Although my annual full week at the North Carolina beach is still a few weeks away, I got a special inside look at a new brand (new to me, but the restaurant itself appears to be older than the hills) of Eastern North Carolina BBQ (ENCBBQ). I had never been to Allen & Son outside of Chapel Hill before. ENCBBQ is the best in the world, hands down, and this restaurant held its own very nicely.
Highly recommended. Check out my video review and tell me whether you agree with the assessment.
I lived in Chapel Hill for 7 years and never came around to Allen and Sons, but that was a long time ago and maybe time has allowed the grease to build up adequately in their cooking pits to impart the proper flavor. Also, I think they use gas in the cooking rather than wood. Interestingly, A&S used to supply barbecue to Crooks Corner, a CH institution and one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. We typically chose to head over to Bullock's in Durham, which was a little bit better back in the day, but still not great. During my NC tenure, the old I-95 rule was ironclad: one can only get proper eastern NC barbecue east of I-95. I never found stumbled upon an exception and was often willing to make the hour trek to Wilbur's in Goldsboro rather that meekly accepting Bullocks or Allen & Son. CM
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