It’s a bit of hyperbole to refer to Durham as a BBQ mecca, but here it is: http://durhamnewsservicemainfeed.blogspot.com/2014/04/durham-becoming-bbq-mecca.html?m=1 Yet honestly, when Ed Mitchell’s Que opens (next month, as of last report) Durham will have four True ‘Cue certified wood cooking barbecue joints, which puts the mid-sized city on the BBQ map in a way that was hard to imagine just a few years ago. Durham’s already on the culinary map regionally and nationally, so it’s fitting that the city is starting to show some pride in its barbecue beyond the long-standing but gas-reliant “barbecue” restaurants that long were Durham’s go-tos.
Sure, Durham isn’t quite Lexington, NC, which has easily been the state’s BBQ standard bearer for years, and it’s sure not Austin, TX when it comes to a growing urban BBQ scene, but Durham is a pit-cooked barbecue leader among urban North Carolina communities. Let’s hope others follow the Bull City’s lead–Raleigh, are you paying attention? Charlotte, are you out there? Wilmington, do you even care? I could go on…
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Durham, Durham County, Wood-cooked |
BBQ Jew 
Wilmington just got a new BBQ place:
http://wilmingtoneats.blogspot.com/2014/04/mission-bbq.html
Thanks for your note, Robert. I actually saw this place 2 weeks ago when driving on College Road (one of my least favorite stretches of highway in NC, but that’s irrelevant). Alas, based on their website, this looks like yet another International House of Barbecue, as a BBQ buddy refers to such places–you can order anything from brisket to ribs to chicken to sausage to…you get the idea. And none of it is pit-cooked over wood.
Never thought I’d ever equate Durham with BBQ Mecca!
Still looking forward to Ed’s new place if it ever opens!
It’s odd not to see the best kept secret in Durham for beef brisket, BBQ, ribs and chicken by Honey Bee’s of Durham,NC not mentioned in this article about Durham! I will take the BBQ rib brisket chicken challenge against ANY BBQ restaurant that you listed in Durham! Although we don’t own a brick and mortar we managed to feed 17,000 people across NC last year. Come get stung!
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