First stop: Lexington

I've met God. And God is Brown. Or at least, God orders Brown . . . . In one bite I went from appreciating Carolina barbecue in a food writer-ish sort of way to appreciating it in an I'm selling-all-my-belongings-and-moving-down-here sort of way.  Genre utterly redefined, attention riveted, appointments dropped, cholesterol swelled, lapels stained, political party switched, Jesus Christ adopted as personal savior.  Finally, I got it!

- Jim Leff, founder of Chowhound.com, in John Shelton Reed's Holy Smoke 

After two full days of driving, followed by Sunday blue laws-imposed disappointment on our arrival, we finally hit barbecue on Monday, March 12. And what barbecue it was. When the first members of our entourage arrived at 11:30, they were advised by the wait staff: Get you a seat, now. This place will be full by noon. It was.

Lexington Barbecue #1 (which, once I asked for directions, I learned is known locally as Honey Monk's), is considered the gold standard of Western NC (or “Piedmont style”) barbecue. Wayne “Honey” Monk cooks Boston Butts – the upper end of the pork shoulder – as opposed to whole hogs, as they do in the East. The sauce (or “dip”, as it is more accurately called) is a ketchup and cider vinegar mix, in contrast to the the spartan, vinegar and pepper concoction that defines the Eastern cue. Hushpuppies and a ketchup and vinegar-based slaw are the traditional sides.

Partisans of the Eastern NC style tend to dismiss the Piedmont cue as a bowdlerization, but there are advantages to this style, chiefly the abundance of “outside brown”, or “bark” on the meat. You also get your choice of regular-style (finely minced and not all that interesting) or coarse chopped (absolutely transcendent). My advice: Go for the dark meat, coarse chopped, and ask for extra outside brown. Also, the slaw here – ketchup, pepper and vinegar based – may be the best of the whole trip.

The wait staff were friendly, and clearly used to the idea of barbecue pilgrims traveling hundreds of miles to sample their product. Sadly, there was no one around to give us a tour of the pits (they were short-handed that day), but the view from the window gave us a good view of the whole process. All in all, a good beginning.