Olivia and I detoured our drive from Holden Beach to Winston-Salem Noble’s Grille by way of Wilmington to hit I-40. Our goal was to make our way to Grady’s BBQ in Dudley, NC just south of Goldsboro. But we found out from Jim Early (http://ncbbqsociety.com) that they are only open from Wednesday through Saturday, so we headed to Stephenson’s in McGee’s crossroads instead.
Stephenson’s was wonderful. It was like a warm, old fashioned family styled restaurant where Olivia and I had a great lunch. She had, as always whenever possible, the barbecued chicken. It came with two sides, cabbage and mashed potatoes. I must say, as a chef, that the mashed potatoes were as good as I have ever had out in a restaurant. They were very good and I was pleasantly surprised. I had the chopped BBQ sandwich and it was very moist and had great flavor. One of the best so far. The hushpuppies were also very good. Our bill was only $10. What a great deal. The sandwich was only 2.65. This place makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Back in the car, Olivia and I headed to Chapel Hill for great Q at Allen and Son on Highway 86, just north of I-40. Instead of heading towards Chapel Hill on 86 off of 40, head the other way. It’s about 1 1/2 miles on your left, right before you cross the railroad track. I ordered Q to go, coarse chopped/pulled and for Olivia, a coconut chess pie. The Q was wonderful, with a good smokey flavor and a nice sauce. I was only going to taste, so I hid it from myself in the back seat floorboard, but I found myself reaching around to get more. The coconut pie was really fine and Olivia wouldn’t hardly give me one bite. I don’t blame her however, judging from the miniscule taste she gave me. The girl loves sweets and this pie was spot on.
Allen & Sons
We hit Noble’s Grille in Winston-Salem soon after and shared the rest of the Q with the staff who found it to be wonderful as well. This Q gives inspirations to a well heeled chef, Phil Barnes, the new exec chef at the Grille.
That was all for this trip. Will be back out soon.
I did have cardiological stress test and my arteries were in great shape.
Bon Cue Appetit!
