Western NC BBQ vs. Eastern NC BBQ, that is. My local favorite Lancaster's BBQ is mentioned.
In truth I like Lancaster's more for the hamburgers and fried foods than the bbq; their 1/2 pound burger is masterly, and their deep-fried offerings are cooked in clean oil, freshly battered/breaded, and only dropped into the oil after you order.
For BBQ I favor Q Shack, which produces both Western NC pork BBQ and Texas-style beef brisket BBQ. I also like Hillbilly's BBQ & Steaks, although I have only eaten at the McAdenville location; I didn't know that they had expanded into Charlotte.
Of course, as a native of Gainesville, Florida, I grew up on Sonny's BBQ, and ate at the original Sonny's on Waldo Road often; back then we called it Fat Boy's, because Sonny Tillman's original sign read Sonny's Fat Boy Real Pit BBQ. I still like it after all these years, though I recognize that the meat is usually dry and in need of sauce to make it edible. Fortunately Sonny's original mild sauce is one of the better ones out there.
It took me a long while to get used to Eastern N.C. style BBQ.
ReplyDeleteI was stationed in Goldsboro during the early 80s. It was a shock to my Texan sensibilities to eat what was called BBQ out there.
I did learn to like Wilber's BBQ while I was out there but I'll take Texas style any day.