Red Bridges opened the first barbecue joint in Cleveland County in 1946. Today, his daughter and her children run the shop, still slow-cooking pork over hickory all night long, the way Red taught them.
2000 East Dixon Boulevard
Shelby, NC 28152
(704) 482-8567
bridgesbbq.com
In Lexington, the city’s namesake style of barbecue — pork shoulder meat dipped in a tomato-based sauce — draws devotees to this former drive-in.
408 Piedmont Drive
Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 248-2410
Simple, yet legendary. This Greenville landmark has been an emblem of eastern-style barbecue since 1978.
751 State Road 1204
Greenville, NC 27858
(252) 758-7126
Steve’s is all about fresh, local ingredients — so local, in fact, that they come from the butchery and garden market attached to the dining room.
331 West Harden Street
Graham, NC 27253
(336) 506-4444
smokehouseatsteves.com
The only thing co-owner Matthew Register likes better than tradition is thinking up new ways to use familiar ingredients and flavors.
29 Warren Street
Garland, NC 28441
(910) 549-7484
southernsmokebbqnc.com
Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, this spot serves hickory-smoked barbecue with a signature sauce that blends eastern and Lexington flavors.
9440 NC Highway 226A
Little Switzerland, NC 28749
(828) 765-5289
switzerlandcafe.com
Editor’s Note: Chris Holloway is the current owner of Picnic.
Unlike those who use traditional brick pits, “barbecue man” and co-founder Wyatt Dickson smokes whole hogs in a double-walled steel pit.
1647 Cole Mill Road
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 908-9128
picnicdurham.com
This is competition-style barbecue: Just open your mouth and your mind, and give a forkful of brisket or pork or burnt ends an honest try. It may not be like any barbecue you’ve ever eaten, but it’s barbecue you surely won’t soon forget.
12101-B NC Highway 210
Benson, NC 27504
(919) 938-8334
theredneckbbqlab.com
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
