The Pit, Raleigh, North Carolina

In North Carolina, barbecue is king. I've seen peoples eyes glaze over as they tell me about their backyard barbecues or their favourite little barbecue roadside shacks. In general, small and local appears to be better when it comes to barbecue, but there appears to be one exception - The Pit in Raleigh. 

The menu at The Pit

The Pit can hardly be described as a shack. It's situated in a beautifully restored 1930s meatpacking warehouse right in the middle of downtown Raleigh. Despite being large and spacious, queues of diners spill over onto the street outside, patiently waiting for a table in this shrine to barbecue. Young and old, families and couples, The Pit appears to appeal to all in Raleigh. 

By the time of writing, I have visited on three separate occasions. On my first visit, I must admit that I felt a little let-down, as the chopped pork didn't live up to the anticipated hype. But then I learned about the different barbecue styles and the selection of better dish choices on subsequent visits has produced much better results. 

For your dining information, it's worth understanding some key regional barbecue differences. Broadly speaking, some barbecues are dressed with a vinegar based sauce, while others come with sweeter, tomato based sauces. Depending on your preferences, this can be a major factor in your barbecue enjoyment. Even within the state of North Carolina, there are important variations. Eastern North Carolina involves cooking the whole hog with thin vinegar sauces while Western North Carolina uses only the pork shoulder and thicker sweeter tomato sauces (also known as Lexington barbecue). 

On my first visit to The Pit in November 2011, we ordered chopped barbecue (pit-cooked overnight, chopped and seasoned Eastern North Carolina Style) and pulled pork (smoked and pulled from the bone, lightly seasoned and ready to sauce as you would like). Both dishes were very well priced at  $11.99 and came with two sides of your choosing. We liked the smoky pulled pork, but didn't really enjoy the chopped barbecue due to the vinegar dressing. But that was a rookie mistake on my part, one that I didn't repeat on subsequent visits. 

Chopped barbecue at The Pit 

Pulled pork at The Pit

When I visited in March 2012, it was as part of a group of four. This allowed us to order a selection of dishes, placing them in the middle of the  table for all of us to share. A whole rack of baby back ribs ($21.99) were magnificently smoked, with meat falling easily from the bone. Judging by the outstretched hands, this was the favourite dish at the table. The incredibly tender smoked beef brisket ($15.99) was my next favourite, while moist pulled pork and unremarkable BBQ chicken (pit roast on the bone, $13.99) rounded out the meal.

Baby back ribs with collard greens and mac'n'cheese at The Pit

Another major plus about The Pit is the wide range of speciality beers available. America supports its microbreweries and craft beers and the menu at The Pit offers plenty of choice. With my new wheat-free diet in full force, I was delighted to find gluten-free options such as Crispin hard cider, which was light and fresh. The wheat free diet meant that I couldn't partake of the basket of light fluffy biscuits (or scones to us Europeans) and crispy hush puppies which arrive at the table once you sit down. 

Crispin cider at The Pit

Overall, I very much like The Pit. The carnivore who lives within me is sated by the large portions of succulent, juicy, smoked meat. But I've learned the hard way that a lot depends on your order choices. For me it's pulled pork, baby back ribs and brisket all the way. The same logic applies to sides. Sweet potato fries and creamed corn are good, while I can live well without the collard greens and grits. 

Reading reviews of The Pit online is an interesting experience, as lots of posters seem to take a delight in slating the place. Apparently for many purists it's too upscale to serve "real" barbecue. Now, I'm a novice in the world of real barbecue, but I do think that with some careful selections that you can have a fine barbecue experience with good beers & cocktails in The Pit. 

(For other dining tips, visit the website tvfoodmaps.com. This genius website pulls together information on all venues featured on shows such as Man v Food or Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. To date, I have yet to replicate any of the challenge events, but these shows do act as a guide to regional specialities.)

The Pit, 328 West Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Tel: +1 (919) 980 4500
URL: www.thepit-raleigh.com
Twitter: @thepitbbq

Brigs Restaurant, Raleigh, North Carolina

Imagine you're away from home for work, and it's the weekend. You can't turn to the other person in your life for company, or share the usual weekend morning routines of coffee and relaxing. You need to find some restaurants or cafes that will fill that void.

I've made several visits to Brigs restaurants in Raleigh, NC, in the past few months. It constantly turns up as a popular brunch spot on Google, and the queues waiting to get in seem to confirm the popular opinion. The first time I visited was a bitterly cold January morning (think everything coated in silver frost), so I was glad to park and head indoors only to be faced by a large queue of people all waiting to get in. I registered with the hostess and received an electronic tag which would alert me when a table became available. I settled down with my book in the unheated porch area and waiting, cursing under my breath.

