Winter 2025-2026 – John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog
It’s getting cold out there, my friends.
Here we feel but the penalty of Adam
The seasons difference, the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter wind
The icy fang and churlish chiding are only going to get worse, much worse. That is, unless you go to Florida or other points south for a break — maybe St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grand Cayman, or Costa Rica.
You can fly to Florida and spend your vacation with, at best, a bad cold after spending a dismal night in a crowded airport after your flight is cancelled, or you can drive and minimize your global warming impact. The danger of driving is endless unhappy meals at the fast food chains that infest interstate exits. Fear not. I have the solution. Here are restaurants that (1) are genuinely good and often truly great, (2) are locally owned (no chains!), (3) are no more than 15 minutes off I-95, and (4) that serve the food pretty quickly so you can get on your way again. And here they are, presented in order from north to south, along with advice on options for overnight stays all along the way. There also is a link for those headed to the southwest coast of Florida.
The 15 minute limitation leaves out many great places I dearly love, but there have to be limits. When I follow my stomach it takes me three days to drive the six hours from Washington to the mid-Carolina beaches (near Morehead City). If you want to spread the drive over a couple of weeks, we can talk.
The list links to a review of each place (click on the red-text link), or if I haven’t reviewed it, there’ll be a link to it’s website, if there is one. Be sure to check hours, inside and outside seating, and other details in advance. And rely on GPS as a bak-up to my directions.Ready? Here we go.
Virginia
First, a warning: aggressive Virginia State Troopers lurk between DC and Richmond, and farther south local law enforcement generates much revenue around Emporia
The first place you come to headed south from Washington (and the last chance when you’re headed north) is Big Bad W on US 1/Richmond Highway in Stafford. Take exit 143A and hook back to the left on US 1 a 3249, in an unassuming shopping center on the west side of US 1. Out back is an all-wood cooker, and inside is a fine vinegar-pepper sauce. In between is Mr. Tevin Polite, who knows how to cook great pork.
The first city after Washington is Fredericksburg, and an old favorite barbecue place that fell into decline (they switched from wood to gas) has been reborn and the food has been upgraded by new owner Matt Deaton. Allman’s Bar-B-Q now, or once again, has delicious wood-cooked barbecue, some of the best in Virginia.
Another Fredericksburg gem is the Mason-Dixon Cafe, only 10 minutes from 95 at either the US 17 or VA 3 exits, north and south of town, respectively. You can get off at one exit and back on the other. The food is tasty, the Googie architecture is striking, and Carl’s, a legendary ice cream place, is right next door.
If you want top notch ribs — and I don’t advise eating ribs while driving — the best place near Richmond is The Original Ronnie’s, a short drive east of 95. There’s a picnic table outside, but check for indoor service.
You can have a great meal, although it’s likely to last a while, at ZZQ Texas Craft Barbecue. Their brisket is just sensational, a top contender for the best brisket in the East. If pastrami is a daily special, order it.
Just over 15 minutes from I-95 via 295, Redemption Barbecue has probably the best pork barbecue in Virginia, and a kaleidoscope of other treats, from Cuban sandwiches to Chicago pizza to very good pastrami.
Another pastrami option is Perly’s, is your last shot at a Jewish-style deli until you get deep into Florida.
North Carolina
The first opportunity to stop is just across the North Carolina line just before you hit Rocky Mount. Take the Dortches/Red Oak exit and go to Smith’s Red and White and pick up some of their sensational air dried sausage. What the heck is air dried sausage? Read this. Next door is a fine meat and three. Many people spend the night in Rocky Mount, which has a zillion motels. But don’t — drive on to Wilson.
As an aside and a public service for the health-conscious — exit east onto NC 97 and follow your GPS to Boogie’s Turkey BBQ in Elm City. This isn’t smoked turkey, it’s turkey BBQ a la North Carolina, chopped with a vinegar pepper sauce.
Wilson can be a great place to stop for the night. You can have a fantastic steak at the Beefmastor, and the tailgating there while people wait for a table is an experience not to be missed. In the morning have a cat head breakfast biscuit at Flo’s before you get back on 95. Their pork tenderloin biscuit is legendary.
A very popular lunch or dinner stop in Wilson is Parker’s Barbecue. Nancy, Liza, and I are big fans.
Parker’s has wonderful corn sticks. If you haven’t tried corn sticks, definitely stop at Parker’s. Parker’s also has exceptional fried chicken, and their pork is graced with one of the best sauces around. It also perks up the Brunswick Stew. The prices are shockingly low and Parker’s has a warm homey feel that’s especially nice on a long trip. For the local competition (especially for fried gizzards and chicken pastry), head over to Marty’s, a favorite of my ex-Wilson cousins.
A bit farther south, a 10-minute detour takes you to Stephenson’s. Exit onto I-40 North and take the first exit west onto 210, then a right on 50. Or use your GPS. Stephenson’s serves some of the very best Eastern North Carolina Barbecue on earth — certainly the best within such easy reach of I-95. Definitely try it. Their barbecued chicken and fried okra also are standouts.
