Editor’s
Letter
EMILY UHLAND SENIOR EDITOR
12 August/SEPTEMBER 2023
This issue BY THE Numbers
4
Seasonal recipes created by the team at Needmore Farms
5 Local food trucks to follow
2 Days spent exploring food and fun in Lexington, NC
12 Barbecue restaurants in Lexington, smoking pork shoulders over hickory coals
50 minutes Delivery time for my first Flytrex order
120 Drink combinations available through the Fiiz Drinks mobile app
PHOTO BY JONATHAN FREDIN
I grew up on neighborhood pig pickins. My dad would smoke a whole hog for our street and make his own sauce, a concoction somewhere in between Lexington-style dip and sweeter Kentucky-style sauce. Dad (Keith) still does this several times a year, for occasions like our church picnic and Tar Heel football tailgate parties. Consequently, I never had a firm stance in the North Carolina barbecue battle, despite being an THE SIGNATURE 4-POUND BANANA SPLIT AT NC native. I prefer to sample as BAR-B-Q CENTER IN LEXINGTON. much and as many styles of barbecue as I can. When Jonathan and I received an invitation to tour Lexington, NC, the heart of Western-style ’cue, I couldn’t reply fast enough. We did our best to chronicle the overnight trip on pages 50–58, highlighting an amazing variety of drinking, dining, shopping, and recreation options therein. We did not, unfortunately, have room to accurately capture the small-town personality that pervades the community, making it feel, truly, like a Hallmark Channel movie set. Generational businesses, family connections, and friendly faces greeted us at every turn. Everyone was willing and eager to share their experiences, memories, and family stories to help us get to know the area. Barbecue has certainly put Lexington on the map, with a dozen restaurants in a town of only 20,000 residents, but it really is just the beginning of what you’ll find when you plan a visit. Enjoy this delicious food issue, y’all. We sure had fun making it.