I live in eastern NC, so I'll offer some opinions on that area. Parker's is not worth a stop. They went over to cooking with gas long ago. It is absolutely vital that eastern NC barbecue be cooked with wood or charcoal. If it's not, it will be either a) greasy and tasteless or b) oversauced to compensate for a). Here's what is good at the moment. I am ranking in order of preference. 1. Skylight Inn(Pete Jones'), Ayden 2. Blackbeard's BBQ and C-Food, Conetoe 3. B's Barbecue, Greenville 4. Jack Cobb's, Farmville 5. Wilber's, Goldsboro All of these cook with wood except for B's, which uses charcoal. A few notes about each: The Skylight Inn puts cracklins(skin) into its barbecue, and the skin degrades(hardens)very quickly. It is essential that you eat their barbecue fresh. Either eat in the restaurant or eat there in the parking lot. I also usually get a sandwich with no slaw, as the liquid from the slaw can cause the cracklins to harden a bit as well. Jones' also offers a barbecue tray, but the way that the sandwich compresses the meat together gives you a better, more complex flavor with every bite, and the lack of slaw brings out the smoke flavor. Blackbeard's is my next favorite on the list and the smokiest of the five I listed. What I like about them is that they have a variety of very good Southern sides that change often. Standouts for me are the collards, snap beans, field peas, fried squash, and Brunswick stew. They also have fried seafood and a variety of non-bbq daily specials that you won't see in many places- turkey necks, pig feet, etc. All the vegetables are fresh, and they have excellent homemade pepper sauce for the collards. It may be hard to find though, the link in Google maps is incorrect. It's on US64-Alt between Tarboro and Conetoe. Blackbeard's is the best place I know of to get not just barbecue, but a whole host of traditional eastern North Carolina foods. B's is an institution in Greenville. They only cook a set amount of food every day though, so you need to get there early. I would say no later than 11am if you want to be guaranteed to get the bbq. Often they don't run out until later, but if you want to be sure, get there early. They also have bbq chicken, which is great. Others- Cobb's has a light smoke flavor and great mustard based slaw. Make sure to get the slaw there. Wilber's is excellent but can be a little inconsistent. Grady's BBQ in Dudley also has a very good reputation, but I haven't tried it yet. Someone mentioned Bum's downthread a bit, but I think it's overrated. Supposedly they cook with wood, but the barbecue is oversauced so badly that you can't taste any smoke. I am not impressed with their bbq. The sides are good, but mostly outclassed by Blackbeard's IMO. I also thought it was odd that they do not have any homemade pepper sauce, even though their most famous dish is their collards. I would only say that it's worth stopping if you're a collard connoisseur, because Bum's cooks cabbage collards, which taste different from regular collards and are an heirloom variety native to Pitt County that you won't find elsewhere. Otherwise, turn around and make a left onto Lee St. and head to Pete Jones'.