Farther south, Lumberton is a long-time stopping point for trips to Florida. Long-time means that a lot of hotels on the interstate are, well, beyond their sell-by date, but there are also new hotels. My Hungry Onion food discussion group friend, vinouspleasure, likes Arnold’s, a local place just off the interstate, for their bar food (get the fried dill pickles). But you should’ve stopped in Wilson.
South Carolina
Just across the South Carolina line, Schuler’s Bar-B-Que is an excellent place to stop for lunch and a break with its deck overlooking a pond where you can sit and enjoy lunch . There’s a separate “country store” next door. Take exit 181A for Hwy 38/Latta and, just past the old cotton press on the right, you’ll notice a huge American flag. That’s Shuler’s. Go through the buffet, on which the barbecue (with the best mustard based sauce I’ve ever tasted), fried chicken, and many other foods are kept fresh and hot. Or order a la carte. Either way, the food is excellent.
Just down the road, Florence has a terrific site, Elliot’s BBQ Lounge, which is co-located with Seminar Brewing. Elliot Moss Cookes whole hogs (as well as ribs, chicken, and salmon) over wood coals with skill that made him something of a sensation in Asheville. If you choose Florence for an overnight, you can also enjoy the craft beer at Seminar Brewing. I loved their Pixel IPA. Florence also has a Buc-ee’s, and if you’ve never experienced a Buc-ee’s, you have a wonder in store.
If it’s open (11:00 to 2:00 Thursday-Saturday — plan your trip accordingly), absolutely positively stop at McCabe’s Bar-B-Q in Manning. It, too, is a buffet, all you can eat, and it, too, cooks whole hog over a pit and does it superbly. It’s probably my favorite spot in the state. The vegetables on the buffet are sensational, and they do a brilliant job on South Carolina local specialities like hash (wow!) and purleau.
If McCabe’s is closed, you should try D&H, also in Manning. Their buffet has world class hash and rice, and also fried chicken, top notch vegetables, and solid pork.
If you have lots of time, make the big detour to Charleston, a wonderful place well worth a few days. If you do, try Melvin’s for superb South Carolina barbecue and hash, Rodney Scott’s for whole hog, or Lewis for Texas brisket and sausage, but definitely go to Palmira for the absolutely best beef barbecue I’ve ever had anywhere.
Or you can eat at one of Charleston’s famous high-end places, but Bowen’s Island will be more fun. For more, search “Charleston” on the blog and the Charleston Notebook on Robert Moss’s invaluable Cue Sheet.
If you’re taking a break in Hilton Head, the best restaurant there is Red Fish. You’ll find more places if you search “Hilton Head” on the Blog.
Georgia
As you enter Georgia from the north, you come to Savannah. The Campaign for Real Barbecue Georgia page mentions three spots in Savannah or, again, you can try some great high end restaurants. For my vegan reader, whom I have not forgotten, you can almost reach the Hungry Vegan in 15 minutes, and there are other vegan places, like Fox and Fig, if you have more time.
Savannah is a logical overnight spot, but next time I take that trip, I’ll go just a little farther to Brunswick Georgia. Just before Brunswick is Darien, home of the B & J’s Steak and Seafood lunch and dinner buffet and, more important, possibly the very best fried shrimp in the world. This is plenty for two for $20.
The Brunswick hotels are cheaper than Savannah’s and you can go over to St. Simons and eat at Southern Soul Barbecue, which is well outside the normal 15-minute limit. Here’s an 1,000 word equivalent that explains why you should go.
For my vegan reader, the Sea Salt Healthy Kitchen is in St. Simon’s nearby. If you don’t want to go that far, Hootenanny’s in Brunswick proper is wonderful as well, with delicious brisket and Brunswick stew
and astoundingly good sausages like this other-worldly bologna(!), of all things, with pimiento cheese.
I finally made it to Gary Lee’s Meat Market just a mile or so west of Exit 29 near Brunswick. I have to warn you that the line can be more than 15 minutes long, but the food is worth the wait. It’s a meat market that started cooking what has to be the best pre-Franklin brisket east of Texas along with other delights. And just south is another spot just off I-95, the Smoking Pig.
Farther down the coast in Kingsland at Exit 3, is Malson’s, a shack with a big cooker outside and picnic seating, right next to McDonald’s. I believe I ate there years ago — I know I ate at a similar place — and both Dan Kenney of the Annual Beer Snob Pig Picking and Senior Deli Correspondent Les Wexler liked it, and that’s enough for me. It’s so close to 95 you could just about hit it with a rock from the interstate. But don’t, please.
Florida
Once in Florida, those headed to the West Coast will head for I-75 by turning off either onto I-4 at Daytona Beach or onto 301 near Jacksonville. We once broke down on 301 and rolled to a stop at a garage across the street from a barbecue place, certain proof of a benevolent Providence. If you use I-4, you might stop at Angelina’s Pizzeria or Santorini Greek Cuisine, both in Deland and both recommended by Senior Correspondent Kathy Card. Regard;ess pot the route, here’s where to eat in Southwest Florida, the land of superb seaside blackened grouper sandwiches.
