Bob Garner's previous books are combined, updated, and expanded into one volume, creating the ultimate reference to North Carolina barbecue.

In 1924, Bob Melton of Rocky Mount opened one of North Carolina's first sit-down barbecue restaurants. About the same time, Sid Weaver and Jess Swicegood built modest structures to replace the side-by-side tents on Lexington's courthouse square where they had been selling barbecue since 1919. Ever since then, one of the favorite pastimes in the state has been searching for good barbecue joints. In 1994, Bob Garner began doing short features about barbecue for UNC-TV's statewide public-television magazine program, North Carolina Now. In 1996, he published North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time and produced a one-hour television special based on the book. He was soon known as "the barbecue man" in North Carolina. In this book, Garner describes what he feels are the 100 best barbecue restaurants in the state. They range from well-known establishments to little-known holes in the wall. In Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbecue, you'll find the authoritative reference for those interested in preserving the tradition of a disappearing, rural-based lifestyle through the patronage of great barbecue joints from the mountains to the sea. Book jacket.

In North Carolina Barbecue, Bob Garner takes us on a delectable journey across the state in search of the best examples of this distinctive North Carolina delicacy.

Garner preserves the heritage and tradition of a disappearing rural lifestyle while showing how barbecue continues to evolve. Packed full of recipes for barbecue and popular side dishes, sidebars with useful tips, barbecue-related news, and features, and profiles of past and present influential pit masters and barbecue aficionados. The definitive guide to anything and everything pertaining to North Carolina's favorite food.

In this book, Garner discusses signature North Carolina dishes and provides historical background, recipes, preparation tips, and listings of venues

North Carolina is home to the longest continuous barbecue tradition on the North American mainland. Now available for the first time in paperback, Holy Smoke is a passionate exploration of the lore, recipes, traditions, and people who have helped shape North Carolina's signature slow-food dish. A new preface by the authors examines the latest news, good and bad, from the world of Tar Heel barbecue, and their updated guide to relevant writing, films, and websites is an essential. They trace the origins of North Carolina 'cue and the emergence of the heated rivalry between Eastern and Piedmont styles. They provide detailed instructions for cooking barbecue at home, along with recipes for the traditional array of side dishes that should accompany it. The final section of the book presents some of the people who cook barbecue for a living, recording firsthand what experts say about the past and future of North Carolina barbecue. Filled with historic and contemporary photographs showing centuries of North Carolina's "barbeculture," as the authors call it, Holy Smoke is one of a kind, offering a comprehensive exploration of the Tar Heel barbecue tradition.

North Carolina is home to the longest continuous barbecue tradition on the North American mainland. Authoritative, spirited, and opinionated (in the best way), Holy Smoke is a passionate exploration of the lore, recipes, traditions, and people who have helped shape North Carolina's signature slow-food dish. Three barbecue devotees, John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney, trace the origins of North Carolina 'cue and the emergence of the heated rivalry between Eastern and Piedmont styles. They provide detailed instructions for cooking barbecue at home, along with recipes for the traditional array of side dishes that should accompany it. The final section of the book presents some of the people who cook barbecue for a living, recording firsthand what experts say about the past and future of North Carolina barbecue. Filled with historic and contemporary photographs showing centuries of North Carolina's "barbeculture," as the authors call it, Holy Smoke is one of a kind, offering a comprehensive exploration of the Tar Heel barbecue tradition.