I call these places Heritage Barbecue Sites. My definition? The joint (and it is usually a joint, not a restaurant) must be at least fifty years old and cooking its meats on an actual pit. The current barbecue craze has put barbecue restaurants (i.e., not joints) on virtually every corner. They typically use wood-enhanced ovens, which can do a fine job of reproducing the taste of old-fashioned low-and-slow barbecue. But for the real deal, you need to step into an actual smokehouse.
Lexington Barbecue #1
10 Highway 29-70S, Lexington, North Carolina;
Lexington #1 epitomizes western- or Piedmont-style North Carolina barbecue: pork shoulders (not hogs), a thin ketchupy vinegar sauce, and a similar ketchupy vinegar concoction (no mayonnaise) in the sandwich-topping coleslaw.
Lexington Barbecue #1
10 Highway 29-70S, Lexington, North Carolina;
Lexington #1 epitomizes western- or Piedmont-style North Carolina barbecue: pork shoulders (not hogs), a thin ketchupy vinegar sauce, and a similar ketchupy vinegar concoction (no mayonnaise) in the sandwich-topping coleslaw.