The Smoke Pit

Located at 117 E. Innes St. in Salisbury (with additional locations in Concord and Monroe), The Smoke Pit serves barbeque for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. There are daily food specials, and a full bar and catering are available.

North Carolinians can be very particular about their barbeque, so I expect some pearl-clutching from Lexington partisans when I say, without hyperbole, that The Smoke Pit is the best I’ve eaten in the state. From selection to flavor to execution, everything about my meal here was spot-on. Good service and generous portion sizes round out the equation.

Though a bit noisy, The Smoke Pit has plenty of seating, which spares you from having to eat elbow-to-elbow at a counter or wait eons for a table to free up (NC BBQ traditions both). One look at the menu, and you’ll be in for an agonizing decision as it all sounds good. Meats include wings, ribs, Cajun turkey, brisket, sausage, pork, or burnt ends. They can be enjoyed on plates with a bread and two sides, put into combos, or, in the case of pork and brisket, served atop baked potatoes. Apps, sandwiches, salads, burgers, and Tex-Mex style tacos are also available. Vegetarians, unfortunately, will have very little to choose from.

After some help from Chase, our server (an affable chap with good knowledge of the menu), my wife and I were able to settle on splitting a combo with pulled pork, burnt ends, fried okra, sweet potato tots, corn bread, and a hash brown casserole of the day. The food came out more quickly than expected, and it did not disappoint. The meats were tender and flavorful, the tots paired well with an accompanying apple butter, and the casserole was deliciously cheesy. There was not a single item that I would have qualms about reordering.

The Smoke Pit’s prices are moderate. Our combo came in a little under $30. There was plenty of food to go around, however. We wanted leftovers, and we were not disappointed.

If you are beholden to old-school Lexington or Eastern-style joints, The Smoke Pit will seem like a modern heresy. But for those who have no such allegiances, this is some damn good BBQ.

8.75/10