While we were in town for the PC meeting, we wanted to make sure to eat some local favorites. What is Raleigh known for? Barbecue. A local favorite located only blocks from the convention center is The Pit, which is perhaps described as a gourmet barbecue restaurant.
Our server easily identified our group for the out-of-towners that we were, and shared with us some of the details about the food. Eastern North Carolina barbecue differs from that served in other locations by its more considerable use of vinegar. The sauces and flavorings used on the food were lighter in color than I'd expect from a typical jar of BBQ sauce, and they definitely had a sharper taste to them. The other distinction is that some of the menu items were "chopped" into smaller sized bits than you'd expect from a typical Texas "pulled pork," for example. We loved the food, and thought it was terrific.
One of our committee members (Tracy Camp, program co-chair extraordinaire) is a vegetarian, and kept us honest in making sure she was able to eat as well. The Pit has a barbecued tofu dish that is incredibly good. Tracy asked many of us to taste her food, saying "are you sure this isn't chicken?" I'm happy to confirm that yes, it was indeed tofu, and we highly recommend the dish to anyone.
The Pit is located one block north and three blocks west of the convention center, at 328 W. Davie St. It gets really busy: visit the website and make a reservation for lunch or dinner.
On the other end of the spectrum (but definitely requiring a car to get there) is Ole Time BBQ, a hole-in-the-wall shack that serves huge plates of BBQ with fixins' for a couple bucks, and giant pitchers of iced tea. I'll be going there at some point and would be happy to take others.
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