Charlotte Happenings is your monthly guide to events and things to do in and around Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: http://charlottehappenings.epubxp.com/i/731598
Ray's Country Smokehouse-Grill Barbecue is king at this mainstay for smoky goodness in Gastonia. Serving old- school smoked barbecue and traditional sides, Ray's Country Smokehouse-Grill boasts plenty of pig to pair with its tasty, homemade vinegar-based sauce. Not in the mood for pork but want the barbecue experience? Order one of Ray's most praised dishes, a hearty plate of beef brisket and zesty potato salad. Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge A passion for barbecue runs in the Bridges family. Red and Lyttle Bridges opened their family's first barbecue joint in Shelby in 1946, serving pit-cooked pork and classic sides. Seventy years later, Red and Lyttle's daughter, Debbie Webb, and her two children run Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge, where they're still serving customers the signature hickory-smoked, slow-cooked barbecue for which their name became famous. R&R; Bar-B-Que Bob Critz and Rob Emore share more than just a name; they also share a love for true eastern North Carolina-style vinegar- based barbecue. With a shared initial and a restaurant located next to railroad tracks, R&R; Bar-B-Que opened in 1998, and it's been serving up eastern-style 'cue with all the fixins' ever since. Sauceman's Since 2010, Sauceman's has been serving authentic Lexington-style barbecue in Wilmore. Sauceman's smokes its pork for hours over a mix of hickory and oak wood to infuse it with an oh-so-recognizable R&R; Bar-B-Que got its name from the railroad tracks that run beside the restaurant. Restaurant Location Most Popular Order Queen City Q Uptown NC hand-pulled pork sandwich Midwood Smokehouse Plaza Midwood Burnt ends plate Matthews Ballantyne Montford (this winter) City Smoke Uptown Hickory-smoked pulled pork plate Bill Spoon's Barbecue Lower South End Pork BBQ plate Mac's Speed Shop South End Pulled pork BBQ platter Steele Creek Lake Norman Sauceman's Wilmore e Pig Bar-B-Q King FreeMoreWest Bar-B-Q Fried Chicken Boone's Bar-B-Que Mobile Hand-pulled NC pork shoulder plate McKoy's Smokehouse Lower South End McKoy's Smokehouse Wings & Saloon Red Bridges Shelby Pork BBQ plate Barbecue Lodge Ray's Country Gastonia Ray's Slow-smoked Pulled BBQ Smokehouse-Grill Stallings Rock Stallings Chopped pork BBQ plate Store Bar-B-Q Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q Steele Creek Classic pulled pork plate Concord e Improper Pig Cotswold Costwold Plate Art's BBQ & Deli Dilworth Art's Famous Chopped Pork Bar-B-Q Sandwich Dickey's Barbecue Pit Ballantyne Brisket barbecue sandwich e Q Shack South Charlotte Hickory-smoked pork butt pulled pork plate R&R; Bar-B-Que Concord Engineer's BBQ Plate e Smoke Pit Concord BBQ beef brisket plate Bobbee O's BBQ North Lake BBQ beef brisket plate OooWee BBQ Mobile BBQ sundae Smoke Modern Huntersville Burnt End Mac Barbecue Piper Glen DIG IN! e locals have spoken. Take a "'cue" from these Charlotte-area barbecue meccas who have made us privy to their most popular plates.