Posted by Michael Stern on March 24, 2007
The Allen & Son in Chapel Hill is located in what used to be far outskirts of town before town became The Research Triangle. Now it is one of the few individual restaurants in a crowded area; but glory be, it’s hardly changed at all. Same old cinderblock walls, same plastic tablecloth … and the same authoritative North Carolina style Q, meaning velvety pieces of hickory-smoked pork. As is local custom, the sauce is separate from the meat, available in a bottle on the table: thin, butter-rich, vinegar-based hot sauce loaded with spice and cracked pepper. Just a sprinkle is all you will want to make this pork sing. In fact, you may not want any sauce at all. The meat is that good.
We recommend getting Allen's meat on a plate (rather than a sandwich), which includes a pile of sparkling cole slaw and about a half-dozen crisp-skinned hushpuppies. The hushpups are arranged like a sculptor's work, on top of the pork. It is a field of spheres atop a heap of meat: a lovely, aromatic, and absolutely mouth-watering sight.
If you get the combination plate known to some locals as "stew and que" (highly recommended), the pile of good smoked meat is supplemented by a bowl of Brunswick stew, another traditional companion to smoked pork in these parts. Unlike the meatier Brunswick stews of southern Virginia, this luscious stuff is mostly vegetables with a few shreds of meat, all cosseted in a tomato-rich sauce. It is a hearty, rib-sticking food that makes a wonderful contrast to the exquisite pork.
For dessert, choose among peanut butter pie, fruit cobbler, cream cheese pound cake, and chess pie.
Overall: Worth driving from anyplace
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Reviewers "Must Eats" List
"Stew & Q"
($10.00)
"While my cousin had high praise for the pork and coleslaw on his plate, he called this Brunswick stew the best he has ever had. (Photo by Johnny Napier.)"
buffetbuster
"Allen & Son's ultra-sweet pecan pie."
buffetbuster
"For a barbecue parlor, Allen & Son has a surprisingly wide-ranging dessert menu. (Photo by Johnny Napier.)"
buffetbuster
"Throughout the south, images of pigs perch atop barbecue restaurants, inviting customers to stop in and eat pork."
Michael Stern
"Front of the Building"
dabahbs
"A well-used pickup truck in the parking lot is frequently a sign of good food inside. This was the Allen & Son in Graham, NC, no longer in business."
Michael Stern
