Sweet Lew’s BBQ

If you were dropped blindly into Sweet Lew’s, you’d think you were in a small-town BBQ joint, not a restaurant in North Carolina’s largest urban city. The place is small and humble, with Coca-Cola, Cheerwine, and RC Cola memorabilia on the walls alongside vintage photos from when the building used to be a Texaco service station. Order the Sweet Lew Sampler at the counter from a menu scrawled on a chalkboard. You’ll get brisket, chopped pork that tastes great doused in classic Eastern North Carolina vinegar BBQ sauce, and ribs, plus two sides (the best being the mac and cheese and meaty collard greens). When the weather’s nice, take your metal baking sheet to the patio’s picnic tables and enjoy your ribs in this quiet neighborhood.