3 NC BBQ joints make Southern Living’s list of best new barbecue in the South
Two of the top new barbecue joints in the South are stoking their fires in Raleigh.
Southern Living released its picks for the 22 best new barbecue joints in the South this week, naming two Triangle restaurants at the top of the class.
Downtown Raleigh restaurant Longleaf Swine earned the 12th spot on the list and North Raleigh’s Lechon Latin BBQ Joint took the 21st spot. Asheville’s Huli Sue’s kicked off the list at 22.
For the list, Southern Living barbecue editor Robert Moss considered barbecue restaurants that have opened since 2021, surveying the Carolinas, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Virginia. In the past, Moss has put the magazine’s spotlight on the Triangle’s red hot barbecue scene and included several North Carolina joints among the very best in the South.
Longleaf Swine
300 E Edenton St, Raleigh. 984-200-9649 or longleafswine.com
Owned by Marc Russell and Adam Cunningham, Longleaf Swine is Raleigh’s only market-style barbecue joint, where diners can move through a line and have their smoked meats cut and weighed to order. While clearly a modern barbecue joint, Moss praised Longleaf Swine’s commitment to authenticity, particularly North Carolina’s claim to fame whole hog style.
“The paper-lined trays piled high with thick-sliced brisket and meaty spareribs definitely nod toward Texas, but the splendid whole hog, chopped into long juicy strands and flecked with red pepper, is pure Eastern North Carolina,” Moss wrote.
Lechón Latin BBQ & Bar
5959 Triangle Town Blvd Ste. 2121, Raleigh. 919-793-9913 or lechonlatinbbq.com
Born in a former California Pizza Kitchen, Lechón Latin BBQ is one of the Triangle standouts blending the pork traditions of North Carolina and Latin America. Moss highlighted the crispy pork skin as a favorite bite plus the restaurant’s empanadas.
“Inside the Triangle Town Center mall, this large-format restaurant features peppery lechón concuero (roasted pig with crispy skin), crisp-skinned rotisserie chicken, and an array of meat-filled empanadas,” Moss wrote.
Huli Sue’s
1 Page Ave Suite 150, Asheville. 828-505-0397 or hulisuesbbq.com
One of the most distinctive new barbecue restaurants in the South, Huli Sue’s blends Texas and Hawaiian flavors.
“Texas and Hawaii meet unexpectedly in the North Carolina mountains, with slow smoked brisket and baby back ribs alongside loco moco and huli-marinated chicken,” Moss wrote in the story.
These 64 barbecue joints helped define North Carolina ‘cue. They may reshape its future.
