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In his latest issue of The Cue Sheet, Robert Moss examines the ten best college cities or towns to attend according to nearby barbecue options. While my alma mater NC State is mentioned as a future possibility once the planned restaurants like Sam Jones BBQ, Wyatt’s Barbecue, and Longleaf Swine open their doors in 2021 (not to mention Prime BBQ in Knightdale that opened this year and the upcoming Ed Mitchell’s The Preserve), several NC towns make the list. Not on the list either is Chapel Hill, primarily due to the loss of Allen & Son last year.
East Carolina University in Greenville has B’s Barbecue, Sam Jones Barbecue and the two Ayden joints nearby (Skylight and Bum’s) and comes in at #9. Surprisingly, Catawba College in Salisbury, NC makes the list just ahead of Greenville due to a couple of joints in town (College Barbecue and Richard’s) plus its proximity to Lexington and its myriad options for barbecue.
That’s it for NC on this list but both Columbia and Charleston appear further down from our neighbors to the south. I won’t spoil the rest of the list, but if you think hard enough you can probably guess which university and city takes the #1 spot on the list.
Native News
The Great NC BBQ Map poster is 50% off through today
The Pinehurst Barbecue Festival is planned for September 3-5, 2021
The Bar-B-Q King is one of many COVID-friendly food options in Charlotte for walk-up or drive-thru (or in this case, drive-in)
In NC, barbecue sauce makes a great gift writes Spectrum News
OooWee BBQ has smoked meat by the pound available in take-and-bake meals
Primal BBQ is set to open in Wilmington later this month and will serve a little bit of everything
Longleaf Swine is one barbecue restaurant offering to-go meals in Raleigh
Wish I could attend this socially-distanced pig pickin’ in Durham this weekend
Chicken bog long sleeve tees from Buxton Hall released just in time for last minute Christmas shopping
Non-Native News
In perhaps the least surprising news of the week, Tim Carman found better options than the McRib in DC
Even though Pat Mahomes went to college in Texas, he prefers Kansas City barbecue
This smothered tater tots collaboration between Fox Bros Bar-B-Q and Nina and Rafi looks amazing
An American pitmaster living in Hong Kong names the US barbecue restaurants he dreams of going back to some day, including Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Cozy Corner, Franklin Barbecue, and Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
Pork n’ Pine Santa delivers pulled pork sammies in Baltimore
Speaking of the barbecue sundae, Mrs. Monk ordered one and in case it wasn’t obvious, it includes all of what I ordered plus baked beans mixed together to make a 4-layer “sundae” into a single cup . And I’m a big fan, though I think it’s kind of hard to mess it up. If every component is as it should be then no problem. But if the pork is dry, then the other sides can help cover it up. Regardless, I think this is the best dish that I’ve had from them and will likely be my order next time.
