Review Of Allen & Son Bar-B-Q 6203 Millhouse Road / Highway 86 North Chapel Hill, NC Open Tue Thru Fri 11AM-8PM Saturday 11AM-6PM Sunday & Monday - Closed Phone: (919) 942-7576 By H. Kent Craig Reviewed: February, 2008

I admit that I probably have been unfair in my 1-pig (worst of the worst) rating of Allen & Son (their #1 location north of Chapel Hill N.C. on Highway 86 . . . I've never reviewed their second location south of Chapel Hill for the record) over the years and I would like to rectify that slight and make a current, more accurate review.

When I first reviewed Allen & Son back in 1999, it was the eighth review I had done for this barbecue website of mine and despite having gone there three different times I simply had to give it my first one-pig rating here because each time I went, and go back three times I did at the urging of some friends of mine who swore by them, the 'cue back then wasn't just bad or even awful it was just plain terrible, full of uncooked fat and overcooked gristle and with a taste as bland as shreds of lightly charred cardboard which would have tasted better than what was served to me and I'm not reaching into hyperbole. That said, it has been patently unfair of me considering the vehemence of my first review not go back to them to see if they've improved since the year 2000, almost eight years of avoiding them like the plague based strictly upon three bad experiences before then.

So it was with mild trepidation to say the least when I accepted an invitation from the eminent North Carolina historian John Shelton Reed and his wife Dale Volberg Reed to join them who were fans of my site to join them for a semi-personal semi-business lunch at Allen & Son (which they've both been loyal patrons of forever) to discuss their upcoming book "Holy Smoke!" which they are going to include my Granny Betty's authentic 19th century recipe for Brunswick stew in (and reference this humble website of mine as a resource, a huge honor indeed) and just generally shoot the breeze about one of our most mutually happy subjects, that of North Carolina bar-b-q.

I have to admit surprise if not shock at my first taste of "the new" Allen & Son barbecue the other Friday. Sweet, succulent, perfectly cooked with a perfect hickory smoked flavor but not overwhelming and with no lingering "flat" or sour aftertaste at all that screamed it was slowly perfected over actual live hardwood coals for hours before being stripped from the hog's carcass and made into excellent serving fare. The only thing I didn't like about it, and this is 100% my own preference and prejudice, is that the mixed-chop-pull texture of it contained too many larger chunks sometimes the size of the end of my thumb that these poor old middle-aged teeth have a harder time chewing than the smaller and thinner pieces the meat's consistently soft flesh aside. It's moist without being soggy or having extra sauce added, cooked throughout without being dry, a correct balance which makes you want to stop and savor every bite even if the size of the piece of meat on your fork is a little too large or small for your personal tastes.

Considering that I'm bumping up Allen & Son's rating from the 1-pig ghetto all the way up to a very deserving 3-pig "almost as good as it gets", something I've never done before, if I liked the barbeque so much why didn't I go ahead and give it the full-4-pigger monte'? Mainly because, as much as I respect John Shelton Reed and his wife Dale and their very erudite and educated opinions about barbecue and many other topics as well and also the legion of fans of Allen & Son which at times have threatened to tar and feather me over the years because of their former low rating (Allen & Son, not their fans, Smile) and as much as I truly enjoyed this most recent visit to them, it was still just one time and, yeah this is a nice excuse to, I need to go back to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

Well, I can tell you that after visiting with Keith Allen who owns Allen & Son back in his outbuilding outback which houses both his "pit" (actually it's an elevated cooking rack where the hot live coals are placed underneath and the pigs are sealed for hours behind heavy iron doors) and his prep kitchen where he turns his hogs into 'cue and where, thanks to John Shelton and Dale being close acquaintances of his, I not only got to go back and see his pit and kitchen but go to sample the hot-fresh huge pot of fine porcine fare just made ready to serve the next batch of hungry lunch customers that very day and let me tell you, friends, those bites from that second unexpected serving were even better than what I had moments before in the actual restaurant.

Their hushpuppies were good but not necessarily the best but their Brunswick stew made up for them, being as good as I've ever had in a restaurant with a certain sweetness on the first bite and a certain tartness coming through on subsequent ones and the right amount of meat and vegetables, neither one being dominant in the mix, it reminding me of Melton's 'stew when they were in business.

Finding them is easy enough . . . simply take I-40, west or east depending on where you're coming from towards Chapel Hill, take the Highway 86 exit and go north like you're heading away from town, go about three-four miles and look for Mt. Sinai Road on your right and a big "Farmhouse Restaurant" sign on your left at the intersection of '86 and Millhouse Road, they're on the left at that intersection, you can't miss them nor should you want to.

Keith Allen, owner of Allen & Son Bar-B-Q, in his kitchen . . . notice the vessels full of fine porcine fare ready to be served to waiting customers.	Keith at his harwood coals-only fired barbecue "pit" getting it ready for another pig to be placed upon its holy altar.
A dish of their very delicious vanilla homemade ice cream topped with Hershey's syrup.	Five BBQ Friends, left to right, Doug Peacock, Kent Craig, Lubin Prevatt , John Shelton Reed, and Jason Ingram at Allen & Son Barbecue, Chapel Hill NC, February 2008 . . . missing that day because of work obligations was our " sixth man ", long-time friend and contributor in the form of his review page to the 'site, Chris Davis

    {Back To BBQ Page}    

Home

|

Writing

|

Personal

|

Humor

|

Blog

|

Project Mgmt.

|

N.C. Bar-B-Q

|

MP3's

|

Contact