I wish Holt Lake Bar-B-Q all the best for a speedy recovery.  And maybe they will take the fire as a sign from above and decide to rebuild with the addition of some traditional wood pits so they can keep the fire outside the restaurant!

Some Reasons to Travel to Smithfield
Smithfield Foods is the world’s largest pork producer and is based in the small town of Smithfield.  Virginia.  Though Smithfield, North Carolina is not actually the home base of the world’s largest pork producer, it is in the heart of the state’s swine belt and has a rich history related to the golden leaf.  It is also Ava Gardner’s home town, so I would guess she ate her share of barbecue plates back in the day, and the Ava Gardner Museum downtown is a featured attraction.  Smithfield also hosts the annual Ham & Yam Festival, which was held just a few weeks ago.  Although the festival won’t be back until Spring 2010, Smithfield, NC is a nice little town that is working hard to revitalize its historic downtown (Smithfield dates back to 1777) and it’s worth a visit. 

By now you may have wondered why I am starting my review of Holt Lake Bar-B-Q with all of this information on the town of Smithfield.  I want you to know there are many good reasons to visit Smithfield.  Holt Lake Bar-B-Q simply isn’t one of them.

I should've turned back at the 1st sign of spaghetti

The Review
Holt Lake Bar-B-Q and Seafood is a nice family restaurant that unfortunately, in my humble opinion, does not serve good barbecue.  Lord knows some people in Smithfield disagree with me, at least judging by the large lunch crowd I dined with and the multiple phone calls requesting catering that I overheard during my meal.  Holt Lake offers an expansive menu that includes seafood, chicken, barbecue, meatloaf and much more.  They offer family style dining for parties of four or more, with BBQ/chicken/sides or BBQ/chicken/shrimp/fish/sides options.

Plenty of food

I stuck to the basic barbecue plate, which came with a generous serving of pork, as well as a basket of puppies and a piece of cobbler.  For my two sides, I ordered slaw and Brunswick stew.  The sides were all pretty good, though the stew was a bit thick for my taste.  The slaw had a bit of mustard in it, as is sometimes the case down east, giving it a yellow hue.  The ‘cue itself was subpar: too greasy and lacking in flavor (typical of electric/gas-cooked pork). 

There’s really nothing I can say to recommend you go out of your way to visit Holt Lake Bar-B-Q, but I still enjoyed my meal there because of the nice staff, the large crowd, and the decent sides.  I guess eating barbecue is a bit like eating ice cream–even when it’s not very good it’ll put a smile on your face.

From http://www.downtownsmithfield.com/events.html

Just a quick post to encourage you to check out the Ham & Yam Festival, which runs through late Sunday afternoon in downtown Smithfield.  Note that barbecue plates from the pig cooking contest will be on sale from 12:30 until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.  Sorry we didn’t get this post up with more advance notice; the barbecue festivals snuck up on us this year.  We vow to do a better job of informing you, our loyal readers, of essential upcoming events in the future.  Until then, we ask that you forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who abandon the almighty hickory wood.

Speaking of which, please forgive me for the below photo.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Ham & Yam Festival, but I took it last time I was in Smithfield and this seems like as good (or bad) an occasion as any to share it.

If you say so.

Running on Empty
“What kind of idiot stops for barbecue at a gas station?,” I asked myself. And then I answered my own question.

Logo from H. Kent Craig's NC-Style BBQ Site

I had driven past the two gas station-embedded White Swans alongside Highway 70 between Raleigh and Goldsboro several times before this particular day. I had never before had a good meal at a gas station, and I didn’t see any particular reason to try and change that history. Furthermore, I am skeptical of chain restaurants in general and barbecue chains in particular, and White Swan has six locations (six is a heck of a lot by BBQ standards and is five more than most good joints). Plus, there really is nothing about the White Swans on Highway 70 that stands out. Perhaps if the gas stations that house the White Swans were rustic old service stations with overall-clad mechanics pumping gas from a one handled pump I’d have been more intrigued. But these are just dull, modern, no-service stations. Still, today was different: it was dinner time and my gas tank was desperately low. I decided to order a plate of good old fashioned pork grease biofuel along with my tank of 87 Regular.

It turns out White Swan serves some pretty tasty Eastern style pork. White Swan’s pork falls a few snouts short of spectacular, but it is consistently good, flavorful stuff. Notice that I am refraining from calling the stuff barbecue, since I don’t think it is wood cooked and I’m one of those Jewish fundamentalists who considers pork cooked any way but over wood coals something short of barbecue. I didn’t detect a smoky taste and the joint’s website says only that “the pork is slowly cooked in a covered cooker, which holds in the smoked flavor” (how’s that for a lot of words that say nothing?).

Given how rare wood-cooked barbecue is in the eastern part of the state these days, I will give White Swan a pass and accept their slow-cooked pork for what it is—because whatever you call the stuff, it tastes pretty damn good. The pork is moist and chopped to a nice consistency, and it is served with a classic vinegar and pepper sauce that requires little to no Texas Pete supplement. The slaw, hush puppies and Brunswick stew are tasty too. The fried chicken is very popular and looks appetizing, but I’ve not yet indulged in it (someday my heart will thank me for this rare restraint).

White Swan has been in business for 50+ years so they must be doing something right, and you can’t fault them for snatching up prime real estate in the gas stations along Highway 70. BBQ Jew recommends that you stop in to White Swan next time your fuel gauge is teetering toward E, or any other time, for a completely unleaded and hickory carcinogen-free meal you won’t regret.

Extra Mileage
One final, bizarre note: Check out the “BBQ Cocktail” featured on White Swan’s website. The cynic in me thinks this sort of nonsense is the problem with cooking competitions.  Oh well.