Allen and Son Barbeque- Chapel Hill, NC

When I rolled up to Allen and Son's Pit BBQ, I had renewed hope for North Carolina BBQ. The rickety sign gave off a rustic feel. These people clearly cared more about the food than any superficial appearance.

Yesterday's venture took us to #4 on the Best of the Triangle list for Best BBQ. Allen and his spawn came in at #2. Why did I not hit-up #1? Because it had the word chicken in the name. And we all know that BBQ has four legs.

Learning my lesson about the chopped pork (simply referred to as BBQ here, ie. BBQ sandwich, BBQ platter, BBQ by the pound), I went for the ribs with a side of slaw, potato salad, and the mandatory side of hush puppies. But we don't care about the side shows...it's all about the main attraction.

First impression came from the vinegar-based sauce dripping from the ribs. My philosophy: if you smother it in sauce, you're hiding something. And typically that's a lack of flavor. I like my BBQ sauce sitting in a bottle on the table next to the silverware. Both are there for precautionary reasons; I only use in case of an emergency. But I digress.

Allen clearly makes an effort to hickory smoke his ribs. But he can't quite muster the flavor his Texas or Memphis cousins can.

It was a fair, but messy meal. Definitely better than the Ole House. But suffice it to say, this #2 wouldn't even make it into the top #5 in little ole Lockhart, TX. By the way, Eddie, the convenience store next to Allen's was called Lockhart Junction Store....I shit you not. Coincidence? I think not. Just a reminder of where the real BBQ lives.

Ole Time Barbeque- Raleigh, NC

My venture back to Raleigh/Durham provided an opportunity to try the culinary curiosity that is North Carolina barbecue. This BBQ is so far from the amazing flavor that is Texas BBQ....but not in a bad way.

First off all, it's all about pig. There wasn't an ounce of beef on the menu at Ole Time BBQ. Second, the sauce is heavily vinegar based.

So I ordered some chopped pork and ribs with a side of fried okra, potato salad, and hush puppies. When I bit into the pork, I almost spit it out from the overwhelming vinegar taste. It was quite sour. But after a couple bites, I grew to the taste. It was not bad, but extremely different. The ribs came straight off the grill. But from the looks of it, they spent some time boiling. The waitress said they only cook them on the grill with a dry rub.
But there was no way that was the case because there would have been a resemblance of a rub....and it just had a look of boiling. Nonetheless, it was fairly tasty.

Overall, the BBQ was good. But my taste buds will always belong to the mesquite smoke brisket and ribs from the Lone Star State.