North Carolina Barbecue Restaurant Among 'America's Best'

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The restaurant business is so competitive, and I always seek out new spots to try. But, this practically brand new North Carolina barbecue restaurant is already among 'America's Best.' The national media and marketing company zeros in on spotlighting local and independently owned restaurants.

According to The Charlotte Observer, Chefry's Blue Smoke in Mooresville is among 'America's Best.' And, very much like Food Network's popular "Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives" show, America's Best Roadshow takes advice from customers when choosing their spots. But, the most fascinating part is that Chefry's Blue Smoke just opened in May 2023. And, in less than a year, the buzz is strong.

And, I have to say just reading about their dishes they already have my vote. I am a Texas girl with a strong love for authentic Texas brisket. But, it has to be done the right way. There's nothing worse than a dry, cooked to be damned brisket. However, when done right there's nothing better. Owner James Hettinger says, "People tell me my brisket blows Texas out of the water." I'll wait and judge for myself on that bold statement!

But, although Hettinger is a trained chef, this is his first time as owner. And, his family lives in Mooresville where Chefry's Blue Smoke is located. Now, let's talk about the menu! They smoke their meats over hickory and cherry wood. And, they offer sandwiches, plates and salads. Plus, they make most of their ingredients, including peanut butter that becomes a peanut butter banana shake.

However, I need to try the Backwoods BBQ Popover. Apparently, they layer the dish with pulled pork, in-house chorizo, brisket, BBQ sauce and a cheese blend. And, look out for Hettinger's grandma's coleslaw with mayo dressing, peanuts, Granny Smith apples and cabbage. Also, black eyed pea hushpuppies and the red velvet cake milkshake...forget about it!

And, Chefry's Blue Smoke name has an unusual origin. Hettinger is nearly 7 feet tall. So, he combined 'Chef' with 'Geoffrey,' the Toys 'R' Us giraffe mascot to come up with 'Chefry.'

So, look for this brand new North Carolina barbecue restaurant to make a splash on America's Best Roadshow social media platforms soon! And read more about the feature from The Charlotte Observer. Then, check Chefry's Blue Smoke website for more details. Plus, they invite you to a filming party this Thursday!

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

If there is one thing you can say about North Carolinians it's that we LOVE our BBQ. There are different styles, different meats of choice, and different sauces. But we do it all well. And no the term barbecue should never refer to the outdoor cooking of hamburgers and hotdogs- that's a cookout for your northerners. There are so many incredible barbeque restaurants in North Carolina, it's hard to say what the best is. And that's honestly a personal preference. Your choice may be different than mine which may be different from your coworker's. But while we can't objectively tell you the best barbecue restaurants in North Carolina, we can tell you the most popular.

Did you know that May is National BBQ Month? It is and in celebration, our friends at BetCarolina used Google Trends to determine the most popular barbecue restaurants in North Carolina. The data used in this analysis is from May 1, 2022-September 6, 2022. And there is a dominant winner that's right here in the Queen City. It's one that many celebrities choose to dine at when visiting Charlotte. And funny enough, when we told you about the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants (per TripAdvisor) last year, it was also the winner. So even with different methods, it's still coming out on top.

Keep reading to see which that is, you'll also find the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants list at the end of this one. You can read BetCarolina's full study and analysis here.

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

Location: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Search Volume: 2%

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

Location: 4618 Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513

Search Volume: 3%

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

Location: 9440 NC-226A, Marion, NC 28752

Search Volume: 4%

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

Location: 2000 E Dixon Blvd, Shelby, NC 28150

Search Volume: 8%

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

Location: View all Carolina locations here

Search Volume: 83%

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

Here in North Carolina, we love our barbeque. And we do it well if I may so so myself. There is no shortage of fantastic restaurants across the state and the Queen City is no exception to that. But if you only can eat at one which should you choose? While I have my favorite (and it didn't make this list near the top), I decided to turn to the public for their thoughts on the matter. A quick search on TripAdvisor led me to a list of 30 Charlotte BBQ restaurants. It included chains, multiple locations of some, the heavy hitters, and some I hadn't heard of before. For this list, I took the top 15 restaurants (combining anywhere that had multiple locations).

Trip Advisor compiles these rankings based on average rating and number of reviews. Therefore you will see a couple of places that are ranked higher with a slightly lower rating. This means they probably had a higher number of higher-rated reviews. I have to say for the most part I do agree with this list the top 3 didn't surprise me at all and I feel could have been ranked in any order. What's your favorite of the many Charlotte BBQ restaurants?

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

Address: 1400 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28203-4114

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviews: 31

Brand New North Carolina Barbecue Restaurant Is Already Among ‘America’s Best’

The restaurant business is so competitive, and I always seek out new spots to try. But, this practically brand new North Carolina barbecue restaurant is already among ‘America’s Best.’ The…

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

14. Sweet Lew's BBQ

13. Bubba's Barbecue

12. Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q

11. Bill Spoon's Barbecue

10. Bobbee O's BBQ

9. The Q Shack

8. City Barbeque

7. Noble Smoke

6. Bar-b-q King

5. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

4. Sauceman's

3. Mac's Speed Shop

2. McKoy's Smokehouse and Saloon

1. Midwood Smokehouse

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