daveca83
Knows what a fatty is.
Following the useful advice I got, I thought I would post a quick round up. Thanks to Gore, I used a few of your recommendations which you will see. It was really helpful!:
Day 1 - Mission BBQ
We started in Washington, and the original plan was to go down to Richmond. I wanted to go to ZZQ but it's closed on Tuesdays, and we got off work earlier than planned, so stopped off at Mission BBQ just North of Petersburg, VA. I know this is a chain, but I was pleasantly surprised. The brisket was good, the jalapeno and cheese sausage was pretty good, and the coleslaw was decent. While I wouldn't rush back there, if I was passing I would definitely be happy going.
We stopped over in Roanoke Rapids. It looked like it had seen better days and the bulletproof glass on the Red Roof Inn reception we were staying in should have given us a sign. There was a sign in Spanish saying no cooking in the rooms and I really don't think they meant food.
Day 2 - B's Barbecue, Skylight Inn and Sam Jones BBQ
Anyone with knowledge of the geography of this area would know this was ludicrous, partly because all these places are about 30 mins away from each other, partly because Sam Jones and Skylight Inn serve essentially the same product, and partly because we did all three in 3 hours. My stupidity however was eclipsed by my colleague, who despite my best advice, wanted Breakfast first, and thought he could find a healthy Acai bowl in a Cracker Barrel. He could not, and they also didn't have oat milk or sourdough. The end result of this was he had pancakes and bacon and was then quite full.
We went to Bs first and joined the queue just as they put the shutters down to cook some more chicken. We waited maybe 25 minutes in total but then ordered BBQ plates. The pork was really good, the slaw was great. The best thing though was the smell that hit us when we got out of the car.
Skylight Inn was next, my second visit, and it was my first interaction with cheerwine. We both thought this was the best pork we encountered on our trip. The slaw was sweet and creamy and the cornbread, although not what we were used to, were delicious (I know some others have not been impressed with it, but I enjoyed it). I got a banana pudding as a palate cleanser, word's I never thought I would say.
Then on to Sam Jones BBQ. I was quite full, so thought I would get a small portion, but panicked at the till and ordered a two meat combo, turkey and pork. I was interested if the pork would be different to Skylight Inn, considering its the same ownership. It was pretty much the same, so delicious. The turkey however was a little dry. The beans were great, the cornbread muffin was pretty good and the slaw was great.
Drove up to Durham for the evening, a few drinks then back to the hotel.
Day 3 - Original Q shack, Lexington Barbecue, Noble Smoke
Q shack was a good recommendation from Gore and was well worth it. Best brisket I had (knowing some in N.Carolina sees it as sacrilege), and the sides were all very good. It was a very early lunch and it worked perfectly following my slightly panicked hotel Breakfast.
Was very excited about Lexington Barbecue. Had the coarse cut pork and it was very good, a bit different to the usual fare we had had on the trip, and some lovely red slaw. The hush puppies were incredible. The owner then gave us a tip for the next place. Said a pitmaster he trained was now working in a specific Noble Smoke, so we headed down there.
The waiter at Noble Smoke was pretty honest in telling us the 'cue was good, but was overpriced. This was my buddy's favourite place, but for me it was good but not great. Maybe the waiters own comments coloured my view. The brisket was good, the pork was good, but nothing past that. More cheerwine though.
Stayed in Asheville and saw some great live music. Was nice to see it thriving after the floods.
Day 4 - Calhouns BBQ, Edleys BBQ
We went to Calhouns because it was just off the main road, and hadn't planned it. I thought it was okay, and so did my buddy. We since learned the backstory and controversy around the owner, but not knowing before meant we could accurately review the food, and we would have given it a 6/10. Not a patch on some of the other places we visited.
Edleys was fairly close to Nashville airport, so we thought we would fit it in. It was very good, not the best we had, but not the worst by any means. I had the brisket and pork combo which was fantastic. Less smokey than some of the other places we had been to, but still well cooked and tasty.
Summary
Thats 9 barbecue plates across 3 days, and it didn't really put me off it, if anything I was craving it when I got home. Sam Jones has been marked harshly as I was quite full when I had it. My order of preference is below, and I could have planned the last half of the road trip better but the time pressure was on to get to the airport so we couldn't really leave the beaten track!
