Stephenson's Bar-B-Q

This was my first visit to this recommended place. As I approached the restaurant I noticed the smoke billowing up supposedly from cooking the barbecue. It is a super nice rustic setting and the staff is very friendly and accommodating to a first-time visitor. I wanted to sample as much as I could but they did not have collard greens this day. Show the plate that I got was a combo barbecue and Brunswick stew play with two sides and hush puppies. The sweet tea was very good and was delivered quickly and then came a little basket of six round hush puppies. And then the meal arrived shortly after that. I can tell you right now that the hush puppies were hard and much denser than they should have been. When the meal came the first thing I tried was the Brunswick stew. It was thin and had a strange taste and very few vegetables in. Also there was no discernible meat which any good Brunswick stew has to have. Then I tried the barbecue pork and it was minced so fine that there was nothing to chew and there was no smoke flavor. I had to douse it in that vinegar and red pepper table sauce to get it down. The baked beans were straight from a can. There were no peppers or anything in those beans to make me believe otherwise. And the flavor was very ho-hum. And of course the steamed cabbage was just that and nothing special. The last thing I tried was the barbecue chicken breast and although it was cooked properly it had no flavor at all. There was some thin sauce supposedly a barbecue sauce I suppose but it was miniscule. I was really pumped going into this place because a gentleman was waiting for his order in his Jeep outside and he said I was in for a treat. I’m really hoping that I caught them on a bad day because I would hate to think that they served this kind of food everyday. I know my friend who recommended this place will be sorely disappointed but I have eaten at many top-notch North Carolina barbecue restaurants and this one is not even close to the top. As I said the location is great and the service is wonderful. I paid $18 for the meal bumped up by the chicken breast. I cannot say it was worth the money.

If you’re looking for classic Southern comfort food in a laid-back, no-frills setting, Stephenson’s BBQ hits the mark. I recently stopped in and tried the combo chicken and BBQ plate with French fries and green beans, and rounded it out with a side of banana pudding.

The BBQ itself was tender and had good texture, but I found it could’ve used a bit more flavo, adding the table sauce probably would have made a noticeable difference but I didn’t. The chicken, on the other hand, was pretty good: crispy skin, just the way it should be.

Sides were solid; housemade French fries were hot and satisfying, and the green beans were nothing special but I love some green beans. As for the banana pudding, it was just okay. I never thought I’d say this, but there were too many Nilla wafers in the mix. A little more pudding would’ve balanced it out better and softened those crunchy cookies.

Service was warm and welcoming, and the atmosphere is what you’d expect from a true Southern BBQ join, unpretentious and cozy. Stephenson’s isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel; they’re just serving up straight-ahead BBQ with Southern charm. I’d come back, especially for that chicken, and next time, I’ll reach for the sauce a little sooner.

Wow. Stopped in for lunch today and certainly was not disappointed. Everything on my plate was fantastic. The chicken, the okra, the potatoes, the hushpuppies, all delicious. But man—that BBQ is the STAR. So so good. Nothing like pit-cooked whole hog eastern style Q, and Stephenson’s is some of the best I’ve had. Will definitely be back!!