North Carolina > Raleigh & Durham: The Pit

You may or may not have seen The Pit on Man vs. Food and even some other Food/ Travel channel programs - but this is the most "famous" BBQ restaurant certainly in Raleigh, maybe in all of NC.

The Pit is a pretty classy BBQ joint. They have great BBQ, lot of hype behind it but I'm not a hater on success like some, The Pit has really good BBQ and if you don't think so I'd consider you a bit snobbish.

Is this the hole in the wall with smoke emanating throughout the entire restaurant, 100% authentic with a long back story/ history? No. Is famed NC pitmaster Ed Mitchell even associated with the restaurant any longer? No. Do I go there all the time even though the place is literally walkable from my home? No.

Is the food awesome, yes - yes it is.

try the ribs, try the pork, try the sides, try it all. The have great local beers on tap, its a fun place to hang out, good atmosphere. It won't change your life but it will certainly make your night.

Can be long waits on the weekends, a lot of out of towners go here after seeing it on TV. they just opened a second location in Durham which I have not been to.

Mike,

I wouldn't call the barbecue at The Pit awesome, but it is good. I think that they try to do it all - Eastern NC, Piedmont, and Kansas City styles - and come up short on all of them. I was also turned off by the feel of the place, it could have been an Olive Garden.

I wrote in my trip report:

The Pit is a good introduction to NC barbecue for Raleigh hipsters who don't have the courage to leave the city. For those of us willing to drive past the suburbs and out into the wilds of rural North Carolina, there are better choices available.

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Sorry in advance for the a-hole tone of my remarks. I've been to 13 NC barbecue restaurants since August, and The Pit doesn't make my top 5. There are two outstanding barbecue pits with 20 miles of Raleigh that are much better choices. And void of hipsters, too.

Jim

I agree with you for the most part, heck its probably not better than Clyde Cooper's which is just a few blocks away. Its not in my top 5 either, but still - I think they get a bad rep because its a nicer restaurant and they still produce pretty authentic BBQ without the red/white vinyl table cloth feel a hole in the wall would have. Obviously a very commercial place but all I was trying to say was that if you go there with expectations that The Pit is going to change your life you will likely be disappointed - but if you want consistent, excellent food you'l get it.

Ain't many hipsters in there - that place is way too mainstream for hipsters.