Monk: I’ve previously reviewed Old Hampton Store & Barbeque in early 2024 but if you need a refresher its a true ‘cue joint located in Linville, NC. The mountains aren’t typically a place where you find wood smoked barbecue, but Old Hampton Store is one of the standard bearers.
On a recent November 2025 trip to the NC mountains to get our Christmas tree, we once again stopped for lunch at Old Hampton afterwards and were treated to a side of bluegrass music with our barbecue. First, some photos:
Monk: Closing the book on 2025 with a round up of the best things I ate last year. As it turns out, the list is equally weighted between barbecue from the first half of the year and the second. On to 2026!
6. Smoked brisket burger from Dampf Good BBQ (review)
While there was a lot to like at Dampf Good BBQ earlier this year, the smoked brisket burger took the cake over the brisket, ribs, and sausage. So much so that I forgot to take photos of it until I had taken a few bites of the delicious burger made from smoked brisket trimmings and topped with cheese, pickles, and mayo on a potato bun. It was a special on that day, but be on the look out if you are checking them out in Cary.
5. Chopped Lexington-style barbecue from Real Q (review)
It’s always good to strike a classic style Lexington barbecue off my longtime list. Real Q blends old school Piedmont dining with a decor that is unmistakably Winston-Salem through its depictions of Texas Pete and the tobacco industry that once drove the economic engine of the town. The chopped pork even turned the youngest Monkette into a believer.
4. Smoked Berkshire pork chop from Slow Bone (review)
The smoked Berkshire pork chop from Slow Bone in Dallas is a Sunday/Monday special that takes 3 weeks of prep work from initial seasoning to two separate stints of brining with a smoking between them before being finished on a flat top once they are ordered. While the complexity of that process may be lost on a lot of patrons who enter the door, I’m sure at the very least they can appreciate the juicy, flavorful pork chop placed before them.
I live by a simple rule: if I see beef cheeks on the menu, I’m going to buy it. Maybe I’ve been lucky but the two places I’ve tried – Palmira Barbecue in Charleston and Owens & Hull in Smyrna – have put out some seriously tasty renditions that are must orders at their respective restaurants.
2. Whole hog from Wilber’s Barbecue
A somewhat unexpected pop up brought some delicious eastern NC whole hog from Goldsboro to Charlotte just before Christmas. Wilber’s rented a Penske truck with coolers full of barbecue, brisket, ribs, turkey, slaw, hush puppies, Brunswick stew, naner pudding, and sides and set up a pick up spot behind the old Manor Theatre. For anyone who took advantage, they got a taste of whole hog barbecue that you just don’t get here in Charlotte.
1. Chopped pork with crispy skins from City Limits Barbeque (review)
Robbie Robinson mixes in pork belly with his whole pork shoulders and then chops in some crispy skin to finish it off. As I predicted back in June, it was going to take a lot to knock this sandwich from the West Columbia restaurant off its perch as my favorite bite of barbecue in 2025. And as it turns out, nothing did. Can’t wait to get back to City Limits soon.
Name: The Smoke Pit Date: 1/3/26 Address: 8136 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277 Order: Tres Amigos platter with pork, ribs, and brisket plus hush puppies, jalapeno creamed corn, and collards (link to menu) Pricing: $$
Monk: I have been a fan of The Smoke Pit since first visiting their original Concord location in 2015. We’ve since visited and reviewed their Salisbury and Gastonia locations as well, most recently in 2021. However, The Smoke Pit empire keeps expanding, with an established location in Monroe, a newly opened location at the Arboretum shopping center in South Charlotte, and a forthcoming store in Mooresville that will bring the total count to 6 in the Charlotte area.
The Arboretum location opened in September 2025, taking over a former longtime Chili’s location. Extensive renovations were made to both the interior and exterior of the building, including the build out of a pit room where the outdoor patio used to be. Inside it, a mini army of M&M BBQ Company wood smokers made in Tool, TX pump out their smoked items.
