Smiley's Barbecue Restaurant in Lexington, North Carolina

Traditional Chopped Pork Sandwich Lexington NC Style from Smiley's BBQ Restaurant

When I am in Lexington, NC (about 45 minutes from my house), I have to get some real down home barbecue which is what Lexington is famous for. There are quite a few great barbecue restaurants in Lexington, and one of my favorites is Smiley's.

Smiley's Barbecue is a fixture in Lexington. It opened in the early 1950s and changed owners and names a few times over the years but has always kept the wood fire burning. That's what sets Lexington BBQ apart from barbecue in other areas - the meat is cooked slow over a wood fire. Well, it's one of the things that sets it apart.

If you are not familiar with North Carolina barbecue, then you need to know that it is chopped pork (shoulders or butts) served on white bread buns with red slaw and with a vinegar based sauce. While your sauce at Smiley's is reddish, it is still thin. That's because it's vinegar based. If someone tries to tell you that Piedmont barbecue sauce is tomato based, they do not know what they are talking about. You can tell them I'm from here, and I said so.

North Carolina BBQ Sauce - AKA Dipping Sauce

The sauce at Smiley's is extra good. It's one of my favorites. It has that nice vinegar twang and just a touch of heat. They heated it up to serve at the table, and I was in heaven. I poured a good splash on my sandwich and dug in. Absolutely divine.

While I was eating my barbecue sandwich I was enjoying looking at the wall art. They had the traditional white board with specials and desserts posted. Someone had drawn peanuts characters on there in dry erase marker and religious messages. Over my shoulder was a painting of moonshiners. Another painting had an old car and Kerr jars which are basically southern Mason jars.

 Barbecue, Moonshine, and NASCAR are Close Relatives in North Carolina

A kid at the next table was getting an etiquette lesson from someone who probably was his MeeMaw. "You cain't be pullin' up your shirt at no restaurant," she advised the little man. That's good advice I'd say.
Across from our table, two beefy men were eating big, old bologna sandwiches. Though I've never bought a bologna sandwich out at a restaurant, the Smiley's bologna sandwiches looked very tasty. I almost wanted one, but I was getting full off my chopped pork sandwich which was great. The chop at Smiley's is a little coarser than some restaurants in the area, and the meat is moister than some of the competition. I'd definitely call Smiley's a front-runner. I can't really pick a number one. I just know which ones are top notch. Smiley's is that.

 Authentic Barbecue Joint Decor at Smiley's BBQ in Lexington, NC

Before leaving we got a big piece of homemade chocolate cake. It's hard to eat dessert after southern pork sandwiches which are filling, but it's hard to pass up desserts made from scratch. The cake looked amazing, and it tasted just as good. I'd also recommend the banana pudding which is a southern favorite.

Smiley's is what I'd call an authentic barbecue joint. Heck, you can blow your horn and get service outside (maybe). The building is unassuming and decorated with stuff that you'd likely see at a southern aunt or uncles home. The ladies waiting tables are going to ask how you're doing and care, and they are likely going to "honey" you at least once.  That's a good time and good eating.

Backyard BBQ Pit - Durham, NC - Wood Smoked Barbecue

The Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham Has Great Barbecue and Home Style Side Dishes


Pitmaster Marquis Egerton II Hand Chops the Wood to Smoke the Meats

My son and I took a road trip and stopped at the Backyard BBQ Pit in Durham, NC. It's right off I 40 at 5204 Highway 55.

This is a real North Carolina wood burning barbecue joint, and they also smoke ribs and chicken. Side dishes are like Grandma used to make.

The food was amazing, and they had a special for a barbecue sandwich and two sides for $4.99. Can't beat that.

For more about Backyard BBQ Pit, check out my BBP story at Yes You Can Grill.


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Directions: If you're driving from Chapel Hill toward Durham, take exit 278 and turn right. Go three stop lights - just past the Golden Corral. Backyard BBQ Pit is beisde the Aamco and the ABC store. It's on the right hand side of the road.

Shaver Wood Products Annual Barbecue

Mr. Shaver has his annual barbecue at his farm behind his sawmill business.


This year the barbecue was pork and chicken plus the fixings and even corn dogs.


Here is one of several huge tents where everyone could get together and talk and pig out on que.



Mom and some of her buddies have finished eating and are thinking about the homemade ice cream - vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and banana.


Mr. Shaver sure knows how to throw a barbecue party. I guess he's had some practice, since he does this every year. It's kind of a company party, but he invites the whole community. I barely remember when some of the big companies around here would do nice things like that for the community. That was a long time back. Mr. Shaver is a small business owner. He has a saw mill operation, but he remembers everyone at this time of the year.

After I got off work, I picked up my son at the high school and then dropped by my mom's house to get her. Then we drove a couple of miles down the road to Shaver's for the annual barbecue.

Mr. Shaver always has pork barbecue which is a local favorite. Here in North Carolina, that's chopped pork. It's slow pit cooked to get that smoke flavor. The sacue is a thin vinegar based mixture with some hot pepper to give it a kick. Most folks eat the Carolina barbecue on a bun, but some just go at it with a fork.

There was also barbecue chicken and fried chicken - both favorites in this area. This isn't a huge chicken farm area, but some local farmers do keep chickens. From what I hear, that's a lot of work.

The sides were barbecue baked beans, red cole slaw (generally put on the bun with the chopped pork barbecue), French fries, and hush puppies. There were corn dogs as well though I don't guess you'd call those sides. The kids really liked those.

Sweet tea was the beverage, and that's just as Southern as it gets. They did have some unsweetened tea which is what I actually prefer. Shhh. Don't tell. That's very un-Southern of me. I got used to tea without sugar when I lived overseas and just never really went back to the sweet stuff. I have loads of vices, so that was a good thing.

For dessert, there was home churned ice cream. I got my favorite which is strawberry. Boxed strawberry ice cream - no thanks. That stuff is not very good. Homemade strawberry is fabulous. Everyone at the table was talking about how good the banana ice cream was, so I hate to confess, but I had to go back and get a serving of that too. Shame on me! Oh well, I didn't drink the sweet tea, so maybe it balanced out. The banana ice cream was fabulous, and I enjoyed every bite. I do, however, feel like I ate a bowling ball. Two servings of ice cream isn't a great idea - but it was at the time.

If you're looking for a great home churned ice cream recipe, I have our old family recipe up at Yes You Can Grill. It won't feed the multitudes like at Shaver's party, but it does make a big container. We've used that recipe for about 40 yrs. It's hard to beat.

I don't think I'll need to eat for a week after that party, but I'll probably be up and thinking about something good to throw on the grill tomorrow. Then again, the weather man is saying Hurricane Hannah may be giving us some rain love tomorrow. In fact, we got some rain at the party, but no one minded. It was a good time as always! Thanks Mr. Shaver!