Ole NC Barbecue has moved

Address - 3600 N Duke St, Durham Map
Style - Sit down Menu or Buffet Restaurant

After years in a nondescript, hard to find location in the strip mall, Ole NC Barbecue has moved into a building on a outparcel of the same mall. The building was originally a Darryl's, which was a chain of restaurants that closed back in the 1990's. Darryl's built the buildings to make it look like the building had grown like topsy, with many additions and changes in roofline. The inside of the buildings were distinctive as well, with a balcony wrapping around overlooking the main restaurant.

The last time I had been in the restaurant, it was a Chinese buffet restaurant. The lighting was subdued and the balcony was not obvious. Now, the lighting is back, so the interior architecture is obvious.

The food has not changed. Most of the buffet items are mediocre at best. The ribs were overcooked to be inedible. This place is still one of my guilty pleasures.

Recomended - McCall's BBQ & Seafood Restaurant - Clayton

Address - 10365 US Highway 70 West in Clayton, NC 27520 Map Website
Style - Sit-down restaurant with buffet

After wasting time looking around Smithfield for a particular restaurant that I could not find, I ended up driving up US 70 looking for a place to eat. The only BBQ I knew of in Clayton was Smithfield's, but any BBQ is better than none. About two miles from Clayton was a billboard for McCall's, which I had never heard of before. McCall's is across the highway from Smithfield's. Why not try something new?

The building looks a little industrial. It looks a little like a warehouse that has been covered with grey wood siding. The choice of grey just made it look more industrial. There are rocking chairs on a cement porch, which did not look real inviting. Inside the main restaurant is one huge room with high ceilings with a buffet stretched along one side. It was a little noisy for the number of diners.

I ordered lunch plate special. It came with two sides ( I took butter beans and stew ) and a trip to the dessert buffet. The pork was good. They smoke it on the premises and have a portable smoker for catering. It appears that they use gas, so the pork did not have that distinctive wood smoke flavor. The beans were nicely cooked, not the mush you sometimes get on a buffet. The stew was excellent. There were big chunks of pork in it and recognizable vegatables. The server brought a basket of hushpuppies partway into the meal, which were fresh cooked and excellent. The portion of pork was ample and I finished everything but the hush puppies. There were just too many to finish. I had what a blueberry cheese cake which was served in a flat pan on the buffet. It was a nice finish to a decent lunch.

McCall's also has a restaurant in Goldsboro. It will be worth checking out. This is definitely superior to the Smithfield's.