Lexington Barbeque #1 : Mmm, Pig

Lexington #1 BBQ
10 US Hwy 29-70 South
Lexington, NC 27294
(704) 249-9814



Lexington is one of North Carolina's barbeque meccas, a town whose various and sundry BBQ joints have been operating since 1919. Lexington barbeque is all about slow-cooked pork shoulder, cooked over hickory wood and tended with love and affection by the town's accomplished pitmasters. A "dip" composed of vinegar, ketchup and spices is basted on the pig in lieu of a rub, creating the uniquely flavorful appeal of NC's distinctive BBQ. The finished pork shoulder is served either chopped super-fine, chopped not-so-fine, or sliced. I prefer the version in the middle, served with "outside brown," the crispy and flavorful pork skin still attached. (Some BBQ restaurants in the area make their own fried pork skins which may be ordered as an appetizer or side dish.) Other attributes of Lexington barbeque include tasty, Cheetoh-puff shaped corn hush puppies, "bbq" or "brown" coleslaw, and vinegar-and-spice based sauces (used sparingly and with reluctance by the hardcore).

We went to Lexington #1 BBQ, which is purported to be the best. Area residents seem to be engaged in a constant argument over which Lexington joint reigns supreme: my uncle, for example, swears by nearby Speedy's, whereas my dad is a Lexington #1 partisan. Barbeque is an extremely controversial subject in North Carolina.



Lexington #1 is extremely popular, and the parking lot was packed the day we visited. The restaurant seems to traffic primarily in to-go orders, but we were there to eat in, so we took our places in the swiftly moving line. The dining area is basic but clean, and the wait staff are models of efficiency and professionalism. They've got to be fast.



I chose the chopped pork with outside brown. Lexington #1 serves barbeque in either plates or trays. Plates include meat, cole slaw, french fries, and another side item (I hear the beans are good,) and trays offer simply meat and coleslaw in a handy cardboard holder. Since the tray actually contains more meat then the plate and I am ambivalent to french fries, I chose the tray. The meat was good, if a little tougher then I might have liked - but the pork skin was truly delicious, a thin layer of fat giving way to a crackly, rich exterior layer. I am also wild about Lexington style coleslaw: vinegar and spice is the main player here instead of the gloppy mayo-ridden junk that passes for slaw in most regions of the country. Dee-vine.



The hushpuppies are also a work of art at Lexington #1. Lightly fried corn meal without cloying sweetness, these are an absolute must. They come with pretty much everything at Lexington #1, so you don't need to worry about somehow missing them.

The restaurant offers cobbler and pie for dessert, but I didn't sample those. You pay at the counter and stand in line with your fellow BBQ eaters with your money in hand: it's great fun to watch waitresses dashing food out of the kitchen and the meat choppin' area into the main room. I noticed someone noshing down on a smoked turkey sandwich while I was in line: apparently Lexington #1's smoked turkey is tasty indeed. Have to get a side of it next time. To go with the pork.

Miners: Winston Salem New Southern Cuisine

Milners
630 S. Stratford Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
(336) 768-2221


I was in Winston Salem two weeks ago, visiting family in the charming burg of Mount Airy, about 20 minutes or so outside of Winston. Mount Airy is referred to as a Charming Burg in every publication ever. This is because Andy Griffith was born in Mt. Airy and based the legendary TV show on the very quaint town he grew up in. For you foodies, Mt. Airy also boasts the mighty Snappy Lunch, a restaurant where one may buy pork chop sandwiches as large as your head, covered in chili, cheese, and coleslaw. I ate one once and it felt like someone socked me in the mouth but in the best way ever.

But this is not about Mt. Airy, this is about the American Southern restaurant in Winston Salem called Milners, which I thought was pretty good.

Milners serves up refined variants on traditional Carolina dishes, hitting on such touchstones are fried chicken, collards, fried green tomatoes, frogmore stew, and other local delights. There is also green papaya salad for the infidels. The attractive stone-finished bar is pretty hopping on weekend nights and attracts what appears to be Winston's beautiful people crowd. (I had not previously known there was one but once again I am proved to be a fool). The small plates menu is extensive and features sophisticated variants on fried things on which one can nibble while hitting on people. This is a good thing.



We began with the baked pimento cheese, Surry sausage and goat cheese, and roasted garlic blue cheese with flatbreads. This was a gussied up and bubbling variant on the pimento cheese all Southerners consume from bith onwards, and was thus absolutely delicious. The goat and blue cheeses were also rich as hell and similarly delicious. They have almost improved on the Velveeta-queso bilge we ritualistically eat on Super Bowl Sunday in my family but not entirely.



