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Shaw's Barbecue House

202 West Boulevard, Williamston, NC - (252) 792-5339
Posted By Michael Stern on 3/10/2004 4:09:00 AM
For inland Carolinians heading towards the ocean on Highway 64, Shaw's has been an essential eat-stop since Truman was President. Most customers come for the immemorial eastern North Carolina barbecue meal: chopped pork with a couple of such side dishes as collard greens, boiled potatoes, candied yams, cole slaw, baked beans, or cabbage. Also included in the price of a plate is a pair of corn sticks, a strange local substitute for hushpuppies that, in our opinion, are all texture and little taste.

Shaw's offers not only the traditional finely-chopped pork veiled in a subtle vinegar sauce; the menu also lists "pig pickers," which is big strips and chunks of pork pulled of the roast and apparently not sauced at all. If you want pig and nothing but the pig, picker is the way to go.

Service is do-it-yourself. Step up to the counter and tell the server what you want. When you pay, you get a number and while the meal is prepared you find a table and wait for the number to be called. Everything is served in Styrofoam clamshell containers, which are not all that charming, but make some sense since so much business here is carry-out.

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Scorecard

4 - Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip
Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip
Barbecue Plate
Pig Pickers
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Pig Picker offers large, soft pieces of pulled pork that are scarcely sauced at all. Of course, there is sauce on each table if you need to spice it up.
"Pig Picker offers large, soft pieces of pulled pork that are scarcely sauced at all. Of course, there is sauce on each table if you need to spice it up."
Michael Stern





Here is a barbecue in the classic eastern North Carolina configuration: chopped into a hash and spiced with a subtle vinegar sauce. Also on the plate are boiled potatoes (typical of Q houses in this region) and greens, plus the corn sticks that seem to have replaced hush puppies in some local restaurants.
"Here is a barbecue in the classic eastern North Carolina configuration: chopped into a hash and spiced with a subtle vinegar sauce. Also on the plate are boiled potatoes (typical of Q houses in this region) and greens, plus the corn sticks that seem to have replaced hush puppies in some local restaurants."
Michael Stern


Here is where people place their order and stand around waiting for it. At least half the customers get theirs
"Here is where people place their order and stand around waiting for it. At least half the customers get theirs "to go." By the way, the blue uniforms on the guys in the center identified them as employees of a local peanut company. Peanuts are big hereabouts."
Michael Stern


Add this topless pink porker to the long list of oinking mascots that mark so many southern barbecues. We understand the chef's toque, but that thing around Piggy's waist looks more like a diaper than an apron, doesn't it?
"Add this topless pink porker to the long list of oinking mascots that mark so many southern barbecues. We understand the chef's toque, but that thing around Piggy's waist looks more like a diaper than an apron, doesn't it?"
Michael Stern



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