Review of Mitchell's Bar-B-Q, Wilson, NC

{Out of business for good as of March, 2005}

Review Of Mitchell's Bar-B-Q
Wilson, NC

By

H. Kent Craig

Ed Mitchell, owner and pitmaster of Mitchell's Bar-B-Q, Wilson, NC

To find Mitchell’s Bar-B-Q in Wilson, NC, you really don’t need a map, you just need your nose, ‘need your nose to follow that unmistakable but almost-never-smelt odor anymore of real pig being slow-cooked on real honest-to-goodness oak and hickory hardwood red-hot coals for hours upon hours under the attentive care of Ed Mitchell, owner and pitmaster of Mitchell’s Bar-B-Q. You can literally smell that make-you-hungry-before-you-ever-see-the-place-for-the-first-time wafting of the best Eastern-NC-Style BBQ that North Carolina has to offer a mile or more before you get there, and yes, it is worth the drive from wherever to get there and partake of it.

I’ve been going to Mitchell’s for years. My old boss David Gaunce who used to own Superior Plumbing in Wilson whom I worked for as his project manager and estimator a few years back first turning me on to Mitchell’s, they being about a mile from Superior’s old office and we eating there frequently despite David’s problems with high cholesterol. After the bad flood from Hurricane Floyd that destroyed most of Wilson in 1996 and had floodwaters up as high as the second floor private dining area, Ed and family rebuilt and the barbecue since then has been, if this is actually possible, even slightly better than it was before "the flood".

At a fairly consistent medium chop with enough slightly larger pieces thrown in for a better chew factor, the meat is both thoroughly cooked yet oh-so succulent and moist, not dry at all, and the smoky flavor of the fourteen to sixteen hours of slow cooking over open coals enhances rather than overwhelms the meat.

Mitchell’s has been and is right now the truly "best of the best", and no further superlatives can or need by applied to it.

The dining area is clean and spacious, and unlike a lot if not most other barbecue restaurants, their restrooms are kept spotless. As a licensed Master Plumber for almost thirty years who has done the plumbing and heating installations and aftermarket service on a couple of hundred restaurants as well as having done many actual restaurant designs as a consultant, I can tell that the cleanliness of a restaurant’s bathroom is usually indicative of the quality of both the food and the service, which Mitchell’s in unmatched in.

For the sides, they offer the traditional such as excellent hushpuppies, potato salad, baked beans and string/pole beans, and more traditional Southern side dishes you don’t often find such as mustard greens, turnip greens, yams/sweet potatoes, and even rutabagas. If you’re a native and have grown up eating banana pudding or if you’re new to Southern culture and cuisine, you simply have to try their homemade banana pudding for dessert, it’s like your grandmother used to make. Their iced tea is about as good as you can make it, rich enough to where the ice melting in your glass won’t cut its flavor but not too thick where it unsettles your stomach.

To find Mitchell’s the first time, the easiest way is to take US Highway 264 to Wilson and then take US 301 North Exit, going north into town . . . Mitchell’s will be on your left, on the 301 South side of the highway, and as you approach it if you’ve never been there before, the front of the building actually faces north catecorner to the highway (the city fathers in Wilson made them build it this way) and their somewhat small sign (again, it’s as large as city officials would let them make it) is easy to miss the first time. What I do is make a left at Singletary Street which a corner of their property and their large grey cinderblock exterior building abuts, go down about one hundred yards to the next little street, their building will be on your right all the way now, make a right onto that little residential street and then make another right about fifty feet further down into their parking lot; it’s easier than it sounds, promise. Leaving, you just make a right out of their parking lot into the mainlines of traffic on South Ward Blvd./US 301 South to get back to US Highway 264. If you miss being able to turn left onto Singletary Street, just go a block up to the next light, you’ll see their building and property all the way up to the light almost on your left, and then make a U-turn back to them; they are easy to find, promise. There’s a link below to a Yahoo map of their location at 6228 South Ward Blvd. in Wilson, for your convenience.

When you go, don’t be shy about asking to see "the boss", Ed Mitchell, he is one of the nicest people you ever want to meet and will just love to talk barbecue with you, he is a true pitmaster and loves his craft and is happy to share his passion with you!

Front View Of Mitchell's	Driving north on South Ward Blvd. in Wilson, NC, coming up on Mitchell's from the south, they're across the street at the corner of South Ward and Singletary Street, the front of their building facing due north.
Mitchell's Dining Room	The large plate of perfectly pit-ccooked Eastern-NC-Style barbecue at Mitchell's I ate for lunch last Saturday.
Map of Mitchell's Bar-B-Q, 6228 Ward Blvd Wilson, NC 27893-6486, Phone 252-291-9189, closed Mondays, open Tuesday through Sunday 10AM to 8PM

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{Out of business for good as of March, 2005}

Ed Mitchell, owner and pitmaster of Mitchell's Bar-B-Q, Wilson, NC

Front View Of Mitchell's

Driving north on South Ward Blvd. in Wilson, NC, coming up on Mitchell's from the south, they're across the street at the corner of South Ward and Singletary Street, the front of their building facing due north.

Mitchell's Dining Room

The large plate of perfectly pit-ccooked Eastern-NC-Style barbecue at Mitchell's I ate for lunch last Saturday.