Whilst the Raleigh food scene continues to evolve and there’s not much we can’t eat here, you haven’t really lived in Raleigh until you’ve tried one of these classic Southern dishes!
North Carolina is a barbecue state, and they take their barbecue seriously. Barbecue, BBQ, or ‘cue is eaten in restaurants, at college football tailgates, in backyards, and is an essential part of this state’s DNA.
Known simply as fried chicken, and in southern fried chicken the chicken is soaked in buttermilk, then coated in seasoned flour and a dish consisting of chicken pieces and either pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried.
For us, grits can be very hit and miss, and if you’re not familiar with grits, it is basically a corn-based dish, a porridge made from boiled cornmeal and best associated with a Southern breakfast.
My first experience with eating biscuits in Raleigh was in 2004 at Bojangles with sausage and white gravy which was kinda weird for us (we are used to brown gravy and have it with things like fries). And I’m like, what is this white slop, and the biscuit was way too dry!
Hush puppies are another Southern specialty, and they are very common to be served with barbecue or seafood. We’ve had some good one’s, and some not so good.