Allen and Son

On Friday night Nick and I pondered our dinner plans. We had spent the whole day lazing around, when we were supposed to take advantage of our day off and explore the area. Instead, we opted to do that during dinner and ventured off to the outskirts of Chapel Hill to eat some Carolina BBQ at Allen and Son.

Over the past year I've heard a lot about this small establishment in the middle of nowhere, from tv reports, the internet, and family friends (thanks, Don & Carol). We tried to go a few weeks ago for Nick's birthday, but they close at 5pm from Monday to Thursday. This time, we headed over at 6:40, with lots of time to spare before their Friday 8pm closing time.

It really is a small little house, with mismatched chairs and green-checkered tablecloths. We were told to choose a seat wherever, so we plopped down at a table watched over by the preserved head of a deer.

I ordered the barbecue sandwich with coleslaw and hushpuppies, while Nick chose the barbecue platter with coleslaw, hush puppies, and fries. He even ordered a side of fried okra. I decided to go with the flow and get some sweet tea. I'm glad I did, because the water had a metallic tang to it. Our waitress later brought over a whole pitcher for us to share.


The barbecue pork on my sandwich was good, but completely soaked the bottom bun, so I had to eat my sandwich with a fork. Did I ever feel like an out-of-towner! Nick and I agreed the hushpuppies were the best we'd ever had. Just the right amount of crispiness to warm insides.


The vinegary, buttery barbecue sauce was used by Nick, but I avoided it. I don't think Carolina barbecue is right for me. This is blasphemy, I know, but I prefer the thick, gloppy sweet sauce found in Kansas City or Memphis any day.


We ended up getting a slice of sweet potato pie to go. We wanted the peanut butter pie, but apparently it's served frozen so it would have melted on us. I'm glad we went, but I'm not sure I'll have a hankering for NC barbecue any time soon.