Much like deep fried seafood, NC is also known for its barbecue, specifically variations of pork from pulled to sliced to pig pickin’. Lately I’d been on this kind of deep fried run and had not really porked myself up with some barbecue and fixins’, In Southern parlance, “it’s been a minute.” Fortunately, me and Ms. M decided to do a used book tour through some spots in and around the Raleigh area and looking through all those dusty volumes can surely work up an appetite! (Hey, everyone has their own workout) Once the hunger pangs had really set in, our Google food search landed us on Sam Jones BBQ as a good option with some outdoor seating on a nice spring day.

Here we have a three meat combo of roasted chicken, smoked turkey and pulled pork with two sides—collard greens and mac and cheese for about $22. Plus something they called cornbread, but I’ll get back to that. I tried to add a fourth side of ribs but they don’t offer it as an addition only as a substitution with a $4 upcharge, oh well. Still, for what you get, it is a lot of food. And, I have to say, some pretty good food at that.

The chicken was super tender, juicy and just fell right off the bone. Well cooked, well seasoned and well…tasty. The turkey I was worried about since it is something we all know can get dry in a snap. Theirs was just as juicy and tender as the chicken and I really enjoyed the smoke on it which really boosted the flavor of what can be a boring white meat sometimes. The pulled pork continued in the same vein and while a tad more wet than I am used to (or like as it were) it was still as good as the other meats. One difference than every other pulled pork I’ve had was the addition of small bits of pork rind to add texture? Crunch? It was um, different? Not bad, just not what I am familiar with. Though it isn’t like it was some detractor from the pork, I still ate it all being the bbq pork fiend I am.

The sides were also just as good. I do enjoy some collards cooked with pork though I do have a tendency to soak my greens in vinegar. Even so, these were some tender tasty greens. I also liked what they did with the mac and cheese. It had some white creamy cheese and small crispy bits of baked cheese in the mix. Both of these were comfort food at their best. Now lets talk about that cornbread thing.

In the pic you see that white square? That is what they were calling cornbread. I am not sure where they got this idea from, but it won’t cornbread. What it really tasted (and looked) like was someone took some grits and made then as thick as possible, formed them into a loaf, the baked that loaf until it was hardened even further, then cut it in slices like bread or something. And me and Ms. M agreed, this was inedible. It was like hardtack, just not as good. It was so thick and dense the butter I tried to smother it in would not even seep inside. If I can’t butter it up then we all know it truly isn’t worth eating (for me). Even now I am still not sure about the thinking behind whatever this was so unless you are into it(?) I would pass or better yet, use it like a stone to skip it across a pond since even the birds ain’t get eat this.

Leaving aside the excuse for “cornbread” this was a darn fine chowdown with some tender juicy meats and stomach filling sides. Sam Jones does three meats and two sides really well and should be added to your barbecue restaurant list. Now if they can just work out the bread side of things I might be tempted to drive all the way to Raleigh again and meat myself up.