How it all began

North Carolina barbecue brought about one of Jane's and my big relationship milestones. About seven months after we started dating, I invited her to Greensboro for the 4th of July. "We can have Stamey's Barbecue!" I told her rapturously. Jane was duly enthusiastic and it was only after I had her attention that I allowed that a trip from NYC to Greensboro for lunch not only meant that she would meet my parents, but that we would stay with my parents. We laughed nervously, when I said this.

When my parents picked us up at the airport, Stamey's was the first place we went. We took it to Country Park and ate lunch by the charming and somewhat rectangular lake around which the park is built. That meal took on a special poignancy since my mother passed away unexpectedly the following month. It was one of the last meals I ever ate with her. It was the last Stamey's with her and growing up in my house, Stamey's was a was a very big deal.

Jane bought a guide to North Carolina barbecue in the airport on the way home. Perusing it, I had to admit that despite my family's enthusiasm for barbecue sandwiches and hushpuppies, I was almost entirely ignorant of the regional variations. I couldn't authoritatively say what was Lexington barbecue, or comment on the virtues of vinegar versus tomato based sauce. The first trip for us as a couple was followed by several more in quick succession; to scatter my mother's ashes on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks, and then to go kayaking with my father on the the New River. Each of these trips included an excursion to a new barbecue restaurant. The added bonus was that we could do it in honor of my mother. We visited Wilber's in Goldsboro and Carolina Bar-B-Q in Statesville. We started to talk about how great it would be to organize a trip to the state dedicated to really appreciating the pleasures of pulled pork. Traveling across the state for a week or so would allow me to catch up with 5-6 sets of friends and countless family that I almost never get to see. After several somewhat indulgent vacations, we decided that 2012 might the year to stay closer to home. It seemed perfect year to dedicate ourselves to become barbecue aficionados.