Monk: Our prolific friend of the blog John Tanner has been at it again making the rounds in eastern NC recently, so let’s follow along in envy to some of the better places from his recent trip.
Wilber’s BBQ in Goldsboro has been back for a couple of years now but in his first dining room meal in some years, John and co. are wowed
Martelle’s Feed House is a restaurant with a buffet that includes great ribs and fantastic barbecue, located in the tiny town of Englehard (pop. 155), a (according to Wikipedia) “fishing community in Lake Landing Township on the mainland of Hyde County, North Carolina” near the Pimlico Sound
John also tried out Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton, “a fine addition to eastern North Carolina” where they hold onto old traditions but also incorporate new trends
John passes on the buffet at Captain Bob’s Restaurant and Catering in Hertford for a pork plate but immediately regrets that decision
One of the highlights of his trip was a visit to Sid’s Catering in Beaulaville, a small town in southeast North Carolina
Non-Native News
Things are looking dicey for turkeys this Thanksgiving; this is from Heim BBQ
Snuck inside the pit room at Old Hickory Bar-B-Que in Owensboro, Ky after eating our chopped mutton and burgoo too: electric burgaloo pic.twitter.com/Wqmx7TOsEU
Monk: Bangkok-based food YouTuber Mark Wiens visits 5 whole hog restaurants in eastern NC in this supersized video. The visits to Skylight Inn (where he meets with Sam Jones) and B’s Barbecue are of particular interest to me as I’ll be making stops there soon.
Description: NORTH CAROLINA, USA – Welcome to North Carolina, one of the capitals of Barbecue, in the world. Today I’m taking you on an ultimate BBQ tour of Eastern North Carolina which is famous for whole hog barbecue! During this food tour we’re going to 5 of the best restaurants in North Carolina, for Eastern style bbq.
The Skylight Inn, Ayden, North Carolina (https://goo.gl/maps/Wj3t9yRDw464Edmp7) – First stop is The Skylight Inn, easily one of the most well known bbq restaurants in North Carolina, in the United States. They do things the right way, whole hog, slow cooked over smoking coals. One of the best things about The Skylight Inn is when the whole hogs are ready they chop them up, with a ratio of meat, fat, and crispy skin, into an insanely juicy chopped bbq tray. It’s truly a life-changing bbq experience.
Bum’s Restaurant (https://goo.gl/maps/yfWPbidoykXLAtGe8) – Just down the road from The Skylight Inn you’ll find Bum’s Restaurant, another long time bbq restaurant. Along with whole hog bbq, they also have plenty of other southern US foods and great sides. They do their bbq quite differently, instead of being chopped its much more shredded.
B’s Barbecue (https://goo.gl/maps/AgiGLpQPSwhdWDgb7) – Greenville, North Carolina – Next we drove out to B’s Barbecue, a local favorite. I had really wanted to try the chicken bbq, but unfortunately they had already sold out. We barely made it in time to get some whole hog, but luckily we did. It was delicious and so were all the sides.
Grady’s Barbecue (https://goo.gl/maps/1tTj9qgL2guawpK48) Dudley, North Carolina – Another amazing and one of the best bbq restaurants to try in North Carolina is in the small town of Dudley. Again, they do things the right way, slow cooked over coals, the entire pig. Along with the pork, their other dishes, including smoked turkey and bbq chicken, and all the sides were outstanding.
Wilber’s Barbecue (https://goo.gl/maps/6SKdDphpu1mEhcUH6) Goldsboro, North Carolina – Finally to complete this North Carolina bbq tour, we’re eating at Wilber’s Barbecue which is a fantastic family restaurant. Their food and service is fantastic. Also, one bonus about the bbq here is that you can order the leftover or picnic bbq ribs, which are delicious and fun to eat.
When you’re in North Carolina, BBQ is something you must eat, it’s a huge part of the local culture, and I hope you can try some of these best Barbecue restaurants!
Congrats to the Red Bridges Barbecue family! Lyttle Bridges Cabaniss (aka “Mama B”), who was the wife of “Red” that took over the business after he passed in 1966 and served as the matriarch of the family until she passed in 2008, was posthumously inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame at this past weekend’s American Royal in Kansas City, MO.
Lyttle Bridges is considered to be the first woman barbecue entrepreneur in North Carolina and while her husband Red is the namesake of the restaurant, she was the guiding force behind it, reportedly working from 8am to 9pm nearly every day before handing over the restaurant to her daughter Debbie Bridges-Webb and then her grandkids Natalie Ramsey and Chase Webb at the age of 80. Those three all accepted the award on her behalf this past weekend, which surely must have been a blast.
Lyttle Bridges and husband “Red“ created a style of North Carolina barbecue the family calls “Shelby style.” Her granddaughter says she “worked 12 hours a day, sun up, sun down.” https://t.co/B575s6mcCL
NC whole hog in Maine? John Tanner investigates for The Smoke Sheet
In today's issue, we featured John Tanner's review of Wilson County BBQ, which is cooking up authentic NC whole hog in Maine. Plus, @mossr on the South's best new joints, @BluesHogNation's world champion pulled pork sliders recipe, & much more. Read here: https://t.co/5Hppae6ZhDpic.twitter.com/3eQFT1Yl5l
Kevin’s BBQ Joints out here again doing yeoman’s work. This time, he reached out to 158 restaurants (4 were added since this Tweet) across the country to get what a best first order would look like. From North Carolina, Black Powder Smokehouse in Jamestown, Lawrence Barbecue in Raleigh, Longleaf Swine in Raleigh, Noble Smoke in Charlotte, Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby, Southern Smoke in Garland. Naturally, Texas represents a large portion of the list and a separate “Texas-only” list is located here.
NEW: I talked to 154 BBQ spots across the nation to see what they would recommend a '1st Time Visitor' order to best experience their restaurant. The responses were as diverse as they are. Note this list will continue to grow as more responses come in. https://t.co/fc6mZ0TGCUpic.twitter.com/2FlQX1IaRY
Wilber Shirley is celebrated on the UNC Press Blog by reposting his interview with John Shelton Reed and his late wife Dale Volberg Reed from “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of NC Barbecue”
Adrian Miller @soulfoodscholar's third UNC Press book, "Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue," is available for preorder and officially on sale 4/27/21 wherever ebooks and books are sold.https://t.co/4KZr3xQGlT
John Tanner gets a dispatch on Salvage Barbecue from his “Senior South Portland (Maine) Correspondents”
Smoked wings are a big hit in Columbia
Utilizing barbecue’s defining cooking process and an ample dusting of in-house dry-rubs, an increasing number of restaurants have found a dedicated audience for this preparation of drums and flats. https://t.co/hMOhFfhOxW
— Post and Courier Columbia (@PCColumbia) April 13, 2021
The Riverdale Park, MD-based 2Fifty Texas BBQ is opening up a D.C. location
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