Our Need for BBQ

We absolutely love barbecue. We love it so much that we’re going to ask all of our friends to dress in nice clothes and eat it with us. We’re even going to have a photographer there to capture each moment when someone gets barbecue sauce on their nice clothes.

Allison believes that Texas barbecue is the best. It’s beef, usually brisket, and smoked sausage. She also believes that sauces are optional. Aaron believes Carolina barbecue is the best. It’s pork with vinegar-based sauce in Eastern Carolina or with tomato-based sauce in Western Carolina. For the sake of the wedding, we’re not going to attempt to determine which style of barbecue actually is the best. (Though, deep down, we all know that Carolina-style barbecue would win that little debate.)

The Pit

Our reception will be held at one of the best barbecue joints in North Carolina: The Pit. As they say on their website:

Our barbecue, ribs and Southern sides have helped us get plenty of attention from the media. We won a rib challenge on Food Network’s “Throwdown! with Bobby Flay.” The Pit has been on The Travel Channel’s “Man v Food” and was included in a barbecue cook-off on NBC’s “The Today Show.” The restaurant also has been included in cooking segments on ABC’s “Good Morning, America” and “The Morning Show” on CBS, and has been featured in Bon Appetit, Southern Living, Men’s Health, GQ, Imbibe, Delta Sky and Food Network magazines.

The Pit is located at 328 West Davie Street in Downtown Raleigh. A map of driving directions from Fellowship Raleigh appears below:

Our Favorite BBQ Joints

Aside from The Pit, we wanted to give a little love to some of our all-time favorite barbecue.

Rudy’s BBQ, Austin, Texas — Beef brisket that is cut from the pit right in front of you and served on butcher paper with some white bread and pickles. What more could you ask for?

The Salt Lick, Driftwood, Texas — Aaron’s favorite Texas style BBQ. This famous Driftwood, Texas BBQ joint has been featured on all kinds of national media outlets. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the Austin, Texas area.

The County Line, Austin, Texas — When Aaron was working for AMD, any catered event included BBQ from The County Line. Great all-around Texas-style BBQ.

Ole Time Barbecue, Raleigh, North Carolina — Don’t let their location, building, or website fool you: this is some seriously high quality BBQ. If you go while you’re in town for the wedding, definitely try their hush puppies too.