Bill Leslie

Bill Leslie's Carolina Conversations

People are always asking me where to take vacation. What's a cool place? What's the most scenic drive? Carolina Conversations attempts to answer those questions and others.

BBQ Battle: North Versus South

Posted: Aug 5, 2008

South Carolinians will argue that mustard is an essential ingredient to any superb barbecue sauce. Many chefs will fight tooth and nail to keep anything tomato out of their prized concoctions. Apparently this love affair with mustard can be traced to the 18th century when German settlers brought their own sauce to the Palmetto State. They like it tangy in South Carolina. Along with yellow mustard the barbecue sauce south of our border contains cider vinegar, brown sugar and spices.

It is interesting to note that when you go south of South Carolina the loathing of tomato-based barbecue sauce ceases. Savannah chefs embrace ketchup just like their culinary cousins in Lexington, NC.

Have any of you ever had good barbecue outside North Carolina and if so where? Do you enjoy mustard on your pork?

Ponder that as we get ready to vote tomorrow on the Best of Carolina Barbecue Restaurant.

Copyright 2008 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More Posts from this Blog

Holiday Preparations Posted: Nov. 23, 2009
Gift Basket Deadline Posted: Nov. 20, 2009
Charles Kuralt & the Magic Elevator Posted: Nov. 19, 2009

Share:

Share

27 Comments

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

page 1 \| 2
<prev	next>

sort order: oldest first | newest first

I grew up eating the SC mustard BBQ and have to say that it is still my favorite. Maurice's BBQ in West Columbia, SC is the best! My husband is from NC but after we met and he ate Maurices BBQ he became a huge fan. I always go to Maurices during my trips to SC (their hash over rice is outstanding). I have lived in NC for almost 35 years and will eat the Lexington style when I can't get SC BBQ.

docardinal
GOLO member since July 31, 2007
August 5, 2008 1:03 p.m.

DUKES BBQ (Charleston, SC off Spruill Avenue)....I have been eating there since I was in the womb! The decor of the joint has not changed since I can recall which was in the 1970s---picnic tables line the cinder block walls with red checker board table clothes, and Sunbeam white bread loaves and jugs of the sweetest tea you can imagine on every table. Only the hum of the window unit can be heard since everyone is either too busy eating or getting up to get seconds. This of course shows me that they care more about the BBQ than how the place should look---a true sign of a great BBQ joint! BBQ ain't BBQ without hash over rice, though! You have to go to the low country of SC to find hash. And DUKES is the best! For my family, going to DUKES is like going to MECCA--a journey that has to be made several times a year, because it is truly a religious experience.

dogman1973
GOLO member since March 13, 2008
August 5, 2008 1:07 p.m.

Our son lives in Tampa, FL, and every time we head down there, it is with a cooler of eastern NC 'cue. I don't think he would let us come without it. McCall's in Clayton is very good. Haven't tried mustard sauce, but don't think I particularly want to.

wdwbmw
August 5, 2008 1:30 p.m.

Eley's Barbecue (nee King's) in Petersburg! A tradition for at least 50 years in Southside Virginia.

Great, great meat. Wood-smoked on site. Get the sliced, it's like pulled. But if you want chopped, they chop it to order! The sauce smoky, and there must be some tomato in it. Definitely not a true Down East pepper-and-vinegar sauce. Also great biscuits (bite-size buttery things) and outstanding apple pie a la mode.

It's very easy to get to because it's between 85 and 95. It's on Hwy. 1 (3221 W. Washington St.) in Petersburg, so if you're coming back down from Virginia, you can get off of 95 at Washington St., travel through town about three miles to get to Eley's, then keep going in the same direction and pick up 85. No time lost, and great barbecue found.

PatMcGroine
GOLO member since February 29, 2008
August 5, 2008 1:32 p.m.

I have the opportunity to travel to Memphis a couple of times a year and I always make time for a stop at Neely's Interstate BBQ. While I am born & bred Eastern NC, I do enjoy their BBQ. Their spaghetti with BBQ sauce is an interesting twist as well.

go fish
GOLO member since August 16, 2007
August 5, 2008 1:48 p.m.

I have rarely tasted any BBQ that I didn't like, regardless of style. I do prefer the mustard-based sauce from SC over the heavy vinegar sauce of eastern NC. Maurice's in SC is always good. There was another place in east Columbia--Little Pigs BBQ--that was outstanding. Unfortunately they burnt down sometime back in the 80s and never rebuilt. A little too much fire in that last batch that went on the cooker.

innocent bystander
GOLO member since July 11, 2007
August 5, 2008 2:02 p.m.