I tried the Frogmore Stew with shrimp, mussels, white fish, scallops, sausage, and "aromatic vegetables". Other then the odd addition of baby corn (wtf, yo), this was perfectly cooked and very fresh, and had a nice zingy, tomatoey flavor. I will eat seafood stew wherever it is offered in any place, except for maybe the wilds of Nebraska and even then I will be sorely tempted. I think Frogmore stew, a traditional low country speciality (more native to South Carolina) desperately needs to be on more menus.



My aunt had the yellowfin tuna with a black bean cake, sauteed spinach, tomato butter, and chow-chow. This is definitely Tall Food, much beloved of the eponymous early-nineties chef, but the flavor combos worked. The tuna had a nice meaty flavor that worked nicely with the spinach and the rich tomato butter. The portion was crazy-huge which is either good or not good depending on your opinions on these things. (What ARE your opinions? Giant portions that may be gnawed on delicately for days on end, or dainty portions that may be consumed in one sitting without fear of caloric overload or sodium attacks? Thoughts?)



My uncle sprung for the steak special, the exact details of which I cannot recall so shut up. This was pretty good (if a bit chewy for my preference), although the cheese-infused mashed potatoes were the star of the show here. Putting pounds of cheese and sour cream and bacon (I think) in potatoes instantly makes them incredibly delicious. There is probably something about this in the Bible. Well, not the old Testament, anyway.

We tried the salmon crusted with moravian cookies and it was really very nice: wish the photo had turned out. Moravian cookies are a delicious and wafer-thin variant on the ginger snap. They are produced in Winston Salem by the Moravian community there - Moravian's being a Bohemian religious group that emigrated to the Winston area in the 1700's. Dewy's makes particularly tasty Moravian cookies, in flavors ranging from key lime to pumpkin spice. You can eat ten of these suckers and still feel virtuous because they are very thin.. I suggest you try them.



We also tried the pecan pie with vanilla bean gelato, which was very hot and about what you would wish for in a pecan pie. Which is many great things indeed.

I recommend Milner's highly for a sophisticated meal in Winston-Salem that does not involve chopped barbeque, buffalo wings, or, well, chopped barbeque. I hope to return soon.

north carolina style barbeque from our very own backyard!

My dad likes barbeque. My dad really likes barbeque. My dad really really likes to make barbeque.

Clarification: my dad likes to make North Carolina style BBQ. North Carolina style BBQ revolves around the pig in all its various incarnations. My dad possesses a very large smoker, which lives in the backyard. We use it most often in the summer, but my dad will happily fire up the smoker whenever the whim strikes him. It's a Zen thing for him, I think. Some people cultivate topiary, some people do watercolors of covered bridges, my father smokes pigs. And we are all the better for it.

For this particular meal, Dad smoked a pork shoulder, racks of baby back AND spare ribs, and a whole chicken. Indeed, I sometimes suspect my dad is setting back for a nuclear holocaust when he fires up the smoker. (I am always happy to know that when and if the End Times come, I will be able to eat pulled pork for at least a few months before the zombies arrive.)

A note, if you will: North Carolina BBQ sauces are far removed from the ketchup based concotions popular in other regions of the country. At Chez Greenwood, we home-make two typical N.C sauces: vinegar and mustard. Although my dad has a SECRET RECIPE for vinegar sauce, the base ingredients include vinegar, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and lemon juice.

We usually have coleslaw to accompany the feast, prepared with more vinegar and less mayo in the general fashion of tarheel BBQ. If you're eating a pulled pork sandwich, the coleslaw is required to go on top of the sandwich: it does not belong anywhere else. It is also required by law to serve pulled pork sandwiches with sliced dill pickles. Defy these regulations at your own peril. Hushpuppies go beautifully with North Carolina BBQ but we are attempting to be healthyhere. (Hahah!) If you are really going for broke, make blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I can't talk about that anymore because I might burst into tears.

This is a story best told in pictures.



Here are our lucky participants in the midst of the smoking process. As I recall, my dad likes to do his pork shoulder for 6 or 7 hours to attain a texture that is truly "pulled." I have no idea exactly how long the ribs and chicken take and should probably ask.



Since we are health-minded individuals, we had a light appetizer of pork spareribs. Here's the slab pre-carving.



And here they are sliced. If you are not licking the screen, I can only assume you are Jewish, Islamic, Jain, or lacking a human soul.



After that delightful interlude, the pork shoulder was ready. Here it is in the midst of the chopping process. The shoulder wasn't done enough for real pulling but we were hungry. Dad put half back on the smoker for another go to achieve the desired texture.



Here's the chopped pork all finished up. Yum.



For dessert, we had this smoked chicken. This chicken came out just plain divine: perfectly juicy with tons of soulful smoky flavor, thanks to the flavorful spice rub. I ate this for about two days straight after this particular dinner. It was a difficult task, a trial, let me tell you.

Next time: I show you how to make cheating-ass Southern collard greens. That still taste delicious.