For those continuing down I-95, you’ll be a frustrating distance from many beachside places, but you’ll also be hell-bent on getting to your ultimate destination. I’m afraid my recent experience is pretty thin in that part of the state, but David Sanders and others have come to the rescue with a series of great local places.
For something better, turn east at the FL 207 exit and head to vinouspleasure of Hungry Onion fame reports on an area barbecue trip that “County Road Provisions completely blew us away. The owner is from Lockhart, they cook over wood using no gas (according to menu) and it was as good as any place I’ve eaten in Texas.”
Oh Biscuit is a small place about 5 miles off 95, exit 183 (Eau Gallie Blvd), in Melbourne recommended by biscuit maven David Sanders. It boasts various breakfast plates, but the stars are excellent biscuits that you can enjoy by themselves or on a breakfast sandwich of your own design. (Sorry, no country ham.) Order and pick up at the counter and dine outdoors or on the go, and don’t forget a cinnamon roll.
At the next exit down I-95, for US 192 in Melbourne, another David Sanders is Pane E Vino, an Italian bakery/deli/restaurant with an Italian chef using lots of imported ingredients, and pleasant outdoor seating. They have a worthy wine list if you’re stopping for the night. It’s just four or five miles off 95.
In northern Palm Beach County, you can spend the night in Jupiter and head to the 706/Indiantown Road exit east to U-Tiki for dinner. It’s right on the water and serves well-cooked fresh local seafood, and they have those U-Tiki Potatoes. Just a little farther south in Juno, the Donald Ross Road exit takes you to an even better place for dinner, again if you’re spending the night, Captain Charlie’s Reef Grill.
In Palm Beach Gardens, take the PGA Boulevard exit to Cod and Capers Seafood Market and Cafe for lunch, or for dinner if you’re staying the night. Take the PGA Boulevard exit and then turn right on US 1. The marketplace is a seafood market, with fresh-as-can-be seafood, while the Cafe serves it up beautifully cooked.
A little farther down 95, you can take the Norhtlake exit and a right on US 1 to The Pelican Cafe, which serves a casual lunch and more formal dinner. The seafood and Italian specialties are terrific.
It you take the Palm Beach Lakes exit east and then go left on N. Tamarind, you’ll arrive at Off Tha Bone in West Palm Beach for a delicious lunch. It’s a small, friendly place with ribs cooked over wood and reasonably priced.
The best Cuban restaurant in Palm Beach County is Havana in West Palm Beach. Just take the Forest Hill Blvd. exit east and when you hit US 1, you’re there. Get the lechon asado with extra mojo or, if you’re in a hurry, a Cuban sandwich. If you’re in a real hurry, just go to the carryout window. Farther south, another good Cuban restaurant near I-95 is Little Havana in Deerfield Beach. You can take the West Hillsboro exit east and then a right on US 1, then enjoy your lunch, and after lunch and take US 1 south to 10th Street right back to I-95.
If you’re going on to the Keys, you’ll leave I-95 and jump over to the Turnpike, which will be much faster and dump you off after the end of I-95 in Homestead where the Keys begin. You’ll be within 15 minutes of a whole lot of good Cuban restaurants but, alas, I can’t remember any of their names. Just search “Cuban near me.” If you ever overnight in Miami eat at Versailles.
At least once, drive all the way down to Key West. Here are some places along the beautiful drive through the Keys. There’s a wonderful (and pricey) place to stay in Key Largo at the top of the Keys, Playa Largo, and here are a couple of really interesting places to stay in Key West itself: Havana Cabana and the Barbary Beach House, now rebranded as the Margaritaville Beach House. Once you’re in Key West, be sure to have breakfast at La Creperie,
of have a more casual but still delicious breakfast at The Best Coffee in Town or Kim’s Cuban.
For a fantastic waterside lunch or dinner go to Salute on the Beach, Louie’s Backyard, or upstairs for dinner at Louie’s Cafe. The seafood is fresh and expertly prepared. And visit nearby Stock Island for Cuban Food at El Siboney and, to the Hogfish Bar and Grill for first class seafood at lunch and, if you can find a place to park and don’t mind the wait, dinner. If you’re looking for a, uh, dive with good seafood, B.O.’s Fish Wagon is the perfect place. At Hurricane Hole on Stock Island you can have top notch seafood and sleep in one of the rental houseboats.
Key West is a great place for Cuban sandwiches.
There are many types, one for every taste. Popular versions include Cuban Coffee Queen, Kim’s Kuban, Five Brothers, and Sandy’s Cafe. There are more, and l hope you’ll let me know which you think is best. Search “Key West” in the Blog for many more places to eat. Most of all, sit back and relax and have fun. Enjoy your vacation.
Wherever you stop, change into beach clothes right away, grab a cold beverage, and bask in the sun. When you get a chance, please let me know in the comments of additional good places to eat near I-95, either north or south of Washington. Or anywhere else, for that matter. And please feel free to challenge my recommendations. Most of all, drive carefully.
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