August 10, 2012

While in North Carolina with our friend Vinny for the 2012 “Festival of Cheese” at the American Cheese Society’s Conference and Competition, we visited 7 top-rated Barbecue eateries in the eastern part of the state, in and around Raleigh.

Below are the places we tried and our notes on each:

The Pit
328 West Davie St. at Harrington
Raleigh, NC 27601
http://www.thepit-raleigh.com/
(919) 890-4500
Our Rating: A+
Cooking Method: Whole hog, pit-cooked
Pulled pork was so flavorful without any sauce! Sauces: vinegar based and tomato molasses; Delicious NC stew called Brunswick Stew; Vinny loved the collard greens; Bacon and spinach bruschetta!
$11.99 pulled pork, $2.50 cup of Brunswick stew, $7.59 bacon bruschetta

Wilber’s of Goldsboro
4172 Hwy. 70 East
Goldsboro, NC 27534
(919) 778-5218
http://www.wilbersbarbecue.com
Our Rating: A
Cooking Method: Whole hog, open pit with live oak and hickory coals
Of the others besides The Pit this one had the best pork flavor, though of all of them it had the most red pepper flakes. Cole slaw was good, potato salad was a weird amalgam of mashed potatoes and chunks, kind of glutinous.
$8.95 large plate

B’s Barbecue
751 B’s Barbecue Road
Greenville, NC 27834
(252) 758-7126
Our Rating: A
Cooking Method: Whole hog, open pit with charcoal
Closes when out of food; try to arrive by 11:30 am
Pork was chopped finely (possibly ground?) nice flavor. Didn’t need sauce, good with the coleslaw
Roasted chicken was good; Sauce: vinegar with red pepper flakes; Corn sticks were ok, but kind of dry and greasy at the same time; Coleslaw was good, vinegary but sweet too; Green beans were canned and soggy.
$4.00 half-pound BBQ, $3.50 sandwich, $5.50 half chicken

Smithfield’s Chicken ’n Bar-B-Q
924 N. Brightleaf Blvd.
Smithfield, NC 27577
(919) 934-8721
http://scnbnc.com/
Our Rating: A
Despite being a local chain, the quality of pork was excellent. Also had fried chicken, so-called “snack” size of a drumstick and enormous thigh. A bit pricey for fast food.
$6.39 regular BBQ platter, $7.09 large platter, $3.09 BBQ sandwich, $4.09 chicken snack dark, $7.09 chicken platter white

Stephenson’s Barbecue
11964 N.C. Hwy 50 North
Willow Springs, NC 27592-8163
(919) 894-4530
Our Rating: A
Cooking Method: Whole hog, open pit with charcoal, left to smoke 6-8 additional hrs.
Large picture windows of nearby woods. BBQ was smoky and very good, a bit salty, coleslaw rather sweet, but round hush puppies that were just right.
$6.00 small pig, $7.00 large pig, $2.95 sandwich

Parker’s Barbecue
2514 US Highway 301 S
Wilson, NC 27893
(252) 237-0972
Our Rating: A–
Cooking Method: Pit-cooked
Pork was chopped/ground like B’s but had red pepper flakes; Good flavor: Didn’t need sauce, good with the coleslaw; Coleslaw was ok but not as good as B’s; Corn sticks were not quite as greasy but still dry; Brunswick stew was ok but not as good as The Pit; Chicken livers were plentiful – excellent; String beans were canned.
$5.82 small plate, $6.30 large plate, $2.78 sandwich

Holt Lake Bar-B-Que & Seafood
3506 US Highway 301 S
Smithfield, NC 27577
(919) 934-0148
Our Rating: B+
Recommended to us by Sue, the docent at the Ava Gardner Museum who rates BBQ based on the slaw.
$6.00 small plate, $3.50 sandwich

A helpful link for those of you interested in further reading: NC BBQ

We can highly recommend The Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast where we stayed while in Raleigh (411 North Bloodworth Street)
Doris & Gary Jurkiewicz [Yuhr-KAY-veetch] own and run the B&B. Choose the Linden Room if you prefer a large modern bathroom. Doris’s hot breakfasts were delicious and Gary’s fresh homemade cookies added to the charm.
http://www.oakwoodinnbb.com

We also visited Charlotte NC and tried Midwood Smokehouse (1401 Central Avenue). Their pulled pork was almost as good as The Pit although it was saltier. Prices matched those at The Pit in Raleigh, where a large BBQ plate is $12.

--David & Gerard from NYC