Foodways Tours

Whole Hog: the Carolina Barbecue Trail

3 days · ~260 miles · from Lexington, NC

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Start
Lexington, NC
Days
3
Distance
~260 miles
Length
Foodways Tours
Themes
🍽️ Food

The great schism in one drive: Piedmont pork shoulder with red slaw versus Eastern whole-hog with vinegar and crackling skin. Pits, not politics — though here they're the same thing.

Day by day

Day 1: Piedmont orthodoxy

Lexington Barbecue ('the Monk house') for shoulder, red slaw and hush puppies; Stamey's in Greensboro — cooking over hickory coals since 1930 — for the comparison plate. Overnight Greensboro, arguing.

Day 2: East toward the whole hog

Across the fall line to Goldsboro: Wilber's, the wood-smoke landmark that closed in 2019 and was gloriously resurrected in 2021, plus Grady's tiny cinderblock perfection in Dudley. Overnight Goldsboro, lighter of wallet, heavier of heart(burn).

Day 3: Ayden, the holy city

The Skylight Inn (1830 lineage, capitol dome on the roof, whole hog chopped with cleavers, cornbread like the ancients intended) and Sam Jones BBQ up the road — the old church and the new one. Finish in Greenville, NC, fully converted.

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