I don't think I was waiting long though, whatever my frozen backside might say, but I did jump a mile in the air when my alarm buzzed in my lap. I was seated at a table for 4 in the corner but looking around, Brigs doesn't really seem to do tables for one or two people. They are clearly used to feeding groups. Like a lot of American restaurants, the menu is substantial, but could be broken down into categories such as skillets, omelettes, scrambled eggs and pancakes & waffles.

My friendly waiter made sure that I quickly had the essentials (coffee and water) and then returned to take my order. I went for one of the monthly specials - the imaginatively titled Three Little Pigs benedict. The blurb on the menu promised the following...

The big bad wolf would have loved this one, and so will you! This tasty benedict has two large sausage patties, shaved smoked ham, poached fresh eggs, Hollandaise sauce, and a sprinkle of bacon atop a toasted English muffin. Served with fresh fruit and choice of grits or homefries. $9.79

Three Little Pigs Benedict at Brigs, Raleigh

Repeated (and unsuccessful) efforts in NC have taught me that I just don't like grits, so I went for homefries. When the eggs arrived, I was amazed at the amount of food that had been piled onto the plate. In the little skillet sat an english muffin with thick slices of ham, poached eggs, sausage patties & hollandaise sauce. Piled around it were cubes of homefried potatoes which slices of pineapple and melon and a sprig of grapes lurked on the other side.

Fast forward two months and I return to Brigs in March. This time the monthly specials had an Irish theme. I shuddered to see the corrupted wording "St Patty's Day" on the menu, but even so, the Dublin benedict sounded very tasty.

A favourite from the past - we top a toasted English muffin with steamed asparagus, shaved lean corned beef, poached eggs and a special stone ground mustard hollandaise! Served with fruit and home fries or grits $9.89

The Dublin Benedict at Brigs, Raleigh

Again, I received the same type of platter. The generous amount of thin sliced corned beef and delicious mustard hollandaise sauce went down very well. My new wheat-free diet meant leaving the English muffin behind me, but hey, given that it was an Irish-themed dish, I felt quite patriotic.

Brigs isn't a fancy place - the dining room is quite basic in design and decor. But Brigs knows what it's about. It's about good, tasty, filling food that the whole family can enjoy. My total breakfast (which kept me going for most of the day) cost under $15, including coffee & taxes. Best of all, what you don't finish can be boxed up and taken away to eat later.

Brigs, Brennan Station Shops, 8111 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh, NC 27613 Tel: +1 (919) 870 0994
URL: http://www.brigs.com

Jake's Wayback Burgers, Mebane, North Carolina

So I'm in the US again for 3 weeks of work. When I left work on the Friday evening of Week 1, I went out to Raleigh Durham Airport to pick up my reserverd hire car. It turns out that Americans don't understand "hire car", so I'm starting to learn to use "rental". Sheesh!

Anyway, I had a few drinks at the hotel bar on Friday night to celebrate the end of the week. Obviously, I suffered the inevitable consequences of over-indulgence on Saturday, and having to sit through a work-related conference call at 10am didn't help matters much. Still though, by midday, I was feeling much better, and a group of us headed off for some outlet shopping at Tanger Outlet Mall Centre in Mebane, North Carolina.

After 90 minutes of shopping, I needed to take a break and give my melting credit card some time to cool back down. There's a reasonable selection of dining options in the Tanger Mebane outlet including pizza and juices. However, Jake's Wayback Burgers caught my eye.

I ordered the Jake Cheeseburger ($5.59), which comes with a wide range of toppings, free of charge. I wanted to keep it simple as I'm not a fan of large amounts of cold salad in my burgers, so I simply added grilled onions & relish. A side of fries ($2.99) and a vanilla malt milkshake (3.99) completed my order.

Burger & fries at Jake's Wayback Burgers

My burger came simply served on a platter lined with greaseproof paper. It consisted of two thin, but very juicy and tender patties with good flavour. Fries came with skin still on, and the vanilla malt was excellent, and gave a great contrast to the salty fries. The burger simply melted in my mouth and into the soft burger bun. It reminded me of a cross between a gourmet high end burger and a burger from a famous burger chain. It was thin and easy to eat (like the burger chain version) but juicy and succulent (more like a gourmet burger). 

Later, I found the website for Jake's Wayback Burgers, which describes how the brand started as a single burger joint in 1991. It's grown since then, but still strives to deliver an authentic burger, with a home-cooked, old-fashioned feel (hence the Wayback title). All I can say is that I'm glad to have found a burger chain that provides a burger that is both great value and real.

Jake's Wayback Burgers, Unit 100 Tanger Mall Outlet Centre, 4000 Arrow Head Blvd., Mebane, North Carolina 27302
Tel: +1 919-563-2888
URL: http://waybackburgers.com/homepage/
Twitter: @waybackburgers