The second day of our trip was pretty disastrous, with hours and hours spent stuck in traffic trying to navigate around roads closed by the floods in the region. But at least it began wonderfully, with breakfast at one of the best restaurants in the world. Continue reading “Skylight Inn, Ayden NC (take two)”
Tag: greenville nc
Chapter 1100: Skylight Inn BBQ, Ayden NC
“Good morning, East Carolina University admissions office. How may I help you?”
“Oh, I sure hope you can. My name’s Grant, from the blog Marie, Let’s Eat! and I’ve got a fifteen year-old daughter and I need for her to attend East Carolina.”
“Well, I’d be happy to send you a catalog–”
“A catalog won’t be good enough. She’s already fallen in love with the University of North Alabama. I need you to send boys.”
“Excuse me?”
“Boys in school colors, yes. Cute boys. And money and clothes. This is urgent. I had lunch at Skylight Inn. It’s about eight hours from my house. I can’t justify going back unless I have business in the area. Best I can figure is that my daughter needs to go to ECU.” Continue reading “Chapter 1100: Skylight Inn BBQ, Ayden NC”
B’s Barbecue, Greenville NC
So, onto day two of the road trip. I call these “circumnavigations,” although, geographically, that wasn’t really accurate this time. Another big change on this go-round was that I stayed in a decent hotel for once. The last two trips that I took (around the Tennessee River Valley and around central North Carolina) saw me staying in two of the absolute worst motels I’d ever visited, and this time, I resolved to stay somewhere decent. So as I relaxed in the quite nice Best Western in Goldsboro, I looked over the next day’s driving and reread a few reviews of the next day’s eating and realized I’d made a mistake in my itinerary. Continue reading “B’s Barbecue, Greenville NC”
Bum’s Restaurant, Ayden NC
One thing set this circumnavigation apart from the previous four that I’ve undertaken, and turned the event into more of a zig-zag than a proper loop: some of these restaurants close very early. After I read a short review of Bum’s in Ayden NC from a contributor at roadfood.com, I really wanted to visit, but it closes at the disagreeable hour of seven on Friday evenings. So I left Farmville after my really memorable meal at Jack Cobb & Son and went southeast to Ayden to catch a meal there before taking the long drive back southwest to Goldsboro, which is where both my hotel, and a restaurant that stays open to the more sensible hour of nine, would be waiting for me. Continue reading “Bum’s Restaurant, Ayden NC”
Jack Cobb & Son Bar-B-Q, Farmville NC
There’s a story that Lexington NC might have the most barbecue restaurants, per capita, of any place in the nation. It’s possible that Farmville NC might have the most barber shops. I saw at least three on one stretch of road in this tiny little town of 4600. One is across the street from Jack Cobb & Son, a simply spectacular barbecue joint that doesn’t have any indoor seating. I ate my barbecue in my car and I’m not sure what I feared more: slipping up and getting any barbecue sauce on my beautiful, beautiful car’s seats, or slipping up and wasting a drop of this beautiful, beautiful sauce. There used to be a screened porch for outdoor seating here, but it’s been gone for a couple of years. Continue reading “Jack Cobb & Son Bar-B-Q, Farmville NC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 