RIP, Jim's Famous BBQ, Chapel Hill

Jim's Famous BBQ has closed. I liked the barbecue there, but found the menu of bar food, NC barbecue and Memphis style barbecue to be a mixed bag.
Recently, there opened a wood burner in Lumberton which I was looking forward to reviewing. It closed before I could get there. In the meanwhile, I have visited a couple of little joints on my travels around the state, but have not found anything to recommend. My newest place to try is the Fire Pit in Wake Forest.

There's a Barbecue Truck in Chapel Hill

On evening at Johnny's I encountered the Old North State BBQ food truck. The eastern style barbecue sandwich was pretty good. It had some nice brown bits. The meat holds up nicely. I was a bit disappointed in their hush puppies, finding them hard. They cook their food at a common food truck kitchen up in Durham, which explains the hush puppies. The truck shows up at the Rainbow Soccer fields in Chapel Hill  and Johnny's, along with other spots in town. Follow their twitter feed at http://twitter.com/onsbbq . It's worth checking out.

RIP, Barbecue Inn, Asheville

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Barbecue Inn, a 50 year old institution, closed over the Fourth of July weekend. NC barbecue feels the loss.

RIP, A&M Grill in Mebane

According to the Burlington Times-News , the A&M Grille in Mebane closed for good Monday June 27 2011. Every time one of these old timer barbecue joints close, we lose a little bit of North Carolina history. I was never a fan of the barbecue sauce there, but the joint had a lot of fans.

RIP: Dilliards Barbecue in Durham

According to WRAL, Dilliards Barbecue on Fayetteville Street in Durham is closing after 58 years in business. Though not of my top BBQ joints, it is always sad when yet another old mainstay of the business closes. I did love the old time atmosphere there.

The Pig is Open

The Pig Restaurant in the old Barbecue Joint space on Weaver Dairy Road in Chapel Hill NC has a lit neon Open sign in its window. I'll try it out ASAP and report back. They've haven't updated their Facebook page at thepigrestaurant.com .

Barbecue Joint Bbq Now Served at Ba-Da Wings

Ba-Da Wings, a Buffalo Wings place, now has a banner advertising BBQ Joint barbecue. Since the Barbecue Joint closed on Weaver Dairy Road, they are now sharing kitchen space at Ba-Da Wings for their catering business. Ba-Da Wings has recently moved to 302 B Main Street in Carboro, which is the space used by the Carrboro Q-Shack, which closed this winter.

In other Barbecue Joint news, according to Chowhound, it is a former Barbecue Joint employee that is opening the Pig Restaurant in the old Baebecue Joint location.

Restaurant Ratings

Recommended Google Map to all Recommended Restaurants
Hursey's - Burlington and Graham
Danny's - RTP, Morrisville and Cary
Allen and Son North - Chapel Hill
McCall's BBQ and Seafood - Clayton
Bud's Barbecue, Cumnock
Short Sugar's - Danville VA
Stamey's - Greensboro
Fuzzy's Pit Cooked Bar-B-Q, Madison
Clyde Cooper's - Raleigh
Jackson Brothers BBQ, Sanford
Neil Holden, Youngsville
Acceptable
Dixie Bell's, Apex
Bar B Q King, Charlotte
Bob's Barbecue, Creedmoor
Byrd's Bar-B-Que, Durham
Hog Heaven - Durham
Backyard BBQ Pit - Durham
Ole NC Barbecue, Durham
Smithfield's BBQ and Chicken, Garner
Country Barbecue, Greensboro
Smoky Joe's, Lexington
Lexington #1, Lexington
Speedy's, Lexington
Smokey's BBQ Shack - Morrisville
Barbecue Lodge - Raleigh
Ole Time Barbecue, Raleigh
Short Sugar's Drive-in - Reidsville
Stamey's Barbecue of Tyro, Tyro
Hog Heaven, Washington
Stephenson's Bar-B-Q, Willow Springs
Barely Acceptable
Tony's BBQ, Hillsborough
Good Barbecue from Non-barbecue Restaurants and Others
Brookwood Farms, Siler City
Cook-Out - Durham
Refreshment Stands at the Smith Center - Chapel Hill
NC Pork Producers tent at the NC State Fair
On the list to try
Pik N Pig - Carthage
Grady's - Dudley
Jimmy's, Stamey's, Smiley's - Lexington
Hawg Wild - Pisgah Forest
Bridge's - Shelby
White Swan - Smithfield
Fire Pit - Wake Forest

Acceptable - Stamey's Barbecue of Tyro, Tyro NC

Address - 4524 S NC Highway 150, Lexington, NC 27295 Map
Style - Sit-down restaurant

Even if it has a Lexington address, this Stamey's is in the small unincorporated town of Tyro out on NC 150 south of US 64 well west of Lexington. The restaurant is a typical Lexington barbecue joint with booths and tables.