Eastern is still the best but I have had Maurice's in Columbia while I was living in Charlotte. I heard it was good so while down there on business I brought some back, suprisingly not bad. I will still throw my vote for best bbq to Doug Saul's in Nashville.

gabby1
GOLO member since April 8, 2008
August 5, 2008 2:17 p.m.

The BBQ song explains it all...

http://rhettandlink.com/blog/2008/07/14/264

NCTrue
GOLO member since April 19, 2008
August 5, 2008 2:45 p.m.

Never had any bad BBQ NSE or W. Raised on Piedmont and Eastern style, but my favorite is Memphis style at Charlie Varga's Rendezvous or Corky's in Memphis. The Rendezvous is worth the trip just to get to the place. Not far from Beale St., you literally go up an alley and down some stairs to the basement of an office building. There you will find all the ambiance you can take in with great food and service.

dhall357
August 5, 2008 4:16 p.m.

Sonny's (which is a chain with places in NC too..near Concord Mills) in Commerce, Ga. My husband thinks their BBQ sandwiches are like ham on a bun with sauce. But pretty tasty. Our other interesting taste of BBQ outside of NC was in Dawsonville, Ga. (home of NASCAR's Bill Elliott) at a place aptly called "Hogs n Dogs". I've also had BBQ in Austin, Tx, but I'd call that beef on a bun with sauce. NC clearly is BBQ country...east or west.

eyesblue
August 5, 2008 4:24 p.m.

Ketchup should not be allowed on a cooked pig. Heck, have you ever been to the Roast Grill in Raleigh? They don't even allow ketchup on their hotdogs....they have a sign that says don't even ask for it.

Ketchup goes well with french fries....that's about it.

StaggerLee
August 5, 2008 4:26 p.m.

Bill - Can we have a blog on hog chittlins as well one day?

There has been much emphasis on sauce on this blog. Another HUGE difference in BBQ is how it is processed. Pulled, Chopped or Shredded. My fav is pulled (right off the bone), but I like chopped as well (What you usually get at restaurants). Shredded is just too fine cut for me. GREAT BLOG

MrGup2
August 5, 2008 4:51 p.m.

As far as sauces go, I have heard a lot of the old folks around home (not in Cary) saying that George's Sauce is about as close as you are going to get (for store-bought)to old-fashioned Eastern NC sauce. I admit, it IS good!

MrGup2
August 5, 2008 4:54 p.m.

Vinegar based is good on ribs, however for the rest (steaks, and others) I have to go with the ketchup base. TX has shown me a lot of different styles depending on where I was in the state. Eastern TX will be interesting to see this fall to see how they prepare. Austin always did a GREAT job.

A few Steak Houses up north (one is no more) were tomato based. The one my brother in-law had to suffer with. He can't take his meat properly cooked (PINK!) He wants it cooked so it's dead (no taste).

Travised
August 5, 2008 5:00 p.m.

I grew up with Angelo's and Risckey's in Ft. Worth, but I did make the pilgrimage to the Kreuz Market in Lockhart and dang if it wasn't even better than I expected and I expected a lot. By the way, whenever possible (always possible in Texas) I get the brisket. And no, Texans don't use sauce. They use smoke. And maybe a little dry rub, maybe not. If you want sauce, there is probably a squeeze bottle on your table. When I want pig, I ALWAYS stop at a Maurice's in SC. Pig and mustard. Wonderful!

michael2
August 6, 2008 2:42 p.m.

My votes for best BBQ either outside of NC or not pork are below.

Brisket - Rudy's, San Antonio Ribs - Corky's or Blues City Cafe, Memphis Chicken - Hillbilly's, Lowell, NC Mustard based - Bessenger's, Charleston, SC

NCtraveler
GOLO member since July 13, 2009
August 7, 2008 9:58 a.m.

Lots of folks from Columbia drive 30 miles west on US 1 to Shealy's BBQ in Batesburg-Leesville. And they have a big buffet. Closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Also, check out Brushy Creek BBQ in Piedmont, SC (outside Greenville). Good chicken and ribs too.

RD28327
August 8, 2008 5:16 p.m.

page 1 \| 2
<prev	next>

sort order: oldest first | newest first

This blog post is closed for comments.

Featured Blogposts

Carolina Parent
Carolina Parent: Family holiday fun
RaleighWood: Pop culture with a Triangle twist
Raleighwood: What pop culture stuff are you thankful for?
Bill Leslie's Carolina Conversations
Bill Leslie: Holiday Preparations

Other Recent Blogposts

WRAL WeatherCenter Blog: Dropping the Drought
Brian Shrader's Siteseeing Blog: Tillman the Skateboarding Dog
WRAL WeatherCenter Blog: Edward's impossible sun in "New Moon"
Bill Leslie's Carolina Conversations: Gift Basket Deadline
Brian Shrader's Siteseeing Blog: In the eye of the beholder