Before I left Winston-Salem, I wanted to follow up on a tip that I got to check out a fun old canopied drive-in, the first of three that I would visit on the second day of the trip. Kermit’s Hot Dog House opened more than 48 years ago, in January of ’66. Sadly, the original owner, Kermit Wade Williams, didn’t get the chance to see his restaurant really thrive. He died after only two years of running the place, leaving it in the hands of his brother, Arthur. He took on a partner, Paul D. Church, in the 1970s, and they’ve served breakfast and chili dogs to many thousands of locals and retro-curious tourists. Continue reading “Kermit’s Hot Dog House, Winston-Salem NC”
Category: north carolina
Hill’s Lexington Barbecue, Winston-Salem NC
I stayed the night in the Bates Motel. Don’t take my word for it. After I returned, I was asked by Expedia to review the hotel, and I was pleased to note the lack of wi-fi and a room fridge as had been advertised. Three of the ten previous reviews mentioned the Bates Motel. And you thought it was on the west coast. None of my other, affordable choices had been available, since the ACC Tournament did a number on room vacancy throughout the Triad. So there’s the plus side to dropping Stamey’s from my itinerary: I finally figured out where all the decent hotel rooms in Winston-Salem had got to. Continue reading “Hill’s Lexington Barbecue, Winston-Salem NC”
Short Sugar’s, Reidsville NC
So I started putting this trip together late last year. I planned and replanned and mapped and mapped again. I was totally happy with the itinerary and printed out all my directions. The morning before I was set to leave, I took one last look at Google Maps, zooming in with street view to give me a good idea at what was around each of the destinations. I noticed that my planned final stop, Stamey’s in Greensboro was across the street – literally – from some big coliseum or other. I figured that I should probably check whether there might be a concert that Friday evening. It would help to have some advance notice of a Widespread Panic show or somebody causing traffic backup. Continue reading “Short Sugar’s, Reidsville NC”
Hursey’s Bar-B-Q, Burlington NC
It’s an unfortunate mathematical reality: every time I take a big eating tour and visit a whole pile of restaurants across two days, one of them is going to be my least favorite. I don’t wish to linger on such things, and so here, briefly, is Hursey’s. Continue reading “Hursey’s Bar-B-Q, Burlington NC”
Allen & Son Barbeque, Chapel Hill NC
Allen & Son was the farthest east that I ate on this trip to North Carolina, and that’s still not east enough to actually be Eastern North Carolina barbecue. Like the restaurants in the Piedmont Triad, they smoke pork shoulders. However, the sauce is proving to be a little bone of contention. Continue reading “Allen & Son Barbeque, Chapel Hill NC”
Shrimp Boats, Durham NC (CLOSED)
Last year, when we published our mammoth, photo-packed story about what’s left of the Shrimp Boats chain, it first went out without a photo of the Durham Shrimp Boats. It is one of seven survivors of that once 95-strong chain, and one of only two in a 1969-style building. I had intended then to make it to Durham on this trip to North Carolina to visit the restaurant, and was pleasantly surprised when one of our readers in the area, Erin Parr, volunteered to go take some pictures for me. We have, it’s been noted, the best readers in all of blogdom. Y’all are the best. Continue reading “Shrimp Boats, Durham NC (CLOSED)”
Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC
Here’s another silly reason why this circumnavigation was unlike the three previous ones. On those outings, the best meal of the trip – the life-affirming, revealing, “this is better than I was expecting” visit to a legendary old place – came halfway through the jaunt, roughly at the furthest point from Atlanta. Those were Brick Pit in Mobile, Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, and Brooks Barbecue in Muscle Shoals. However, the high point this time out came at my fourth stop, Lexington’s Bar-B-Q Center. This was an astonishing little meal. Continue reading “Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 