Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

All of these sauce recipes are way, way off base. Eastern NC born and raised right here. I've been eating eastern NC chopped barbeque since I was old enough to eat meat!!!! Growing up my dad was the cook at every pig pickin' and has always made his own eastern NC barbecue sauce. I'm currently employed at an eastern NC BBQ restaurant!!! Boss Hog's Backyard BBQ in Washington and Greenville, North Carolina if anyone is ever out in our neck of the woods, feel free to come have a taste of real eastern NC chopped BBQ! Grilled chicken and ribs are also amazing (with a thicker, sweeter rib-appropriate sauce if you want it) and both the barbecue and rib sauce are both homemade from a special recipe. If anyone knows their eastern NC barbecue sauce, it's me. It practically runs through my veins. So believe me when I say that NONE of these recipes posted here are even REMOTELY close. Anyone who makes these sauces MIGHT very well enjoy them, but you are NOT eating eastern NC chopped barbecue, kiddos! Trust me!

And as for the tomato dispute, Lexington-style barbecue sauce is a thick, heavily tomato-based sauce that 90% of the population of eastern NC will agree is disgusting. On a less biased note, it's EXTREMELY different from eastern NC barbecue sauce. BUT to dispute a few previously made comments, eastern-NC-style barbecue sauce absolutely DOES contain some tomato. Ketchup, of all things, actually. Not a lot. It's a very, very runny practically watery sauce, and the list of ingredients has several (very important!) ingredients that none of these recipes listed here seem to cover. Sugar, hot sauce and a few other things being among the forgotten ingredients.

Sadly, I'm not willing to part with the recipe. As a true eastern North Carolinian, I'd just invite all of y'all over for a pig pickin' but alas, no can do.

Best of luck finding that true eastern NC barbecue experience. Just a heads up, you aren't going to find real eastern NC barbecue anywhere west of Raleigh (and that landmark is a generous one.) If you want real eastern NC barbecue, come to the coast!

To Raiders 757

I'm actually a North Carolinian, who transplanted to Williamsburg. I used to live within 10 miles of Allen & Sons in Pittsboro N.C., and after eating that stuff, Pierces in Williamsburg is just plain pathetic! Though, honestly, their hushpuppies were pretty tasty!

Every so often I will get a hankering for wings from the local Quaker Steak and Lube and I can usually fight it off until I forget about it, but if it is a Tuesday night all bets are off. Tuesdays, for all of you who don't know, are unlimited wing nights for 10 bucks. I just can't stop myself from eating all those wings and although I am stuffed and nearly miserable at the end and still stuffed and only slightly miserable the next morning....it is always worth it.

In North Carolina, there is a small burger chain called Cookout...They have such good burgers and cajun fries and more flavors of milkshake than I can think of...

It is why I miss my old college...

@ Cassaendra
"McDonald's for Portuguese sausage with eggs and rice" I love that! it's so cute the way major chains adjust to local foods and that you knew to check it out.

As for me, I like messing with the folks at Burger King and ordering the veggie burger. And definitely love Wendy's - I get a frosty, side salad, and baked potato, roughly $3. Otherwise, there is a local sandwich shop here in Maine that has really good homemade bread.

Also, corn dogs are not fast food; they are fair food which is a totally awesome category in itself.

Dick's Drivein cheesburger, fries and the tartar to dip the fries in.
Red Robin fries.
Jack in the Box breakfast jack, or their new egg bowls, their fries..
Kentukey Fried Chicken bowl thingy
pizza anywhere
A whopper w/cheese and fries Burger King
Qrter Pounder w/cheese and fries McDonalds
Anything at Taco del Mars
Any fast food that is meaty, cheasy, something that has the juices dripping from the corner of my mouth will do.
Paula Deens donut burger but with an egg on top, OMG that sounds so good and order it with a diet coke of course.

Nathan's, Papaya King, Five Guys.

Love that chicken from Poeyes!

Corn dogs.

I will say, we just got a Five Guys here in Portland, OR(its actually in Beaverton, but thats just a suburb) and I have to ask........what is the hype about? I mean, for like the 9$ you spend(on a baconcheeseburger w/fries) you can get one hell of a REAL restaurant burger! and its way too greasy(and I love me some fat!) and the fries just out and out suck! If youre only going to do 2 things and one of them sucks, and the other is overpriced and mediocre, I dont get the hubub!?

personally, Popeyes, El Pollo Loco, In-N-Out are all winners for me. as is Burgerville here in the PNW, but for everything besides the burgers......sweet potato fries, fresh local seasonal berry milk shakes(hell, they even use real and local ice cream)