Going to be visiting next week for the 13U Babe Ruth Southern Regional baseball tournament. Anything to do here that someone familiar with the area might recommend?
Many thanks!
Many thanks!
Greenville, North Carolina??
- Thread starter Nolefisher
- Start date
Drive to Raleigh. Greenville blows...went for a family wedding a couple months ago. It's a shithole
Between Greenville, Goldsboro and Wilson you've got the holy triangle of eastern style NC bbq. IE the very first "BBQ" in the country, slow cooked whole hog with only a simple vinegar, salt and pepper "sauce". Done right (as any of a dozen places near there will), you realize that much more (I'm partial to Piedmont/"Western"/Lexington style which adds a little ketchup and sugar but is still tart and loose sauce) is just covering up the porky goodness. I'd definitely try to hit up several. My personal favorite is NOT usually mentioned as its shiny and near the interstate but Bill Ellis in Wilson has been making great versions of that simple dish on an easy to grab buffet since 1963. Parkers is the one the Food network and travel channel rave about in Greenville but oddly I prefer "touristy" (this is relative, don't expect fancy just fancy for the sticks of NC).
Oh and a huge word of warning. NC especially on whatever the major road from the interstate to Greenville is packed full of cops waiting for you to coast down a hill ever slightly so fast and in NC anything that is 15 or over OR over 80 even if in a 70 is an automatic misdemeanor and NOT a simple ticket you pay. So you'll have to do what I did and pay some local schmocal attorney $500 to make it go away where he keeps $250 and the county gets $250. It's REALLY irritating.
Oh and a huge word of warning. NC especially on whatever the major road from the interstate to Greenville is packed full of cops waiting for you to coast down a hill ever slightly so fast and in NC anything that is 15 or over OR over 80 even if in a 70 is an automatic misdemeanor and NOT a simple ticket you pay. So you'll have to do what I did and pay some local schmocal attorney $500 to make it go away where he keeps $250 and the county gets $250. It's REALLY irritating.
I visit colleges and universities for a living. I wish I could give ECU an endorsement as a destination, but alas, it's your typical, older state school. Lots of buildings in disrepair and no interesting architecture to speak of. It's not even worth a drive-by.
I am receiving a mixed message here. Not really sure how you feel about Greenville
Probably will skip the college scenes in Raleigh or Durham. 40 somethings don't generally fit in and I'm not Hugh Hefner so . . . I'll stick to checking out the local BBQ scene. I'm sure the Best Western we're staying at in Greenville will be off the chain. Appreciate all of the input.
I am receiving a mixed message here. Not really sure how you feel about Greenville
Probably will skip the college scenes in Raleigh or Durham. 40 somethings don't generally fit in and I'm not Hugh Hefner so . . . I'll stick to checking out the local BBQ scene. I'm sure the Best Western we're staying at in Greenville will be off the chain. Appreciate all of the input.
Well here's some options.
My favorite although not the "chic" foodie favorite is Bill Ellis in Wilson. Easy to get to coming off the interstate, you can get in and out quick as it's a buffet and the locals won't give you the stinkeye for being a furriner.
There's a Parkers in both Wilson and Greenville and that's the current darling of the food network and travel channels. They serve the whole hog mainly in pulled pork with white slaw (as I mentioned I prefer the Piedmont style red sauce pulled pork with red slaw) and it's as traditional of bbq as you can find. That original base of smoked pig plus vinegar has been altered all around the country adding different meats and different seasonings, sweeteners and thickeners to the sauce, but there's a reason the original spread far and wide. This is debatably the #2 eastern NC style place in the minds of bbq fans although as I mentioned because of the looks it's tops on tv.
The one bbq place that has been the alleged #1 epicentre of Eastern NC whole hog cooking is about half an hour away in Ayden, the Sklight Inn. It's a true shrine to BBQ and if not the best is certainly one of the best of the original BBQ places that have stuck to the ancient traditional methods. It's the closest white and black America comes to a hangi or luau.
The locals in Greenville seem to prefer B'a BBQ.
So that's four good options and there's a ton more in that area. But if you've never been I'd try Skylight and one or two of the others even if that has you eating bbq every night. What else are you going to eat? (The answer is soul and southern comfort food).
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