Review Of
Short Sugar's Bar-B-Q
Reidsville, NC

~~~Sit-Down Restaurant Address~~~
234 S. Scales Street
Reidsville, N.C. 27320
336-349-9128 (Dining Room)

~~~Drive-Thru Address~~~
(both are at the same location,
just different street addresses)
1320 S. Scales Street
Reidsville, N.C. 27320
336-342-7487 (Drive-Thru)


by
William Thomas Walker   ©2000

     Short Sugar's Bar-B-Q in Reidsville is definitely 120 mile quality barbeque. That is the miles I rack up round trip about every three weeks as I make my pilgrimage to what I affectionately call " The Temple of True Barbecue ".

     About 30 people on my barbecue list serve agree. I average picking up 25 pounds of take out barbecue orders each trip for barbecue acolytes who work for UNC at Walter R. Davis Library. Patrons range from the head librarian to the night janitors with the occasional professor emeritus.

     The defining qualities of Short Sugar's Bar-B-Q are its incredible leanness and its remarkable consistency from order to order. Both the wonderfully coarsely hand chopped and sliced BBQ are just perfectly moist and lean perfectly cooked pork. Orders are hand chopped from the shoulders as the waitress places it. I am in email contact with Dave Wilson who manages and they may start chopping my order before I arrive...that's not the usual case. The twin BBQ pits are only a few steps from the chopping area . There are stacks of hickory wood behind the 1950's style diner.

     Short Sugar's slaw is my favorite of all the BBQ places that I have tried. I hate the " red slaw " style of western or Lexington Style BBQ. The mayonnaise is usually greatly over done in places further east such as Bullock's in Durham or Bob's in Creedmore. Short Sugar's slaw is more coarsely grated than most eastern style but finer than Lexington style. It is lightly tossed in its dressing ....not swimming in it. It is not too sweet either.

      The hush puppies at Short Sugar's are their only weakness. When I first started going there several years ago , they were barely eatable because the oil temperature was too low making them too greasy. That has been corrected but while they are O.K., you wouldn't want baskets of them such as you get at Bullock's BBQ. Don't worry....you get five. More room for a second order of BBQ.

      I recommend getting their BBQ tray, consisting of a paper tray much like ground meat was distributed at butcher's shops, with 1/2 BBQ and 1/2 slaw. For take out , I prefer the sliced for sandwiches. Short Sugar's BBQ is so lean that it is frustrating trying to make a sandwich with the chopped. You can ask the waitresses for a greater portion of the crisper outer meat . BBQ plates come with french fries. They are unremarkable and I like to stick to the basics.

     Short Sugar's barbecue sauce is most unusual. It clearly is not western North Carolina or Lexington style. It has no tomato products in it. It is not purely eastern either. It is dark like soy sauce but is sweet. I think brown sugar is a possible component. It makes an excellent marinade for meats. Hot sauce is on the table for those needing more fiery flavor.

     I work in Chapel Hill but live in Hillsborough. I used to go to Short Sugar's by taking Highway 70 to Burlington and taking Highway 87 to Reidsville. I turn left after the Bingo Parlor onto a street that takes me to South Scales street and the restaurant. My preferred route now is to take Highway 86 North to Yanceyville, take Highway 158 West to Highway 150, and continue on 150 to Highway 87. This is a wonderfully scenic route passing a number of historic Federal-style houses and lovely rural vistas.

Please click on this Yahoo!Maps button

to see a map showing exactly where in Reidsville that Short Sugar's is located, thank you.

William Thomas Walker

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