The great barbecue debate rages on. The regional differences in barbecue are astounding. I have become a huge fan of the vinegar based sauce found in North Carolina. The big rival, of course, is the tomato based Texan barbecue. Sweet sauces and mustard based sauces are also popular.
Allen and Son Barbecue
Allen and Son is one of the best example of North Carolina barbecue. It is located just outside of Chapel Hill in what feels like the middle of nowhere. There isn’t much else going on around it, but it nonetheless has a steady stream of customers coming to try to food.
Stew and 'Cue Plate
I had the barbecue and Brunswick stew combination plate. A mound of barbecue shredded with some sauce mixed in is served with some coleslaw and a bowl of stew on the side. The barbecue is served all mixed together and those little pieces of outside brown are fantastic. With more chew and smoke flavor than the interior meat, I cherish each piece I find. The ‘cue itself is tender and still moist. More sauce is available and always poured on. The stew is very tasty with a decent amount of meat mixed in as well.
Stew up close
The plate also comes served with a basket of hush-puppies. Now, to me, these hush-puppies are amazing. They actually have flavor of corn meal and have a great crust with a soft bready interior.
Hushpuppies
Feeling adventurous, my friend and I decided to go for dessert. I got the Apple Crumble and he got the Klondike Pie.
Dessert, Apple Crumble and Klondike Pie
Meh, the desserts were mediocre. The pie and crumble were overly sugary and the ice cream didn’t taste like much at all. Skip the desserts and stick with the barbecue.
Despite the lackluster dessert, Allen and Son comes heartily recommend and I would absolutely go there again. Just stick with the stew and ‘cue combo platter and you can’t go wrong.
2 comments
What? Ah the sweet barbecue sauces are what’s good. Much better than vinegar! But, in NE Florida sweet sauces are much more popular than any other sauces, I think it’s Tennessee style?
Yeah, Tennessee is more known for adding molasses to its sauces. It’s good too, and seems to be more popular all-around than the vinegar based ones. You can easily buy the tomato-based or sweeter sauces in the grocery stores but generally have to do a bit more looking for the vinegar based sauces. I’ve seen many places now serve the meat “dry” and give you an option of sauces to add to it. I sometimes like that because you get to try quite a few styles.