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.
1317 Winston Road
Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 248-2092
speedysbbqinc.com
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
In an old South Slope building that served as a roller rink in the 1930s, folks gather for the wood-smoked, whole-hog, eastern-style barbecue that has made Buxton Hall a western favorite.
32 Banks Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 232-7216
buxtonhall.com
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
Unlike those who use traditional brick pits, “barbecue man” 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
Tastes change over time, but our editor in chief knows that, eventually, the classics always come back in style.
Maybe it’s been years since you last solved an algebra equation or wrote an essay, but learning never stops, no matter your age. Expand your knowledge on a “field trip” to these eight destinations across the state. And don’t worry — you won’t be graded!
Find the furniture and decor that speaks to you at 26 shops we love from mountains to coast.
From UNC Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library — housing what’s believed to be the largest library collection in the country devoted to a single state — to personal troves of duck decoys, pottery pieces, trains, tractors, and more: Meet the passionate collectors who curate the past and present, the serious and curious, the tangible items that tell the story of life in North Carolina.
