The Best BBQ Joints In America Include These In NC: Thrillist

CHARLOTTE, NC — When it comes to finding the best barbeque in the United States, North Carolinians don’t have to travel far. This is according to the folks at Thrillist, who have scoured the country and done their part to locate the joints offering the very best barbeque.

According to the travel and entertainment website, North Carolina has four of the country’s best 33 barbeque restaurants.

“Selecting the best places to eat barbecue in America has always been a monumentally difficult task, but it's even more so now, thanks to a new generation of pitmasters that's combined with a still crafty old guard to make the landscape more meat-packed than ever. But just because something is a challenge doesn't mean you shouldn't try,” wrote Thrillist correspondents Dan Gentile and Matt Lynch.

Gentile and Lynch narrowed down the listings to 33 barbeque joints, including these North Carolina eateries:

• Lexington Barbeque, Lexington, N.C.
• Red Bridges Barbeque Lodge, Shelby, N.C.
• Picnic, Durham, N.C.
• Skylight Inn, Ayden, N.C

Here’s what Thrillist said about Lexington Barbeque in Lexington, N.C.:

As the small city of Lexington grew in barbecue might (it boasts more than 20 joints with a population of less than 20,000), the Piedmont school of Carolina barbecue, with its vinegary red sauce , came to be known as Lexington-style, and a big reason a small town serves as a stand in for a region is the Monk family behind (what else?) Lexington BBQ. It's still pretty much the same drill it's been for decades -- pork shoulders get 10 hours over mostly oak coals and transform into pork perfection. Well, wait -- add some of that slaw. NOW it's perfect.

Here’s what Thrillist said about Red Bridges Barbeque Lodge in Shelby, N.C.:

First off: Red Bridges was a guy, not a series of things you drive over. Moreover, he was a guy who learned the finer points of Carolina barbecue from legend Wayne Stamey before striking out on his own to open his namesake restaurant with his wife, Lyttle, in 1949. Red passed away in 1966, leaving Lyttle to run the business into her 80s (their daughter now runs the show, Lyttle passed in 2008). That's a rich history, sure, but how's that Carolina pit barbecue? Tens of thousands of Thrillist BBQ Bracket voters couldn't be wrong. You know what would be wrong? Leaving without sampling a little of Mama B's pimento cheese while you're there

Here’s what Thrillist said about Picnic in Durham, N.C.:

To find a pitmaster upending North Carolina’s whole hog tradition, just drive 10 miles from downtown Durham to Picnic. Pitmaster Wyatt Dickson left turned from a law career to hog butchery, using old-school smoking techniques on new-school heritage breed pigs, then hand-pulling it into a sweet, savory, chewy mess of pork. But unlike many Spartan Carolina joints, they up the ante on sides with kale salad, fried green tomatoes, and Brunswick stew. And even if you’re not the swine-loving type, Picnic’s worth a visit for some of the juiciest and flakiest smoked buttermilk fried chicken on the planet

Here’s what Thrillist said about Skylight Inn in Ayden, N.C.:

The word "Mecca" gets thrown around a lot in the barbecue world, and Skylight Inn is one of those pilgrimages that’s a requisite for any serious barbecue lover. Along the way to the tiny North Carolina town of Ayden, you’ll pass dozens of abandoned barns, and it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that those farmers who long since passed ate many a chopped pork sandwich for lunch. Even today after 70 years in the business, the whole town seemingly lines up to eat on a daily basis. If you’re still hungry after devouring what’s quite possibly the most iconic pork sandwich in the country, it’s also worth the trek 8 miles North to pitmaster Sam Jones’ new joint with an expanded menu and a selection of local draft beers.

You can read more about Thrillist’s 33 Best BBQ Joints In America here.

What do you think about Thrillist’s selections? Where’s your favorite barbeque join in the Tar Heel State? Tell us about it in the comment section!

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