On the Road in America - 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers - page 207

Barbecue Heavens

225

Lexington Barbecue
Where the Piedmont Porks Out
Lexington, North Carolina

Up in the Piedmont, they've got some dif-
ferent ideas about barbecue. For one
thing, they don't bother with the whole
pig, only the dark meat of the shoulder—
which means they only have to smoke
their meat for about 9 hours to get it ten-
der enough to fall apart. Then there's the
question of the sauce—why not throw in a
little ketchup for tomato-ey goodness?
If there's any town in western North
Carolina that cares about barbecue, it's
Lexington. It's another of those communi-
ties that bills itself as “The Barbecue Capi-
tol of the World,” but considering their
per-capita distribution of barbecue restau-
rants—some 20 of them for a town of only
20,000 residents—they may be justified.
Lexington's annual October barbecue fes-
tival draws more than 100,000 people to
this small town just 20 miles (32km) south
of Winston-Salem.
You can—and probably should—eat
your way around Lexington, trying several
'cue joints and judging for yourself which
is best. But the best place to start is Lex-
ington Barbecue, on 10 Hwy. 29-70 S.
( & 336/249-9814 ). Opened in 1962 by
Wayne “Honey” Monk, generally regarded
as the dean of all Lexington's pit masters,
it's hard to miss from the road: Just look
for a series of weird conical chimneys ris-
ing above the roof of an otherwise undis-
tinguished warehouselike brick building.

The piles of hickory wood stacked in the
shed out back are your next clue—though
really, if you're that close to the place, the
aroma of blue wood smoke and roasting
meat is the dead giveaway. Inside, it's a
little more decorated than the Skylight Inn
(see above), though of course that's
not saying much—a little knotty-pine pan-
eling, a few booths, even a couple of paint-
ings of bucolic farms on the wall. Like the
Skylight Inn, its takeout business is much
bigger than its eat-in business anyway.
You can order either a sandwich or a
dinner platter, and you can also specify
which part of the meat you prefer—the
tender interior or the smokier outsides (it's
all shredded and chopped before it's
served). The sides here include some
pretty tasty french fries and hush puppies,
but be sure not to miss the red slaw (west-
ern Carolina slaw is dressed with nothing
much but vinegar and black pepper, to let
the sweet crunch of the cabbage come
through).

( Winston-Salem (20 miles/32km)

L $$ Augustus T. Zevely Inn, 803 S.

Main St. ( & 800/928-9299 or 336/748-
9299; www.winston-salem-inn.com). $$
The Brookstown Inn, 200 Brookstown
Ave. ( & 800/845-4262 or 336/725-1120;
www.brookstowninn.com).