Sam Jones BBQ (Raleigh)
502 W. Lenoir StreetWe were not going to leave North Caroline without getting some BBQ.
We were on a very quick trip to North Carolina for a job assignment. We literally drove 14 hours, worked for about three, then got back in the car to drive another 14.
We were leaving Wilmington around 1:30. My colleague had a Zoom call that he had to get on from 2:00-3:00 while we were driving. We both wanted some of that Eastern Carolina BBQ before we left but we didn’t have enough time in Wilmington and really, nothing jumped out to me as a place we had to eat before we left.
My plan was to head back to Raleigh.
I found Clyde Cooper’s BBQ which had great reviews and has been in downtown Raleigh for decades….but when we got to the door about an hour before closing, there was a sign that they were already closed for the day because they ran out of food.
We needed a back up so I quickly Googled what was around us. There was another BBQ joint that amazing reviews that was only a couple of blocks away so we got in the car and headed over there.
Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh is one of two locations of this BBQ whose story goes back decades to Skylight Inn BBQ in Ayden, NC south of Greenville. Sam Jones’ grandfather, Pete Jones ran that place and Sam is now part of the family group that runs that historic BBQ joint. In 2015, Sam and a longtime Skylight employee partnered to open Sam Jones BBQ. There are now locations of that restaurant in Raleigh and Greenville.
The Raleigh location of Sam Jones BBQ is on the corner of West Lenoir Street and South West Street near downtown Raleigh. This building actually used to be a garage/repair shop named Dusty’s. It’s kind of crazy if you go back and look at the Google street view images from before 2019 to see what it was and what they’ve turned it in to now.
We walked past a really nice outdoor patio but it was way too hot to sit outside. We had been outside working all day and were still pretty sweaty. Plus, we still had some work to do so we brought the laptop inside with us. It would have been a little difficult to sit outside and work with the sun.
The restaurant is counter service and that counter is right when you walk in at the end of a long bar. We beat the dinner rush and waited for someone to notice us standing there. It took a few minutes but we both needed to look over the menu anyway so it wasn’t a big deal.
We put our orders in seperately then headed for the dining room. The space has what I’d call a pretty typical modern BBQ joint feel to it. There’s a distressed feel to the new furniture. The chairs are metal and sit on a concrete floor. The whole color palate is very neutral with greys and some soft yellow coming from the light fixtures. There are some pictures on the wall with some historical photos but they’re spaced out and not cluttering up the space.
We were given a number to put on the table when we ordered and not long after we sat down, our food started coming out.
I ordered the 2 meat combo plate but upgraded to ribs for an additional charge. That comes with two sides, I ordered fries and mac & cheese, plus a big slice of Texas Toast. With a drink, this huge plate of food cost just under $28.
I started with the fries first. They were frozen skin-on fries with a liberal application of a salt and pepper seasoning.
They were actually really good on their own, but there were two bottles of BBQ sauce on the table that I had to try so I poured some out to dip the fries in. North Carolina BBQ is a really thin vinegary sauce. Most people are more familiar with a Memphis or KC style sweet sauce and this is really different from that kind of sauce. It doesn’t stick quite as well to foods like fries but it’s really tasty if you get a good one. Both the original and sweet sauces were delicious and worked really well with the salty fries.
I kept going with the sides and dug in to the Mac N Cheese next. The side portion wasn’t a huge portion but it was overflowing from the little paper boat that was trying to contain it. I love BBQ joint Mac N Cheese with a little sauce so after I took a few bites of the delcious, creamy pasta, I covered it in the Sweet BBQ sauce to get make that creamy, cheesy sauce a little sweeter.
I surprised even myself when I ordered ribs but neither turkey or chicken really sounded good in the moment and there was no brisket. The ribs were huge spare ribs with the tips still attached. There was a whole pound of them on the plate and each one was covered in a delicious smokey rub. They’re not quite “fall off the bone”…which is actually the way ribs should be, but they pulled off very easily. The ribs had a delicious brown color to them and a thick pink smoke ring all the way through. I don’t typically like spare ribs but it’s probably because I’ve never had them cooked like this.
The final part of the plate was the BBQ pork. It’s not “pulled pork” in North Carolina. What they’re known for is smoking the whole hog then chopping up the meat and covering it in a thin, vinegary sauce. The hogs are smoked over wood on location at each of their restaurants. This plate had a huge portion of pork hiding under the ribs. I was shocked to discover how much food their was when I started unlayering things. I drowned this pork in BBQ sauce then started eating. I realized at some point I still had the Texas Toast so I put some of the pork on that, folded it over, then drenched the whole thing in more BBQ sauce. This pork was amazingly delicious. If you’re used to eating pulled pork, you’ll love this Eastern Caroline tradition.
I’m so glad we decided to wait until Raleigh to get our BBQ meal in on this trip. We were looking for a classic Eastern Carolina BBQ joint and we found it with this place. It was about 5:00 when we left Raleigh and started heading for Michigan. We made it as far as Dayton around 2 AM. We never had to stop for another meal or even snacks. We both left stuffed and happy.
SW Michigan Dining 