My lunch was a sliced barbecue tray, which came with red slaw and a decent sized basket of hushpuppies. The meat had good flavor, comparable to that I had at Speedy's or John Wayne's. The red slaw disappointed. It was so acidic that it overwhelmed the flavor of the barbecue dip. Next time, I would have the meat alone, not on a tray.

The Pig Restaurant to Open in Chapel Hill

Recently, there has been remodeling activity at the location of the late lamented Barbecue Joint on Weaver Dairy Road in Chapel Hill. Last week, a banner was displayed outside for "The Pig". The banner shows a web-site at thepigrestaurant.com , which currently points to a Facebook page, which primarily is showing pictures of the renovation. We'll keep an eye on this.

The Barbecue Joint to Reopen in the Fall

According to the Raleigh News and Observer, the Barbecue Joint in Chapel Hill is only closed until fall when it will reopen in its new space. Earlier, the restaurant was soliciting investors to buy $2000 gift cards to raise money for remodeling the new location. Of course, while the restaurant is closed, it seemed that these cards would go to waste. The business is accepting the gift cards for catering until the reopening.

This is good news for barbecue hounds, against the reports of barbecue restaurants closing recently.

More Restaurant Closings

The Barbecue Joint in Chapel Hill has closed, according to posts on Chowhound. Reports are that the doors are padlocked by the sheriff. This has happened before, due to tax problems. Cross your fingers.

According to the Barbecue Jew, John Wayne's, one of the Lexington Six Pack, closed in February. I did visit the place and had a review in process. It turns out that that my visit was just a couple of weeks before it closed. It was the best of the Lexington restaurants I'd visited.

Also according to the Barbecue Jew, Short Sugar's in Reidsville has announced that their downtown restaurant is closing. The downtown joint was a single storefront lunch counter. I enjoyed the main restaurant more, but the lunch counter had a personality to it.

The economy is doing in a lot of independent restaurants. I've had to report on many more closings in the last few months than new discoveries.

BBQ Pit Camp at Tanglewood in May

The Winston-Salem Journal has reported that the NC Barbecue Society is hosting a BBQ Pit Camp at Tanglewood Park near Clemmons on May 14-15 2010. This event is not being reported in the NC Barbecue Society calndar of events on their web page. For info, call John Early (765-6227) or email him at info@ncbbqsociety.com.

The Lexington Six (Four? ) Pack

In NC barbecue circles, the Lexington Six Pack were six decent barbecue restaurants in Lexington NC. These were Lexington #1 (Honey Monks), Jimmy's, John Wayne's, Speedy's, Stamey's (on I 85 Business) and Southern BBQ. When I started this blog, I had intended to visit and review all six. It turns out that I was too late.
There still are Stamey's restaurants around. There is one out on NC 150 with a Lexington address, but that is not the one in the Six Pack. There are others in Greensboro, who have Lexington roots. I need to investigate to see if the remaining Lexington Stamey's is connected to the one on I 85 Business.
It appears that Southern BBQ has become Smiley's. This also needs some investigation.
The only one of the remaining four that I have not visited is Jimmy's. It seems that the only day I get into Lexington for lunch is Tuesday and Jimmy's is closed on Tuesdays.

RIP, BBQ Ribs and Co.

The last of the BBQ Ribs & Co restaurant in Graham has closed. There is a for lease sign at the road and a moving van in the back. This chain had great food in a fast food venue. When the corporate owners closed the chain, the Graham location became an independent. Now, it is all gone.

RIP, Holy Smokes Bar-B-Que

Holy Smokes has posted on their website that they are closing for good Saturday Feb 28th at 8:00 pm. Their delicious brisket will be available through their catering business, but barbecue in the shiny diner will be no more.

The Barbecue Song

http://rhettandlink.com/music‬

Thanks, Bob.

Parker's Takes Top Honors in Best Quest for Barbecue in NC

The BestOfNorthCarolina blog has announced the winning restaurants of its Best Quest for Barbecue in NC. Parker's in Wilson took top honors. Allen and Son , a favorite of this blog, made it to the top eleven list. The list contains other old time barbecue joints, such as B's in Greenville and Bridges in Shelb7, but also the newer and higher class Pit in Raleigh. However, the ubiquitous Smithfield's made the list as well. Reader's polls are popularity contests. Quality does show through, but mostly this kind of poll reflects name recognition.

Kent Craig Moves from BBQ Web Guru to Author

Kent Craig, who authored one of the most extensive NC BBQ web-sites on the net, has shut up shop on his web-site. He has taken the info from his site and written Kent’s Carolina Barbecue Book, available from Amazon. The BBQ Jew has interviewed Kent on their blog.

Fuzzy's Reaches Out to Haiti

According to this article at GoDanRiver.com, Jennifer Joyce, a manager of Fuzzy's BBQ in Madison, has arranged for a trailer for transporting supplies to earthquake devastated Haiti. The trailer is parked at the restaurant and accepting donations when the restaurant is open. Please help by giving whatever you can. Blankets and water are needed most.