Skylight
Lexington
B's
Q shack
Sam Jones BBQ
Mission BBQ
Noble Smoke
Edleys
Calhouns
Day 1 - Mission BBQ
We started in Washington, and the original plan was to go down to Richmond. I wanted to go to ZZQ but it's closed on Tuesdays, and we got off work earlier than planned, so stopped off at Mission BBQ just North of Petersburg, VA. I know this is a chain, but I was pleasantly surprised. The brisket was good, the jalapeno and cheese sausage was pretty good, and the coleslaw was decent. While I wouldn't rush back there, if I was passing I would definitely be happy going.
We stopped over in Roanoke Rapids. It looked like it had seen better days and the bulletproof glass on the Red Roof Inn reception we were staying in should have given us a sign. There was a sign in Spanish saying no cooking in the rooms and I really don't think they meant food.
Day 2 - B's Barbecue, Skylight Inn and Sam Jones BBQ
Anyone with knowledge of the geography of this area would know this was ludicrous, partly because all these places are about 30 mins away from each other, partly because Sam Jones and Skylight Inn serve essentially the same product, and partly because we did all three in 3 hours. My stupidity however was eclipsed by my colleague, who despite my best advice, wanted Breakfast first, and thought he could find a healthy Acai bowl in a Cracker Barrel. He could not, and they also didn't have oat milk or sourdough. The end result of this was he had pancakes and bacon and was then quite full.
We went to Bs first and joined the queue just as they put the shutters down to cook some more chicken. We waited maybe 25 minutes in total but then ordered BBQ plates. The pork was really good, the slaw was great. The best thing though was the smell that hit us when we got out of the car.
Skylight Inn was next, my second visit, and it was my first interaction with cheerwine. We both thought this was the best pork we encountered on our trip. The slaw was sweet and creamy and the cornbread, although not what we were used to, were delicious (I know some others have not been impressed with it, but I enjoyed it). I got a banana pudding as a palate cleanser, word's I never thought I would say.
Then on to Sam Jones BBQ. I was quite full, so thought I would get a small portion, but panicked at the till and ordered a two meat combo, turkey and pork. I was interested if the pork would be different to Skylight Inn, considering its the same ownership. It was pretty much the same, so delicious. The turkey however was a little dry. The beans were great, the cornbread muffin was pretty good and the slaw was great.
Drove up to Durham for the evening, a few drinks then back to the hotel.
Day 3 - Original Q shack, Lexington Barbecue, Noble Smoke
Q shack was a good recommendation from Gore and was well worth it. Best brisket I had (knowing some in N.Carolina sees it as sacrilege), and the sides were all very good. It was a very early lunch and it worked perfectly following my slightly panicked hotel Breakfast.
Was very excited about Lexington Barbecue. Had the coarse cut pork and it was very good, a bit different to the usual fare we had had on the trip, and some lovely red slaw. The hush puppies were incredible. The owner then gave us a tip for the next place. Said a pitmaster he trained was now working in a specific Noble Smoke, so we headed down there.
The waiter at Noble Smoke was pretty honest in telling us the 'cue was good, but was overpriced. This was my buddy's favourite place, but for me it was good but not great. Maybe the waiters own comments coloured my view. The brisket was good, the pork was good, but nothing past that. More cheerwine though.
Stayed in Asheville and saw some great live music. Was nice to see it thriving after the floods.
Day 4 - Calhouns BBQ, Edleys BBQ
We went to Calhouns because it was just off the main road, and hadn't planned it. I thought it was okay, and so did my buddy. We since learned the backstory and controversy around the owner, but not knowing before meant we could accurately review the food, and we would have given it a 6/10. Not a patch on some of the other places we visited.
Edleys was fairly close to Nashville airport, so we thought we would fit it in. It was very good, not the best we had, but not the worst by any means. I had the brisket and pork combo which was fantastic. Less smokey than some of the other places we had been to, but still well cooked and tasty.
Summary
Thats 9 barbecue plates across 3 days, and it didn't really put me off it, if anything I was craving it when I got home. Sam Jones has been marked harshly as I was quite full when I had it. My order of preference is below, and I could have planned the last half of the road trip better but the time pressure was on to get to the airport so we couldn't really leave the beaten track!
Skylight
Lexington
B's
Q shack
Sam Jones BBQ
Mission BBQ
Noble Smoke
Edleys
Calhouns
