537417 Thu Jul 10 11:19:08 -0700 2008 18 11 South 0 3856604 Road-tripping through North Carolina recently, we wanted to sample both Eastern and Western style barbecue. Our first stop was Eastern style at Allen & Son Barbeque in Chapel Hill. We ordered a BBQ and stew plate. No chopped vs sliced options were listed. My research indicated that asking for "outside brown" was the way to go, but when I asked for it I was rebuffed with "it's all mixed together". Not sure if this is a consequence of whole-hog barbecue, or if it is just time-saving on their part. My first impression of the meat wasn't great - the texture was soft and soggy. After a few bites, though, it began to grow on me. The smoke flavor started hitting me - especially when I got the odd crispy edge bit. On the stew front, this was our first experience with Brunswick Stew. I didn't expect to like it, but it was actually sort of ok. We also ordered a pork sandwich which was very good. The vinegar mixed in with the meat really accentuated the smoked pork flavor and helped it not get overpowered by the bun - something that I often find a problem with barbecue sandwiches. The next day we headed west to Lexington and stopped in at Barbecue Center (we had planned to stop in at Lexington #1 as well, but ended up being too full). Unlike Allen & Son, here there were many options when ordering your barbecue. We settled on a small tray of coarsely chopped outside brown. The tray, as advertised, was small but it was *packed*. The meat was in nice-sized chunks, with lots of charred outside goodness. Very tasty. We also had a sandwich, but this time tried it with sliced pork instead of pulled. It was good, but not as good as the sandwich from Allen & Son. I am definitely coming to believe that different styles are best suited to sandwiches vs straight barbecue. Pictures here: Allen & Son http://menuinprogress.com/2008/07/eastern-north-carolina-barbecue-at.html Barbecue Center http://menuinprogress.com/2008/07/western-north-carolina-barbecue-at.html Thu Jul 10 11:19:09 -0700 2008 115989 menuinprogress 1 3859702 I almost forgot - we also tried South Carolina barbecue. We stopped in at Bessinger's, just outside of Charleston and hand their pork sandwich. Bessinger's uses a mustard-based sauce, which I've read is prototypical of SC bbq. Not being a big fan of American mustard, I was a bit put off by the yellow sandwich, but it actually tasted more vinegary than mustardy. Pics: http://menuinprogress.com/2008/06/south-carolina-barbecue-at-bessingers.html Fri Jul 11 09:23:54 -0700 2008 3856604 115989 menuinprogress 1 3860331 I was raised in South Carolina and absolutely cannot stand that mustard sauce. There are lots of people who love the stuff so much that they practically drink it, though. Glad you enjoyed your NC style, too Curious, though - why did you expect not to like Brunswick stew? Hardly anyone makes it with squirrel meat anymore. :-) All kidding aside, though, it's hard to beat good Brunswick stew. Surprisingly enough, some of the best Brunswick stew I've had comes from the Smithfield Chicken & BBQ chain. Goooood stuff. Fri Jul 11 12:22:33 -0700 2008 3856604 67610 Suzy Q 2 3862189 2nd on the Brunswick Stew at Smithfield Chicken & BBQ - it's quite fresh tasting, not the overcooked melange you might expect, well worth a bucket on its own, or for the fridge as late night snacks etc. Sat Jul 12 07:20:29 -0700 2008 3860331 17015 bob192 2 3862528 The idea of Brunswick stew puts me off somehow - something about the corn, I think. I definitely find it to be visually unappealing stuff. Tastes better than it looks, though... Sat Jul 12 10:24:26 -0700 2008 3860331 115989 menuinprogress 3 3862811 I never thought I'd see barbeque and "visually appealing" in the same sentence. Maybe that's why all Bay Area California places that try to serve "barbeque" (and I use that term lightly) where I am this summer try to make it look all froo-froo on the plate. Sorry, but I don't want to see a sprig of dill with my pulled pork. Dude, with bbq, one needs to chill. Close your eyes, imagine heaven, and the taste will complement those visions quite nicely. Sat Jul 12 13:24:50 -0700 2008 3862528 15293 mikeh 4 3862856 i'm not sure why brunswick stew is considered visually unappealing. the mustard-based sauces are good but must be done right -- there isn't a lot of margin for error i believe. i've had some that have been bad and some that are very good (i like dillards and the spicy version at trenton bbq in trenton, sc) i think hursey's in burlington has good brunswick stew. there's are few things better in the winter than finding that pound of Q you forgot about in the freezer and making some brunswick stew from it (yes, i pass on making it with squirrel most times :) ) Sat Jul 12 13:43:14 -0700 2008 3862811 201609 chili367 1 4744182 The BBQ at Allen and Son, while usually good in it's own right, is just barely Eastern Style and I understand it is not "whole-hog" nor has it ever been. Eastern Style needs to come from the Greenville/Goldsboro area these days. Thu Jun 04 23:24:32 -0700 2009 3856604 214115 wb247 2 4744275 "Allen and Son...is not whole hog..." I'm not sure thats true...I know when A&S does a catered pig pickin' it is whole hog, and its hard to believe they would do that differently. Regardless, its outstanding 'q. Fri Jun 05 02:59:48 -0700 2009 4744182 25751 carolinadawg 3 4745526 Smoke oven isn't built for whole hog, but the