2003 World Tour of Eastern NC BBQ!

The World Tour of Eastern NC BBQ took place July 16 - 19, 2003. Pep prepared by studying Bob Garner's Guide to NC Barbeque. The goal: Eat at every wood burning BBQ restaurant east of Raleigh in four days. Were we up to the challenge? Could we handle non-stop hawg, slow roasted and brimming with the aroma of hot fat dripping on hardwood coals? Yes. We thought we could do it.

We warmed our bellies up for the eating festival ahead by stopping for lunch at Mebane's A&M Restaurant. A&M serves piedmont style BBQ, but we didn't feel one bit guilty for straying from our Eastern-style mission. Plates came to the table with a red BBQ sauce poured over the top of the 'cue as if it were spaghetti. This put me off at first, until Pep advised me to mix it into the chopped pork. It gave the sweet, smoky pork a spicy heat. I loved A&M and I would gladly stop there every time I go to NC, just to try everything on the menu.

Picky note: Garner says A&M is located on US 70 East, but it is actually on the west-bound side of the road.

That afternoon, on the way to Goldsboro, we saw countless green and yellow billboards urging us to visit the Nahunta Pork Center. "Where Pork is King!" they shouted. "Largest pork display in the eastern United States." Well, if you put it that way ... how could we resist? It was too early to go to the hotel anyway. So we followed the huge bright yellow signs with red arrows pointing off into the exact center of Nowhere, NC, which is, for future reference, called Pikeville.

Nahunta Pork Center is a huge operation. They do it all there. Hogs are unloaded, processed, packaged and priced. The first thing you smell when you get out of the car is hog manure. Welcome to eastern North Carolina!

As advertised, it was certainly the largest pork display I had ever seen. Every imaginable part of a pig filled the coolers in a counter as long as a football field. Pig's feet, chitterlings and tenderloins in the cooler - racks of hams and cured sides stacked like bread loaves on rolling racks - bags of cracklings, tubs of BBQ and piles of pork chops carefully sorted by type. The meat was cheap. And at the cash register you could buy insulated boxes to tote the swine home while keeping it cool. But, the only thing we bought was a red baseball hat with "Nahunta Pork Center" embroidered above and below the image of the Pork King. Why? Because . . . where else are ya gonna find something like that?

For supper we ate at McCall's Barbeque and Seafood in Goldsboro. Pep ordered 'cue off the menu. (We had been warned not to settle for the warmed over barbeque on the buffet.) I went for broiled flounder and boiled shrimp, which was very good. But we're here to talk about barbeque.

The two bites of 'cue I "borrowed" from Pep's plate were overly salty, almost to the point of being briny. And the texture was dry. Honestly, McCall's was the my least favorite BBQ of the entire trip. I would go back again for the seafood and for the airy hushpuppies that reminded me of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. But I'll eat my barbeque elsewhere.

Thursday morning we ignored the Continental Carb Fest in the hotel's lobby and struck south for Grady's BBQ in Dudley, NC. Grady's (pronounced to rhyme with Daddy's) has been featured in GQ Magazine. The small cinderblock building sits on a lonely fork at Sleepy Creek and Arrington Bridge Roads. We got there by making a left off Hwy 117 onto Arrington Bridge Rd. (Bob Garner's directions are slightly more complicated.) Ask your hotel front desk for a map of Goldsboro and you won't have trouble getting there.

When we pulled up at about 9:30 a.m., the parking lot was deserted, and though the door was shut, a sign on it said they were open Thursdays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. They sure didn't look open, but a peep through a window showed a ceiling fan in action. We went inside and found a customer at the counter ordering. Where did he come from? He must have walked across the field . . .

I asked if I could get scrambled eggs and BBQ, which, BTW, is the Breakfast of the Gods. Give me real BBQ any day instead of bacon, ham steak or sausage.The counter lady smiled as if no one had ever asked her for the Breakfast of the Gods before, but she said apologetically that the BBQ wasn't ready yet. So we ordered scrambled eggs and grits and settled down for your typical mortal's breakfast. Just as we finished our eggs she brought out a half a pound of fresh BBQ. Sweet Bliss! It was mildly smoky, sweet and moist. Every few bites contained a crispy chunk of cracklin'. It was amazingly good barbeque! And the table sauce, a spicy cider vinegar colored a deep, earthy red from the pepper in it, was excellent also. Grady's was my second favorite BBQ of the whole trip. It was simply spectacular, and by the time we left the area I was sorely wishing I had bought two pounds to go.

