Restaurant Review: Hursey's Pig Pickin' BBQ in Burlington, North Carolina

We did a couple of short road trips to North Carolina when I lived in Richmond, to visit various locations of JR's Tobacco Outlet. Now, you all may not be aware that the east coast has what they call "North Carolina BBQ" and it is quite different than what the rest of the country thinks of when they use the term barbecue. Personally, I hate the stuff.. but , when in Rome....

So we got hungry while shopping in Burlington one trip and accosted some nice local gal. She suggested we try Hursey's Pig Pickin' BBQ. This is a Ranch-style log cabin-type building and the down-home feel starts as you pull into the parking lot and see two signs: Drive thru is that-a-way and Parking is this-a-way. I love it. When you first enter the building, you are in an ante room that has an order counter strictly for take out. They must get a lot of take out business to have that so prominent, but it kinda confused us until they grinned and and pointed through the arch to where tables were.

The dining room continues the log cabin feel (even though the inside walls are actually brick, reminiscent of the Three Little Pigs) and the walls are lined with Rockwell-esque pictures by Larry Johnson, one of their local artists, along with a variety of group photos of the local High School sports teams. Like I said, very homey.

Our waitress was one of the friendliest gals I've ever seen in the restaurant industry. Dressed in jeans and a red Hursey's T-shirt, she was all smiles and very outgoing. I don't think a tornado coulda got her down. She got a great tip. heh.

So, to Hursey's menu... very small. This is where I stop gushing about them. I'm sorry, I just do not like vinegary BBQ with coleslaw on top! Sue me. I won't take stars away because that's what they serve... I can't downgrade a place because of being exactly what it says it is, yanno? But I don't have to like the food. My road tripping companion liked it though. Compared to other North Carolina Barbecue places, Hursey's Pig Pickin' BBQ was pretty middle of the road. My baby back ribs ($7.95) were tough. I have never in my life had tough baby back ribs. I'm thinking maybe they brought regular ribs by mistake? Who knows. They sucked though. He ordered a large Chopped Plate ($5.75) thinking that meant a BBQ sandwich. The meat was chopped alright, but no bun. huh? Oooook.. seems they only do BBQ Sandwiches on Wednesday. DOH! Both of our orders did come with cole slaw, and it was actually pretty good.. .very creamy. See, I like creamy cole slaw a great deal. Just not ON my meat. We also both got French fries with our meals and those were kinda really bad. Hard. and over cooked, those. Blech.

I knew I shoulda gone with the chicken, but when I saw they didn't have mashed potatoes, I was discouraged and went with the ribs. Next time he cons me into one of these places I'm sticking with chicken!

They are very family-oriented so do bring the kids. They do have children-sized platters for a little less (not much less though). Vegetarians will positively hate this place. So unless you will eat Flounder, there is nothing here for you except cole slaw... sorry. Look, it is called Hursey's Pig Pickin' BBQ fer Odin's sake. you cannot expect a place with a name like that to be anything other than meat-eater's heaven.

Hursey's is clean, including the bathroom. The staff was extra-good, and I loved the ambiance. I just didn't like the food. So, I do recommend it, reservedly so, for folks who do happen to like North Carolina BBQ. Fact is, this was a one-time visit and we could have stumbled in on a bad day. Perhaps their fries are usually much better, same with the ribs. The place is cute, and the Burlington locals rave about it. Yeah, go ahead.

1834 S. Church St
Burlington, NC
(336) 226-1694