Spent a few days last week in the Ashville, NC area and ate a a couple of places that are worth a mention.
First, i wanted to get to the BBQ Inn in Ashville and to get up to Lexington for their famous BBQ, but things just did not work out.
We had very good chopped pork sandwiches at Boni's in Black Mountain. They smoke the butts right behind the restaurant with wood- we watched them firing it up. Our sandwiches were a nice mix of outside brown bits and succulent inside white. They serve four suaces with the pork:their "original" dark brown with a lot of mustard, a more vinegary sauce, a heavy tomato sauce, and a hot sauce. I thought they were all good, but preferrd the mustard. It is part of a regional chain, the service was good and friendly, and the dining room comfortable.
We had fried catfish and trout at the Coach House in Black Mountain.
I , at last, again connected with whole fried catfish - they were super along with a baked sweet potato and cole slaw. The place is a bit of a joint, the service started off a litttle rocky but improved as the meal progressed, and we enjoyed the meal.
Driving home we stopped at the BBQ Ranch in North Harrisonburg,VA.
It is a local joint, very busy, excellent service, friendly staff ( apeared to be an all female operation) and good BBQ. TheQ was almost ground to a fine texture and served with only one sauce - a quite hot one. It was a bit too hot for my wife, and I thought it overpowered the flavor of the pork. But I would definitely go back if we find ourselves in that neighborhood again.
Near Carlisle, PA we had lunch at a Bob Edwards. I've seen them all over the South, but never tried their food. I was pleasntly surprised with a "skillet" that was an open omelet filled with sausage, home fries, and country gravy. Very good, good service and a comfortable dining room.