THE START

After a week at the shore in Rodanthe... it was time to hit the road.

There was another barbecue joint along the outer banks that we went for some take out. We thought it was pretty good at the time, but after experiencing the "trail," the food at "Bubba's Bar-B-Q" was subpar in comparison. Bubba's did not have a vinegar based barbecue typical of eastern North Carolina... And in Frisco you can't get much further east in North Carolina!
Eastern NC "cue" should be finely chopped or shredded, dry, lean and lightly sauced. Bubba's had none of those qualities. It was ketchup based and though tasty it wasn't the same food found at other visits along the trail.
Also, Bubba's in Frisco and Avon served Mexican food on the menu and unfortunately that takes away from the whole experience of eating great barbecue!

Knowing all this, I hurtled past Bubba's along the sandbar known as the Outer Banks and took the free ferry to Ocracoke Island.

Ocracoke Island and the whimsical little town of Ocracoke feel more like Bermuda than the rest of the vacation spots along the Outer Banks. It is a slower paced place with small, winding streets to explore. I made a mental note to consider renting in town some time for a summer vacation.

The island is routinely called "The End Of The World," because without planning you can't go any further. Unless you turn around and drive back north along the Outer Banks, you have to take a ferry. The trip to Cedar Island takes over 2 hours. The Ocracoke to Swan Quarter run takes 2 1/2 hours. Both legs cost $15.00 a car. We went to Cedar Island and spent the time lazily pondering maps and smacking our lips at the prospect of eating Eastern North Carolina Barbeque.

THE NORTH CAROLINA BARBECUE TRAIL

The North Carolina Barbecue Society has on its website a trail that lists over 2 dozen barbecue pits across the state. It was an alluring goal; to follow the trail from Eastern NC and the town of Ayden all the way west through to Murphy... a nearly 500 mile food crawl.
To be included in the society's "trail" an establishment had to meet with several requirements:
a) Pits have to be fueled by wood or charcoal, and cooked in the traditional fashion.
b) They had to make their own sauce.
c) Be in continuous operation for at least 15 years.
d) Taste good!
e) Well liked in their community.

Determined to eat our way from Eastern North Carolina and its spicy vinegar sauce barbecue all the way through the "ketchupy" stuff found in the western half of the state, we realized it was a challenge to do it in the week we allotted for the trek.
We lasted 2 days!




http://ncbbqsociety.com/