Allen & Son BBQ / Pittsboro

The late, great newspaper columnist Dennis Rogers (and proudly, my friend) once pontificated in print back in the day that the absolute best NC barbecue was found only inside a football shaped map that started in Ayden (Skylight & Bum's) and ended in the west at Allen & Son BBQ. Dennis was a true Eastern NC Tar Heel born and bred gentle soul who saw Satan in ‘cue doused in thickly sweet tomato sauce: "Somebody who would [take] ketchup and put it on barbecue and give it to a child is capable of pretty much anything."

So if Wilson native and "Oracle of the Holy Grub" acknowledged Allen & Son as a bastion of righteous barbecue, then who am I to argue? Back in my days working for The Durham Herald-Sun and The News & Observer, I would always try and stop at Allen & Son whenever I was close to Chapel Hill or Hillsborough on assignment. With my hometown faves Buck Overton's and Bob Melton's an hour away, Allen & Son became by barbecue home away from home.

Sadly, the original Allen & Son BBQ at the corner of NC 86 and Millhouse Road in Orange County closed in 2018. Happily, the son part of Allen & Son, had opened a sibling restaurant down in Chatham County between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill. And even more happily, it is now owned and operated by Jimmy Stubbs of Stubbs & Son near Sanford.

I've known this Allen & Son was there, off of 15-501 just north of the Haw River, but never gave it much thought for a stop as it was kinda, sorta out of the way from wherever I was going to or returning from. That changed when I had a photo assignment in High Point and my afternoon drive home meant hitting the worst of the Triad and/or Triangle during rush hour traffic. I decided to take the slow road home (US 64) and I needed to kill some time as to not hit Apex at a bad hour either. So... what do you know? Allen & Son. Bam.

I have to admit that expectations were a tad low for the "new" Allen & Son. But then again, if they had a sandwich half as good as the original was, then it was going to probably be better than 50% of what I've had over the last few years.

Expectations. Schmexpectations. I was blown away.

Meat, piled super high with a generous (but not overpowering) smear of sweet, crunchy slaw, toppled from the steamy soft hamburger bun as I unwrapped the aluminum foil. The smell of smoke filled my nostrils as I marveled at the beautiful site before me. The pork was lightly chopped and super tender. Sauced perfectly, the cook was impeccable and everything a barbecue sandwich should be. BBQ Bros take note - THIS is how it is done.

It's been a good while since I did the Gene Furr eye roll over a barbecue sandwich. Not only did it get three - count'em - three eye rolls, I think I let out an audible "oooof" or two as I inhaled the angelic aroma and took bite after glorious bite into what I can only describe as, well, maybe, heaven.

Dennis Rogers would be proud.

9.89/10 (#4)

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Allen & Son BBQ

5650 US 15-501

Pittsboro, NC 27312