8. Wilson County -- Wilson -- 4/8/06
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_County%2C_NC
Leaving Tarboro, Laura and I decided that we needed to get our grub on. Courthouse chasing takes a while and really makes you hungry. When you're in this part of the world, there's only one thing you're allowed to eat: Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ. That's right...Eastern. It's the junk.
People may debate this, but Eastern NC BBQ headquarters is in the big city of Wilson (there should be no debate on which is better, Eastern or Western NC...it's definitely Eastern. Alright, I have to admit, the debate is fun). Wilson is where the tobacco meets the pigs in the county with the water tower with a rooster on it on I-95 ("Wide Awake Wilson!"). It's NC agriculture in a nutshell...minus the apples.
Laura and I decided to get the courthouse and head on over to a BBQ joint. In Nashville, Laura's teacher co-worker person said that we should try Bill's BBQ. I grew up eating Parker's BBQ while driving along I-95. I thought, hey, Bill's is worth a shot.
Hold on, before we get to the BBQ experience, we have to talk about the Courthouse!
This one was pretty easy to find, and it was surrounded by cops. Cops everywhere. You folks in Wilson need to start obeying the law, or something! It started raining, which is one reason we're standing under the awning, but we also needed to get back far enough to get the courthouse in the picture. Reminds me of a train station. If you look closely at the clock, it's approaching 2pm, which means it's TIME TO EAT BBQ!
Now, let us take some time to explain NC BBQ. It's good. I'll save my breath a little bit: if you are unfamiliar with NC BBQ, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. You must stop here and click on this link: http://www.northcarolina.com/stories/bbq.html
Hi! Welcome back! I'm so glad we're now on the same page about NC BBQ. Mmmmmm. Oh? You didn't actually read it? Here's another chance, because what I'm about to talk about won't make much sense if you didn't read it: http://www.northcarolina.com/stories/bbq.html
Alright. Good! Now I can explain Bill's! Like I said, growing up, we'd sometimes stop at Parker's BBQ which is crowded, good, and humble-looking, but we decided to try out Bill's. Bill's was almost like tourist trap...the complex was huge! They even have a convention center! One part had burnt down, but they still had the buliding just for walk-in take-outs, and the line of cars wrapped around the enormous parking lot. There were at least 20 cars in line, and the board in which you place your order was on the far side of the parking lot away from the building...so you can place your order 15 cars back.
We went into the buffet area of the restaurant. I hadn't really been to a BBQ buffet before...I've been to plenty of pig pickin's, which are practically buffets, but not really a big buffet like this. Not only could you get the BBQ chopped already on the buffet, but there was a cooker with the pig on it right on the buffet line as well. I thought this was the coolest thing ever...an indoor pig pickin'. Even the sweet meats were included. My mom loves innards, though I didn't inherit that trait. Man, I enjoyed my BBQ mixed with cole slaw with hush puppies, potato salad and banana pudding. Oh man, it hit the spot.
But Courthouse Chasing wasn't over for the day...not in the least! On to Johnston County!
People may debate this, but Eastern NC BBQ headquarters is in the big city of Wilson (there should be no debate on which is better, Eastern or Western NC...it's definitely Eastern. Alright, I have to admit, the debate is fun). Wilson is where the tobacco meets the pigs in the county with the water tower with a rooster on it on I-95 ("Wide Awake Wilson!"). It's NC agriculture in a nutshell...minus the apples.
Laura and I decided to get the courthouse and head on over to a BBQ joint. In Nashville, Laura's teacher co-worker person said that we should try Bill's BBQ. I grew up eating Parker's BBQ while driving along I-95. I thought, hey, Bill's is worth a shot.
Hold on, before we get to the BBQ experience, we have to talk about the Courthouse!
This one was pretty easy to find, and it was surrounded by cops. Cops everywhere. You folks in Wilson need to start obeying the law, or something! It started raining, which is one reason we're standing under the awning, but we also needed to get back far enough to get the courthouse in the picture. Reminds me of a train station. If you look closely at the clock, it's approaching 2pm, which means it's TIME TO EAT BBQ!
Now, let us take some time to explain NC BBQ. It's good. I'll save my breath a little bit: if you are unfamiliar with NC BBQ, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. You must stop here and click on this link: http://www.northcarolina.com/stories/bbq.html
Hi! Welcome back! I'm so glad we're now on the same page about NC BBQ. Mmmmmm. Oh? You didn't actually read it? Here's another chance, because what I'm about to talk about won't make much sense if you didn't read it: http://www.northcarolina.com/stories/bbq.html
Alright. Good! Now I can explain Bill's! Like I said, growing up, we'd sometimes stop at Parker's BBQ which is crowded, good, and humble-looking, but we decided to try out Bill's. Bill's was almost like tourist trap...the complex was huge! They even have a convention center! One part had burnt down, but they still had the buliding just for walk-in take-outs, and the line of cars wrapped around the enormous parking lot. There were at least 20 cars in line, and the board in which you place your order was on the far side of the parking lot away from the building...so you can place your order 15 cars back.
We went into the buffet area of the restaurant. I hadn't really been to a BBQ buffet before...I've been to plenty of pig pickin's, which are practically buffets, but not really a big buffet like this. Not only could you get the BBQ chopped already on the buffet, but there was a cooker with the pig on it right on the buffet line as well. I thought this was the coolest thing ever...an indoor pig pickin'. Even the sweet meats were included. My mom loves innards, though I didn't inherit that trait. Man, I enjoyed my BBQ mixed with cole slaw with hush puppies, potato salad and banana pudding. Oh man, it hit the spot.
But Courthouse Chasing wasn't over for the day...not in the least! On to Johnston County!
posted by Charles @ 10:30 PM
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