Wink's Barbecue Restaurant - Salisbury, North Carolina - Restaurant Review

If you're looking for classic wood flavored North Carolina barbecue, then Wink's of Salisbury, North Carolina should be on your "to visit" list. There are few real wood burners left, since slow smoking pork barbecue is labor intensive, and health department regulations make it difficult to open new barbecue joints with wood fired pits.

I grew up in Salisbury, North Carolina, so I've always gone to Wink's and other barbecue restaurants in the area. This is western style barbecue country. That means that our barbecue is pork shoulders (versus the whole hogs done close the beach of North Carolina), and the sauce is vinegar base with some red (no red in eastern barbecue sauces). "Red" is, by the way, some tomato like a little ketchup. The barbecue sauce just has a little more flavor and a slightly sweeter flavor.

When I moved to Texas for a couple of years, I was rather shocked to get a plate of sauced ribs when I ordered barbecue. I really didn't know our barbecue was such a small niche - just the piedmont and beach areas of NC. While I've come to love all styles of barbecue, I must confess that North Carolina barbecue will always have a real special place in my heart.

My earlier memories of Wink's were of the old restaurant which was a road over from where they are now. We'd go there when they had bluegrass night. The place would be packed and running over, and you shared your table, because it would be a real shame for anyone to have to go home and miss the barbecue and bluegrass.

Wink's now is at 509 Faith Road, Salisbury, NC 28146-7011 (704) 637-2410. If you take the Albemarle exit off I85, you need to fork up past the Lowe's and Tinseltown complex. A little past that shopping center (a block or so), you will see Wink's (just a couple of minutes drive). This is about 20 minutes from the north edge of Charlotte if you're not from the area. You can stop right off the exit to get help. It's a friendly town. People are good about helping out. ‎

You can get a variety of foods at Wink's, but they are most known for the wood smoked barbecue and then the fried fish. I, of course, go for the barbecue.

The most common way to order North Carolina barbecue is by the tray. You get a combination of chopped pork barbecue and red slaw (made with the barbecue sauce rather than mayonnaise - so zippy). Some people eat it with a fork, but locals will usually put the pork and slaw on the barbecue bread (thick sliced bread in the basket) or on a bun (need to ask for one - unless ordering a barbecue sandwich). You'll also get some hush puppies which is common at barbecue joints. The Wink's hush puppies are good, but I like the sweeter ones up the street at Blue Bay Seafood better.

There are a number of classic southern side dishes on the menu. My favorite is the fried okra. The guys love the macaroni and cheese and French fries (fries are the frozen steak cut - but served hot and not real greasy).

I'm not a heavy eater. I eat with gusto but not a whole lot at one time. I've never had a dessert at Wink's (no room after barbecue), but the guys say the banana pudding and cobblers are great. They do look good. Some day I will stop by and just get dessert.

Other favorite dishes at Wink's are the biscuits (good breakfast pick) and the pimento cheese sandwich (classic southern lunch option).

In terms of service, everyone is relaxed and friendly. They don't go overboard with the southern shtick. Boy, I hate places that get all over that "honey" and "sweetie" thing. You'll just get treated like a real person, and if you ask questions, you'll get honest answers. They're always on top of it at Wink's, and that goes across decades now.

The Democratic National Convention will be in Charlotte, North Carolina this year, and Michelle Obama already said she wants to try local barbecue. She won't get classic barbecue in Charlotte, but she can drive 20 or 30 minutes and find it in Salisbury. Wink's is an excellent pick.

If you're in the area for the convention or any other reason, the drive is worth it.

I'll try to get some more Salisbury barbecue joint reviews up soon and maybe some travel pieces on Fun Things to See and Do in North Carolina blog. If you're looking for suggestions, just drop me a comment or email.

Barbecue at Winks Salisbury NC with Fred from Canada - the Masterbuilt Smoker Winner

Fred won the Masterbuilt Barbecue Smoker back this fall in a drawing the Masterbuilt company sponsored on my Barbecue Master blog. Since Fred's from Canada but has family in Florida, we thought it would be fun for him to stop here in North Carolina barbecue country and pick up the smoker on the way down to visit his folks.

Well, today was the BIG DAY.

