Hursey's Bar-B-Q 1234 South Main Street Graham, NC Phone: 336-570-3838 Hours: Mon-Sat 11AM-9PM http://www.hurseysbarbq.com {They also have locations in Burlington & Gibsonville NC, respectively}

Sweet-Eatin' Eastern-NC-Bar-B-Q Perfection . . . Hursey's Bar-B-Q in Graham NC and Knightdale Seafood & BBQ, Knightdale NC by H. Kent Craig ©2007

Knightdale Seafood & BBQ 706 Money Ct (on US Hwy 64 East) Knightdale, NC 27545 Phone: (919) 266-4447 Hours: Sun--Thu 11am--9pm Fri-Sat 11am--10pm

I've been meaning to do reviews of both Hursey's and Knightdale' for some time now and every time I sat down at the laptop to crank them out something would inexplicably come in out of left field and they'd have to wait for another day. I've been eating at both places for years now, Hursey's because of my frequent east-west sojourns on I-40/85 from Raleigh to Greensboro and points west and, before the new US 264 Bypass from I-440 around Raleigh, Knightdale Seafood & BBQ because of the west-to-east jaunts I'd make down US 64 to Rocky Mount or Wilson or the Outer Banks or other points east and over the years the quality of both has remained perfectly the same 4-pig quality, never an average let alone a bad meal of barbecue at either, both being as consistently good as can be made.

Why did I begin the title of this combined review "Sweet-Eatin' . . ."? Because both, using a plain Eastern-NC-Style vinegar-based barbeque sauce, somehow using (probably) secret ingredients manage to add a sweet tang to their fine porcine fare without overdoing either the sweet-sweetness or the slightly tangy but still very pleasant aftertaste.

Why did I combine their reviews into a single one? Well (confessing with a slight sheepish grin), I have to be usually and can be a tad "efficient" with my time (translate: occasionally moderately lazy, Smile) but mainly because they taste so similar that you'd swear they have the same owners if not the same BBQ chef but they don't of course, and their mutual and individual taste while similar to others is definitely different enough to worth mentioning. If you put plates of their respective 'cue side-by-side in a blind taste test, between their consistent taste, chop, style of presentation, etc., you'd be hard pressed to tell one from the other even if you're a regular customer of one or t'other they're so deliciously similar.

If you prefer your Eastern-NC BBQ to have a more traditional plain vinegar sauce taste then you may or may not like their barbecue, it's definitely a different color in the rainbow on NC barbeque but I just don't see how anyone can sit down to a plate of either and not be impressed, though BBQ being such a personal comfort-food that I'm sure both have their detractors as well as their champions but in the end, it's simply great to sit down to either/both.

Both have their sweet tea recipes nailed down pat as well as how they prepare and cook their hushpuppies, you could just about make a meal of either's hushpuppies by themselves and their other side dishes are comparable and traditional, though Knightdale' is as much a seafood place as a barbecue one and their seafood selection is vast, good and reasonably priced and they also have a real oyster bar for those brave enough to partake of it.

Finding Knightdale Seafood & BBQ is easy, they're on the right on Highway US 64 in Knightdale, you really can't miss them. Hursey's is a tad bit more of a challenge since you have to take Exit 147 off I-85 and go what feels like a good three or four miles despite the fact the MapQuest or GoogleMaps will tell you they're closer, they're on the left.


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