For lunch we went to the legendary Wilber's Barbeque in Goldsboro. I'd been to Wilber's before with my dad in 2000. It is, in my opinion, the best Eastern NC style BBQ, anywhere. Ever. Wilber's has two huge dining rooms, paneled in heavy pine. The ambiance is cozy - like a 1950's family room. The barbeque is mellow, rich, moist and delicious.

Of all the restaurants we visited on the tour, Wilber's was the only one that served real butter with hushpuppies and real Half & Half with coffee. All the rest pushed trans fats in the form of vegetable spreads and margarines, and coffee "creamer" or "whitener." UGH! I always appreciate it when I am served genuine food instead of man-made heart plugging crap. Wilber's is a champ!

For supper we drove north to Ayden to the Jones family's Skylight Inn. The Skylight received a James Beard Foundation Culinary Award early in 2003 and it was recently named Best Barbeque in the South by Southern Living Magazine. The odd shaped building with the sheet metal replica of the capital dome on the roof is on the left side of Old NC 11 as you drive north from Kinston.

Skylight Inn offers the most authentic barbeque I have ever eaten. Excepting the "Texas Pete" sauce, it is exactly the same product that was served 100 and 200 years ago in this part of the country. Eating it, I could easily imagine myself spitting into the grass along side General Greene or Governor Aycock. And when I say spitting, I mean that literally.

Just like our Southern fore-bearers, Pete Jones believes that if you don't use the whole hog, then it isn't barbeque. This philosophy was obvious from my first bite. And my second. And third. Every single bite contained cartilage, gristle and bone fragments. It tasted ok - not as good as it would have if it had been seasoned with apple cider vinegar instead of Texas Pete. And I have to say, the occasional unchewable mystery bit is fine with me. But I draw the line when I have to spit something out with every bite. So, Skylight Inn did not receive a Lizzy Award. But I'm willing to give it another chance, one day.

Next door to the Skylight Inn we found giant collards in decorative pots, decorative potted tobacco and pepper plants the size of shrubs at the Collard Shack. Bernie, the owner, could talk the ears off a beagle, but the hound would be entertained while it happened. We bought a sack of okra and a Collard Shack tee shirt from Bernie. The shirt has drawn a lot of commentary when I've worn it, since then. People want to know if the Collard Shack is a restaurant. Southerners all over Virginia are eager to eat there. So if any restaurateurs are reading this - take note! The Collard Shack would be a great name for a meat-n-three.

Our next BBQ meal was taken at Murray's on Old Poole Road in south Raleigh. Murray's is a long time favorite - we try to eat there every time we go to the capital. The Q is mildly smoky and mellow and the portions are huge. They offer seafood and collards on the menu. Maybe one day I'll get around to trying them.

We sat down to our last barbeque meal on the tour at lunch on Saturday, when we drove to Allen and Son near Chapel Hill with a friend. Allen and Son barbeque has a unique, sharp smoky flavor. It's probably the smokiest barbeque I have ever eaten. Bob Garner says they cook over hickory exclusively. This may be the source of the sharp flavor. It was too tangy for the tastebuds of our friend, but I savor the bold flavor. The 'cue is a deep, rich brown and sometimes a bite of crunchy outside meat that takes some extra chewing adds to the texture. Before I went to Goldsboro it was my favorite North Carolina barbeque. And it still makes my top three. Like Wilber's, it is a true craftsman product that I am always happy to approach with fork in hand.

The other reason Allen and Son is a must-not-miss restaurant, are the huge home-made onion rings and the mouth pleasing fried okra. My only complaint with them is about their table sauce - it's greasy and bland. Skip it! But if you travel anywhere between Burlington and Raleigh, North Carolina, do yourself a favor and make the side trip to Allen and Son.

So, we did it! Seven barbeque restaurants in four days. And we never got tired of eating pig. What could be next for your intrepid, hog stalking, Q-hounds? Well, in the fall of 2003 we did a trip to visit the wood burners serving Piedmont style BBQ. But we found we'd rather have Piedmont style plain than with the heavy tomato sauce. So, there was learning. And a few hugs. And next time we'll just stay with the Eastern-style Q.

Q is serious stuff! ;~)
Me in BBQ wear (Nahunta hat & Lexington BBQ shirt.)

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