After a few months of being a boxed lamp table in my living room (so that I'd know for sure the smoker stayed in perfect condition), it was off to the Days Inn to personally present the really cool looking smoker with a window, light, and thermostat probe to Fred.

Fred picked some bad weather to drive from up North there, but things were clear tonight in Salisbury - just cold. Not as cold as he's used to though I'll bet.

First things first, the guys helped me unload the smoker, so now Fred has a brand new smoker which I'm sure he'll enjoy.

After dropping off the smoker, the crew went up the road to Wink's Barbecue. It is one of the few wood burning barbecue joints in the area. Most have had to switch over to gas or electric due to health codes and the labor involved in running a stick burning barbecue restaurant.

We all had chopped barbecue on buns which is the major style in this area of the country. The sauce was vinegar based with some red (any type of ketchup or tomato product with variations depending on the BBQ joint).

Wood burners vary night to night, since that kind of work is much more art than science. The barbecue was good tonight, but I've hit it on stronger nights. They sauced just a little heavy in the kitchen, but the que was still excellent.

We varied on our sides. They have quite a selection and all good. Fred tried out the fried okra. He'd never had okra before, and I think he liked it. He also had a chance to taste good hush puppies. He'd not been a fan before, we converted him.

As usual, the meal was big, so . . . no desserts. Jimmy did get a banana pudding to carry home though, so I guess he'll have that for a treat tomorrow.

Fred and I both picked up items (mostly barbecue related) to share across our borders. I got him a case of Cheerwine (a local soft drink) from the factory in Salisbury. It's kind of like a cherry Coke but not really. It's just different and a local favorite and served at most all barbecue restaurants around these parts.

I also picked up a range of barbecue sauces from around here and Frank Corriher country ham and Carolina Blonde beer. Oh yes, I also got Pig Pen's seasoning made also in Salisbury. So, Fred will have a taste of North Carolina to take back to Canada.

Fred brought me some fabulous looking barbecue sauces and a grilling book that made me drool just looking through quickly. Eli has already picked out this huge stacked burger that he wants me to make from the cookbook.

I also had to put on the super cute Canadian mittens Fred brought. They are from the Olympics and have the maple leaves on there. Just perfect for a cold January night in North Carolina.

I'll be back with more posts about all the "North of the Border" products Fred shared. I'm still backlogged with this sinus thing which has made it hard for me to taste things. Today was a better day, so maybe this crud is starting to back off.

Tomorrow more of the North Carolina BBQ folks are meeting at Lexington #1 to have another taste of barbecue with Fred.

Welcome to North Carolina Fred! Great to meet you. Enjoyed the heck out of the evening. Glad you won the smoker and that you're getting to check out our local barbecue world.

Wink's Barbecue & Seafood - Salisbury, NC

I've been checking out some of my old favorite barbecue joints as well as some new ones for my Yes You Can Grill web site. You can grill all the time, but it is nice to take a break from time to time and let someone else do the work. That's especially true of slow smoked North Carolina barbecue.

North Carolina barbecue is pork, and it varies depending on whether you're on the coast (east) or piedmont (Lexington style). The main difference is that east is whole hog with vinegar sauce and piedmont is shoulders with a little tomato (ketchup etc) in a vinegar based sauce (also thin and spicy like the east but with a little red color).


Yesterday we were at Wink's which is a favorite here in Salisbury, NC. It's been around a long time. I remember when Wink's was over near the motel on Innes St. They moved over to a bigger spot on Faith Road just past Lowe's off I85.

They have been and stir are wood burners. They slow cook the pork out back. You can look and see the big wood pile and the pit. That's what we call real barbecue here in NC, and it's getting harder to find it done the old fashioned way but well worth it.


They have a lot of good old Southern side dishes to go with the barbecue at Wink's. My boys always go for the fries, but okra is my favorite when it's done right. It's done right at Wink's. Yum.


Portions are generous at Wink's, but if you have room, they have homemade desserts. You can see here that they have the classic Southern sweets. I need to go one day and just get dessert as I always get too full on the barbecue to have dessert.

For more on Wink's, see my Wink's review and more photos. I'm also adding more barbecue restaurants - mostly in North Carolina for now but branching out as I travel more and can get reviews written up.

Be sure to tip me off to any favorite barbecue joints in your neck of the woods. I'm always on the look out for great BBQ.