The menu at The Smoke Pit takes an “international house of barbecue” approach with pork, brisket, ribs, turkey, chicken, burnt ends, sausage, and smoked wings on the menu. Mrs. Monk and I split the “Tres Amigos” platter that comes with pork, brisket, and ribs along with two sides and hush puppies, corn bread, or Texas Toast. There is also a “7 Meat Fest” that comes a large sampling of their meats and sides for a hungrier group than the Monk family was on that day. Something to think about in the future, though.
All of the meats I tried that day were of above average quality. The chopped pork and brisket both had a nice bark while the ribs had a good tug to them. Of the three, I’d probably give a slight nod to the brisket but I would recommend each of them.
I found my sides to be really good as well. The jalapeno creamed corn had a nice kick to counteract the creaminess while the collards met Mrs. Monk’s high standards. I should note that I had previously ordered bulk sides of their mac and cheese, baked beans, and coleslaw for last fall’s pig roast and received a ton of compliments on them. So based on my experience you can’t really go wrong with the sides at The Smoke Pit.
A nice touch was the offer of free dessert for each person in the party. We tried both the peach and strawberry cobblers, with peach being the winner for me. I don’t know how long the offer of free dessert will continue but it was a welcome end to our meal.
In terms of wood-smoked barbecue in South Charlotte, its just The Smoke Pit and Midwood Smokehouse. The Smoke Pit’s 5th location is a welcome addition to both the Arboretum shopping center and South Charlotte, and the bar looks to be worth exploring in the future. Check them out if you haven’t tried their other locations before.
Name: Real Q Date: 11/28/25 Address: 4885 Country Club Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27104 Order: Chopped plate with fries, BBQ slaw, and hush puppies; Cheerwine (link to menu) Pricing: $
Monk: In April 1991, Richard Berrier and two business partners opened the original Little Richard’s BBQ on Country Club Road in Winston-Salem. Twenty-seven years, a couple of business partnership splits, and several restaurant spinoffs later, it changed its name in to “Real Q” in January of 2018 to distinguish itself from the other Little Richard’s in the the area (now Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Yadkinville, Walkertown and Mount Airy). Fortuitously, Berrier is also known as “Q” in the industry, so the name works on a couple of levels.
The Country Club location of Little Richard’s is the one that Speedy visited 5 years before the name change in 2013 and enjoyed quite a bit, rating it 4 hogs. On that visit, he loved the BBQ slaw and hush puppies while enjoying the pork itself a little less, noting that he would have liked more smoke. I had never visited that, or any other, Little Richard’s so this past Thanksgiving in the Triad it was time to check it out the restaurant formerly known as Little Richard’s.
Real Q is a classic Lexington-style joint with Winston-Salem memorabilia lining the walls
Being less than 25 or so miles from Lexington, NC, it’s no surprise that Real Q would take on the shape of a classic Lexington-style barbecue joint. Meaning smokestacks in the back, no frills dining, and red slaw and hush puppies on the menu.
What may be more surprising is the quality and depth of Winston-Salem memorabilia that lines nearly every available wall space. Home to Texas Pete and RJR (formerly the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company founded in 1875), the walls reflect that Winston-Salem heritage in addition to a few, unrelated cigarette and retro cola brands. Behold:
Decor aside, of course I was there for the barbecue. Lack of smoke, which Speedy observed on his 2013 visit, was not an issue for me. A mixture of the barbecue topped with the table dip and mixed with red slaw made for a perfect bite of barbecue.
On his visit, Speedy found the red slaw to be cold and perfectly tangy, offering a nice contrast to the pork and I would agree. The hush puppies were some of the best I’ve had in recent memory, and the youngest Monkette (who normally isn’t a hush puppy fan), agreed as well. She ended up finishing the rest of the basket.
At Real Q their motto is “if it ain’t over wood, it ain’t as good” and they have the wood pile out back to prove that they do just that. And its cue I would rank alongside some of the very best in the town of Lexington. Next time, I’ll be checking out Little Richard’s to see if they stack up well to Real Q.
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