Dickie-Do’s BBQ, Haw River, North Carolina

After a delicious lunch at Troutman’s, I meandered over to Haw River, North Carolina, to Dickie-Do’s for high tea. Well, not finger sandwiches with cucumber or watercress, but a late afternoon meal.

You say that’s an odd name? It’s short for Saxapahaw (Catawban for piedmont), and I can see why they shortened it. Oh, do you mean Dickie Do’s? I imagine you may have never been to Dickie Doo’s Diner in Georgia or Dickie Do’s Bar-B-Que in Missouri or the Dickie Doos in Texas, but how could you forget Dickie Doo and the Don’ts and their big hit, Click Clack?

Well, I remember, sort of, and I headed to Haw River and to Dickie Do’s. Haw River is in Alamance County, not too far from I-40 west of Raleigh and Durham. It’s a plain place, the sort of place that a mere glance says it must have good food.

I ordered a barbecue plate with slaw and hushpuppies as my two sides. The server told me that trays come with hushpuppies, and she managed to say it without rolling her eyes. How embarrassing! It’s not like it was my first barbecue place in North Carolina and, really, I should have known. I recovered some dignity by ordering another side of slaw, and specifying one red slaw and one white slaw to show I wasn’t a complete turnip. I had sufficient awareness not to ask for a double order of hushpuppies.

First the pork. Delicious. This may be the smokiest pork in North Carolina. It also was tender and moist, and altogether great. I can’t believe they don’t get more attention. It may have to go on the next list of Ten of the South’s Most Legendary Barbecue Joints Worth a Detour.

Both slaws were very good, both with that North Carolina fine chop of the cabbage. Neither was overdressed. The red sauce had that nice tang, and the white was graced with celery seeds and scallions. Both were refreshing, a great counterpoint to the richness of the meat. And to the hushpuppies. I took one bite and thanked the lucky stars that seem to hover about me that I hadn’t ordered a separate side of hushpuppies. I would have eaten them all, and eating a dozen hushpuppies at a sitting is not that good an idea. Trust me on that one.

Anyone who hasn’t figured out that I highly recommend Dickie Do’s hasn’t been paying attention. I liked it a lot and you will, too. Indeed, That smoke makes Dickie Do’s on of the Ten Best Piedmont-Style Barbecue Places in North Carolina. And remember, the plate comes with hushpuppies.

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