Down in North Carolina, there are many general stores which have been around for decades. I'm not talking Casey's "General Stores," but real stores that sell a little bit of everything, from food to tools to clothing. These are necessary because there isn't a decent mall anywhere near Boone.
We visited the Old Hampton Store because they also serve BBQ. The place was packed with stuff and people.
Most days they have musical entertainment. I guess I would describe this trio as Blue Grass. They were pretty dry, but the music was catchy enough to get stuck in my head.
I was itching to try Brunswick stew made from squirrel, but instead I went the safe route with smoked chicken. (You could say I "chickened out" harhar) They also offered many different BBQ sandwiches and sides such as coleslaw, baked beans, and veggies.
Despite it being so busy, service was pretty fast. My chicken was a little on the dry side, but the sauce helped. The sourdough bread was nice and soft and the green beans were fantastic, but that's not hard to screw up. Macaroni and Cheese was lacking something...I think they needed some sharp cheddar or other flavorful cheese to kick it up a notch. But what do I know? I looove Velveeta Shells n Cheese.
Richie got the BBQ pork sandwich with a side of slaw. The BBQ in North Carolina is made with a dry rub and smoker, sauce on the side. The traditional sauce is vinegar based, runnier and tangier than what you would find in the Midwest.
They are also big on sarsaparilla, ginger ale, and root beer served in glass bottles.
Richie enjoyed his sandwich, but left the slaw. Was not a fan, I guess. We found that most places down there put the slaw directly on the sandwich.
I think we were both slightly disappointed in the flavor of our first North Carolina style barbecue. Nonetheless, it tasted better and had a funner atmosphere than our Quad-Cities options of Dickie's and Famous Dave's.
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