Texas BBQ expert says these NC joints belong on Southern Living’s best of list
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas Monthly's Daniel Vaughn said Southern Living shouldn’t have included Texas restaurants in its best-of barbecue list.
- Vaughn proposes 17 non-Texas barbecue spots, five of them in North Carolina.
- NC picks feature long-standing and innovative joints across the state.
One of the top barbecue experts in a state known for smoked meat has an issue with Southern Living’s list of the best barbecue joints in the South.
Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor at the magazine Texas Monthly, thinks Southern Living and its contributing barbecue editor Robert F. Moss shouldn’t have included any Texas restaurants in its list.
“I think barbecue culture would benefit by leaving Texas out of this particular conversation, and I think Moss’s search could go deeper in the South if he didn’t have the behemoth of Texas to cover,” Vaughn writes in a recent article. “Without it, the region is already a massive undertaking for just one person.”
Southern Living’s list includes 17 Texas barbecue joints. So Vaughn proposes 17 restaurants outside of the Lone Star State that could have been in the list, had those Texas joints been left out.
And of the seventeen, Vaughn suggests five from North Carolina.
5 NC barbecue joints that should be on Southern Living list
Here are the North Carolina restaurants that, according to Vaughn, deserve a place in the Southern Living best-of list:
- Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington
- Jon G’s Barbecue in Peachland
- Lawrence Barbecue in Cary
- Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton
- Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge in Shelby
Both Red Bridges and Bar-B-Q Center have been previously featured in Southern Living’s top 50 barbecue joints list.
What does Texas Monthly barbecue editor say about NC barbecue
On Bar-B-Q Center, Vaughn says the Lexington restaurant is often overshadowed by Lexington Barbecue (which was in Southern Living’s top 50 list), but notes Bar-B-Q Center, open since 1955, serves a hot dog with chili and slaw for $3.50.
Jon G’s is only open on Saturday, and while waiting in line for sliced brisket, pork belly or Cheerwine sausage, diners can buy a klobasniky — a savory, sausage-filled pastry.
Vaughn has praised Jake Wood’s Lawrence Barbecue before, and he’s now done it again, noting that the chef just opened a new location in Cary, offering a unique blend of menu items including brisket, oysters, ribs and chicken wings.
“Old Colony serves excellence on a try from beginning to end,” Vaughn writes of the Edenton joint, and said customers should look for specials like brisket burnt ends and pork steaks, and try the menu staple Carolina Dog with chili and slaw.
Vaughn says Red Bridges in Shelby offers one of the best examples of western North Carolina-style barbecue, featuring pork shoulders. Ask for some pieces with “outside brown” to get flavorful bark.
Daniel Vaughn’s other suggestions
Other than the five North Carolina joints, Vaughn recommends barbecue restaurants in other Southern states:
- Blake’s at Southern Milling: Martin, Tennessee
- County Smoak: Lynchburg, Virginia
- Edge Craft Barbecue: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Evie Mae’s Pit Barbecue: Miramar Beach, Florida
- Gonzo’s Smokehouse & BBQ: Luling, Louisiana
- Heirloom Market BBQ: Atlanta, Georgia
- Heritage Smokehouse: Baltimore, Maryland
- Owens and Hull: Smyrna, Georgia
- Smokemade Meats + Eats: Orlando, Florida
- Tropical Smokehouse: West Palm Beach, Florida
- Wright’s Barbecue: various Arkansas locations
- ZZQ: Richmond, Virginia
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Texas BBQ expert says these NC joints belong on Southern Living’s best of list."
