're going beyond pork, I think the barbequed cornish hens at Cozy Corner can't be beat. Fri Sep 09 12:07:00 -0700 2005 746081 0 Piranha 1 746085 Jsut stay away from Dreamland in Birmingham...Never tried Johnny Ray's but Hounds say its pretty good. Totally disagree with poster on Interstate in Memphis. Way, way over-rated. Do agree Rendevous is NG, but just walk by or stop in and check it out for the amazing business they do. I think they seat 500 people. Hey, apparently people do like well done charcoal ribs... Fri Sep 09 07:28:33 -0700 2005 746061 0 Chuck 2 746113 I agree on not going to Dreamland in Birmingham but I would drive over to the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa for the ribs. Especially that is only meat they serve there if my memory is right. John Fri Sep 09 16:32:07 -0700 2005 746085 0 RibDog 1 746089 Maurice's in Columbia, SC-I feel everyone should try it at least once. Make suer whatever plate you get has both chopped Q and hash. Greensboro, NC- Stamey's...one of the best in the world. If you have a sweet tooth save room for the cobbler w/ ice cream. Fri Sep 09 08:52:00 -0700 2005 746061 0 michael b 1 746115 Lindsay, Glad you liked the article. I assume you're familiar with the DallasFood.org web page. If not, check it out for more extensive reviews (with photos) of the DFW joints described in that article, plus quite a few more in the area. Also of interest on that site, given your current ambitious planning, would be a couple of reports on Memphis (which are summarized in prior posts on this board), including most of the major names. (A pair of reports on KC appear on the web page, as well as on the Midwest Chowhound board, if you find a way to make it out there.) I'm not at all familiar with Carolina barbecue; so I'll be interested to hear the recommendations you get, as well as your report when you get back. As for Memphis, if I had limited time in the town, I would get: (1) a chopped pork sandwich at Payne's on Lamar (don't omit the slaw; and consider getting the hotter bbq sauce which better counterbalances the slaw's sweetness); (2) ribs at Central BBQ (wet or dry, whichever seems more interesting or appealling to you); and (3) though it isn't barbecue, I'd get a fried pie at A&R BBQ on Elvis Presley. I'll echo PepperAnn's suggestion that you not neglect Central Texas. Since you live in Dallas, that could wait for a later date. But any serious barbecue lover needs to spend some quality time working his way through that region--Lockhart, Luling, Taylor, Elgin, Gonzales, Llano, and all the great, lesser known places in between. So when do you guys leave? Scott Link: http://www.dallasfood.org Fri Sep 09 17:09:56 -0700 2005 746061 0 Scott 1 746123 Memphis votes for BBQ Shop, A&R and Paynes. If you happen to get to some small towns, hit Strawberry's in Holcomb, MO and The Kreme Kastle drive in in Blytheville AR. Fri Sep 09 17:33:10 -0700 2005 746061 0 Tater 1 746137 In the Columbia area, MAURICE'S has good bbq and most locations have a buffet. However, for what I consider the best in the area just a bit aways from Columbia, SHEALYS in Leesville/Batesburg has about the best I have eaten in a long time, served as a buffet. - Jimmy "Always a fan of the buffet". Sat Sep 10 19:18:26 -0700 2005 746061 0 Jimmy Buffet 1 746177 trade greensboro for lexington. if you are coming from columbia you'll hit lexington first. Mon Sep 12 21:02:13 -0700 2005 746061 0 quazi 2 746251 I second that emotion. Lexington BBQ in Lexington,NC is the absolute best. Go there first and you can forget about the rest. Sun Sep 18 19:56:37 -0700 2005 746177 0 1bluedevilfan 1 746253 I'd suggest taking the long way from Columbia to Greensboro in order to make a side trip to the Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC. Truly the best barbecue (in the classic eastern NC style--whole hog, of course) I've ever eaten, and definitely worth the long detour. You won't be disappointed. Sun Sep 18 20:02:08 -0700 2005 746061 0 Liana Krissoff 1 747574 Randy White's in Frisco, TX Everything else in Dallas area is very average to poor. Best BBQ in Texas is Bill's in Henderson, TX Sat Nov 26 21:36:23 -0800 2005 746061 0 frank Bergman