Restaurant review: Allen & Son Barbecue

Some of the Triangle's best barbecue is served from a cement-block building that more closely resembles a bomb shelter than a restaurant.

It doesn't help that getting to Allen & Son Barbecue is not an easy task. Like something out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, barbecue devotees must drive down a dark country road, journeying past abandoned farms and an ominous cemetery before finally enjoying some seriously good pig.

Allen & Son remains a bastion of barbecue because it is one of an increasingly small number of establishments that still smokes over hardwood coals. Where competitors have switched over to gas and electric heating to slow-cook their pig, Allen & Son relies on the transformative powers of hickory smoke to create a truly authentic and uniquely North Carolinian dining experience.

This is not to say that Allen & Son is without faults. Many of the restaurant's offerings beyond the pulled pork and ribs are forgettable. The menu itself is also quite limited-no other styles of barbecue are presented, and those not partial to pork are left with dinners of hamburger steak or fried fish not worth the trip.

But perhaps their porcine emphasis is for the better. The pork is tender, juicy and most importantly packed with a distinctive smokiness not found anywhere else in the area. You really can't get barbecue like this unless you start smoking pig yourself. Sides of hand-cut fries, hushpuppies, baked beans and Brunswick stew are respectable but seem an afterthought when judged against the restaurant's main attraction.

Comparisons between Allen & Son and Bullock's, Durham's most famous barbecue locale, are inevitable. Bullock's offers additional breadth by dabbling in all aspects of traditional cuisine, rather than focusing solely on barbecue and is marginally more affordable (making it a better choice for a group). But for the pig connoisseur, Allen & Son trounces its competition.

Diners inspired to trek over to Allen & Son are advised not to expect efficient or competent servers, clean tables or lighting that provides more than a flickering yellow glow. Nonetheless, for those craving true North Carolina-style barbecue, it's the place to go.

Allen & Son Barbecue

Dinner plates: $6.45-$11.15

Picks

Hickory-smoked pig?