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Road trip central AL, east to Charleston, SC, north to NYC 20-30 May

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longwayfromhome

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Hi there

Visiting from New Zealand. Doing a Civil Rights trail homage through Montgomery/Selma/Birmingham for three days, then driving two days to the east coast (via White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA), have our 50th wedding anniversary over Memorial Day weekend in Charleston, then a slow cruise north through DC to NYC.

I have been through some of this area previously (Previous_BBQ_trip) so I was particularly looking for locations in the Montgomery/Selma/Birmingham area and then on the road to Charleston. Has anybody got some suggestions?

Obviously I have an eye on BBQ, but also very interested in other Southern specialities.

I intend to return to a fave on the way north (Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC) and have earmarked Rodney Scott’s and Lewis BBQ (for a touch of dreamy brisket). BTW, which Rodney Scott location is the best – how about the original in Hemingway, is that still a goer?

High expectations, high expectations for this trip …

Ralph in Auckland
 
I don’t have any other suggestions for that area of AL except the maker of Shirley Smokers is in Tuscaloosa.
Muscle shoals recording studio would be north a couple hours.

Congrats on your upcoming 50th anniversary!
 
If you get to Tuscaloosa, City Cafe in Northport is a great "meat-and-three" southern experience. For BBQ Archibald's in Northport (NOT the Tuscaloosa one) is pretty good - If you follow your phone/GPS and think you've arrived at someone's house, you're there.
 
In Selma, go to Lannys BBQ. When ordering ask for outside meat with your order. You will get some crunchy skin! Go through Demopolis and go to Canecutters for ribs, brisket and whatever they have cooked. anything will be good.
 
Thanks minAL ... I asked Jake, the guy who is taking us around for the three days, to include some BBQ lunches and on the first day he picked Lannie's in Selma - great minds think alike - some outside meat it is! I am unlikely to get to Demopolis (such an interesting name) but who knows what will happen.
PS: The Wikipedia entry for Demopolis is very interesting Demopolis, Alabama - Wikipedia

minAL said:
In Selma, go to Lannys BBQ. When ordering ask for outside meat with your order. You will get some crunchy skin! Go through Demopolis and go to Canecutters for ribs, brisket and whatever they have cooked. anything will be good.
Click to expand...
 
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One of my favorites in the country is Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, but that might be too far out of your way. I've been on several occasions, even driving a couple hundred miles out of my way to go. Dreamland is a favorite for old-time ribs. They are most noted for their sauce which is a unique hybrid tomato-mustard sauce. There are many fans here who order it in bulk. I was at one in Birmingham. I've been to Archibald's (in Tuscaloosa) and had quite a lovely time. The place is a shack (my wife pulled a piece of electrical tape off the wall and she could see outside, so she put it back). We ordered way too much food as it was very inexpensive and expected smaller portions. It was alright, but I don't know if I'd recommend them. Rodney Scott's pork was some of the best I've had -- I've only been to the Charleston location a couple times. Everything was good at Lewis BBQ. They have great Mexican food as well. Of course you know what to expect at Skylight. Since you'll be passing by anyway, I would also recommend stopping at Lexington BBQ and getting their Monk Balls. They are unique and fabulous. If you're in the Raleigh area, I enjoy the Original Q Shack on University in Durham. They have Texas style brisket, good ribs and a fabulous cobb salad. Their sides are great as well, especially the spinach. If you spend the night, I recommend The Blue Note. They have nightly entertainment -- my favorite is open-mic blues on Tuesdays (if they still have it), and get their BBQ ribs and especially their bread pudding shooters -- or the whole dish if you're hungry. The best shrimp and grits I had was at Alligator Soul in Savannah. I didn't see Savannah on your list, but it is a great town to visit. If you're passing through Columbia SC, we enjoyed Bourbon downtown. We enjoyed their short ribs and grits when we were there. Also, you might try Maurice's BBQ to get a taste of the typical mustard BBQ sauce in that region. Some Maurice's are just outposts, and not very good, but there are a couple that cook on site that are much better (of course). I believe the one at 1600 Charleston Hwy is one of the better ones. Here are a few references:

Decatur

Hi all I'll be in Decatur Alabama next week, with a colleague of mine. Just a couple of days to meet a customer Can you give me an advice for a good BBQ? There are too many years that I don't visit USA and I need to taste real BBQ! Thanks to all Inviato dal mio M2101K7BNY utilizzando Tapatalk
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Lexington BBQ

OK, I finally see what you guys have been talking about. I've traveled to North Carolina a lot. For 3 and a half years I was driving down every 2 to 3 weeks and spending 5 days in the Raleigh-Durham area. At the time, I'd been to just about every BBQ place there except for Clyde's and Allen and...
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I'm a little slow and didn't see that you were heading to NYC. I would strongly recommend 2Fifty BBQ on the north side of DC. I had strong recommendations for them from some Texas natives I know, but didn't get to visit until about a month ago. It is Texas-style BBQ. The brisket I had there would hold its own with anything I've had in Texas, and that includes Franklins, the holy trinity of Lockhart, LeBBQ, Louie Mueller's, Snow's and a good 2 dozen other places throughout the state. For the record I ate at the original Riverdale Park location. I've only been once and YMMV, but people have been raving about it.

www.2fiftybbq.com

2Fifty | Texas Style BBQ with a pinch of the tropics | Maryland & DC

We're a wood-only smokehouse with a Texas-Style BBQ and a pinch of the tropics serving in Riverdale Park & in Mount Vermont Triangle. All wood? All good!
www.2fiftybbq.com www.2fiftybbq.com
 
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I was doing a search for something in Georgia and for some reason, this photo showed up of Maurice's in South Carolina, so I figured I was meant to post it. I'm adding a couple others as well.
Maurice's in Columbia (note mustard sauce):
1715475416877.png
Big Bob Gibson's (note white sauce middle right):
1715475938334.png
Lewis BBQ:
1715476012222.png1715476045451.png
Skylight BBQ:
1715476077924.png
 
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