cooker out behind will hold full pig. People like the whole hog look for parties. Meat comes in fresh and local but shoulders like piedmont. I can only think of a place or two where they pull the outside brown and add that by request. A couple of food writers put that out there, and asking generally brands you as someone from outside the area. I included a photo of the chopping. Keith still hand chops at Allen & Son vs. machine chop at some joints. I'm not in the industry but do write on barbecue. Fri Jun 05 10:32:39 -0700 2009 4744275 288072 CyndiA 4 4745697 I'm having a considerable amount of trouble deciphering your post, especially your first paragraph. By "smoke cooker" do you mean the bbq pit at Allen and Son's restaurant? By "cooker out behind" do you mean the trailer he uses for off-site pig pickins? Are you saying the restaurant's bbq pit is smaller than a trailer? That seems hard to fathom. "Meat comes in fresh and local but shoulders like piedmont"? I have idea how to translate that. Fri Jun 05 11:14:29 -0700 2009 4745526 25751 carolinadawg 5 4746371 Sorry. The pit inside is set up with a center area for the wood which is like a chimney and shelves to slide the shoulders in to the side and not the whole pig set up which would be shallow and longer. In other words, there are racks, and they are not set high enough for whole hog. Coals go under either set up which you probably know. Yes. The cooker (more than one) are out back and pull behind to take on site for a party etc. Those are large with the head space for a whole pig. Several barbecue pitmasters from closer out this way say that they do shoulders generally but will do full pigs when catering as clients request the whole pig for the eye appeal. I saw the shoulders in the freezor room. They were delivered by truck and had not been frozen. Fresh. But, they were shoulders. By piedmont, I'm talking about the style of using shoulders vs. whole hog. So - they cook shoulders at Allen & Son as is the piedmont style vs. eastern. I was just out there a few weeks ago to get info for a travel book. I'd eaten there before, but I had not been in the back until this time. Also - I would note that the owner does not consider his barbecue eastern or western. He said that specifically. Sorry my post didn't make much sense. I was trying to keep it short (-: Fri Jun 05 14:02:20 -0700 2009 4745697 288072 CyndiA 6 4748221 I agree with the owner, Allen & Sons is not true eastern style barbecue, but it is very good and closer to Eastern than Western. Although posted before, for the best eastern barbecue experiences and in order of preference, head to Pete's in Ayden, B's in Greenville, Wilbur's in Goldsboro. Sat Jun 06 10:20:27 -0700 2009 4746371 175832 veganhater 7 4748809 I definately will. I'm in the Lexington area, but I love both styles. Heck, I like Kansas City BBQ too, but I guess I shouldn't tell that. Sat Jun 06 15:38:06 -0700 2009 4748221 288072 CyndiA 7 4764356 yikes! any mention of eastern carolina barbecue really should include both parker's and bill's, in wilson. don't mess with the buffet at bill's, avoid the brunswick stew at parker's, and chase down your 'cue with some fried chicken at either place. ahhhh, carolina. Thu Jun 11 14:08:47 -0700 2009 4748221 39735 surrys 8 4764783 Parker's and Bill's are long past their prime. Parker's is decent utility 'cue if you live in Wilson, but neither are worth visiting with Pete Jones, B's, and Wilber's so close by. They're not destination restaurants. Thu Jun 11 16:37:11 -0700 2009 4764356 124150 Naco 9 4764847 Strongly agree with you Naco, Bill's & Parker"s are living (if that) on their past reputation. Thu Jun 11 16:58:13 -0700 2009 4764783 41654 NXS 8 4766042 If you recommend Parker's and Bill's, you might as well mention Smithfields and Gardners. None of these restaurants are worth a trip unless you're desperate for a mediocre rendition of barbecue. Fri Jun 12 06:43:20 -0700 2009 4764356 175832 veganhater 1 4772803 I stopped in at Blackbeard's BBQ and C-Food today on Alt 64 between Bethel and Tarboro. Probably a touch closer to Tarboro- I don't think it was more than a few minutes outside of Princeville. Anyway...they cook with wood! And are open on Sunday! I had a bbq sandwich and my wife had bbq chicken, which was also wood cooked. The bbq was top quality stuff- great smoke flavor and very clean. Imagine if a sandwich from Pete Jones and a sandwich from B's or Jack Cobb's had a baby. I would have liked less slaw on the sandwich- next time, I'll ask them to go light on the slaw. I ate a few bites of the chicken, and it was well prepared and had good smoke flavor as well. I would have liked a bit more char on the outside, but that's purely a personal thing and not a knock on the quality. This was a very good bbq chicken. My wife raved about her sides, especially the hush puppies, but I didn't try any of those. Seafood items were pretty standard for the area, but not of much interest to me, given that I'd just found a wood burner that I hadn't known about previously. There were also some relatively hard to find Southern/North Carolina items on the menu; they had a neckbone plate as a special today, and IIRC they had oxtails on the menu also. In terms of ambience, it's a neat little place. I liked the various bits of pirate bric-a-brac and the giant shark out front. Their hours were: 11am-9pm Thurs-Sat, 11-3pm Sun. Sun Jun 14 19:06:28 -0700 2009 3856604 124150 Naco