North Carolina Barbecue, Piedmont Style

                          Yesterday I was fortunate enough to eat at Lexington Barbecue.  Yes it was great and no I had never eaten there before.   I grew up in Gastonia, NC which had its own form of barbecue.  A form that some of my extended family loved to eat but was shunned by my father and grandfather.  They were more into Shelby, NC barbecue and more specifically Red Bridges’ Barbecue Lodge which was down the road a few miles.   There were two Bridges Barbecue restaurants in Shelby, the other one being Alston Bridges barbecue (Alston was the grandfather of one of my best friends).  The two always said that they were not related but I think they just didn’t like each other.   Both Red and Alston were taught the BBQ arts by a man named Warner Stamey when he lived in Shelby for a time.  Wayne Monk (of Lexington Barbecue) had also been taught by Stamey when he owned a  restaurant in Lexington (after Shelby).  In 1953 Stamey opened a restaurant in Greensboro,  which is still there and I’ll let you guess what it is called.  Although I had never eaten at Lexington Barbecue it felt like I had eaten there my whole life.

Now I know that I haven’t mention Wilson’s Barbecue, which is very good, but that is for another post.

NC Barbecue Books at WCPL