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Planning to have dinner there on Sept 4, 2003. Cannot find any contact info to be sure they will be open. Do they have a phone? Does anyone know for sure if they are open on Thursday? I have tried the boards, Google and Yahoo Yellow.
Paul
Paul
Aug 14, 2003 01:49PM
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Here you go:
Skylight Inn
1501 Lee St
Ayden, NC 28513-2821 Phone: (252) 746-4113
But it is the "Skylight", no the "Skyline" Inn.
Have a great time! Come back and tell us all about the meal.
John
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Thanks John. I will definitely post on my Southern trip when I get back. I appreciate all the help you Southern hounds have provided. If you see a red sports car in your neck of the woods with Mass. plates "FOOD" that will be me. I am really looking forward to the "Foods of the South" !
Paul
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Paul - Is this your first time doing the "Q" shuffle? We just got back from Bub Sweatman's and just wondered, if you were going there also. Or, have you been there already? You ccould then compare the two places. These places are supposed to be two of the best along the East Coast.
Please give us details. I cannot imagine driving more than the 300 miles each way that we did to get to Sweatman's but you never know....
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I really don't see how you can compare these two bbqs, since they utterly different and come from two totally different traditions. Comparison of personal preferences, yes; but the difference in the way they are cooked and presented is too different for a direct comparison of the food itself.
I personally prefer pulled pork or sliced pork over all others, but I will eat chopped if it is "good bbq," and in fact one of my favorite places here serves it as chopped - different traditions. I prefer very little sauce on the meat and the sauce as a dipping sauce on the side, but the tradition here is to mix the sauce into the meat. I could say that in comparison the dipping sauce approach in much of NC is "better," but that's simply personal preference. Although a born and bred South Carolinian, I would much rather have the red cole slaw of NC that the white of SC, but I can't get it here - different tradition and personal preference. The proper NC bbq afficionado will gag over the mustard sauce of SC, while the eastern NC vinegar-red pepper flakes sauce sends many of us in the midlands screaming for well-water, or better, a cold beer. Again, personal preference.
All of this being said, I'll be extremely interested in Paul's preferences and opinions about these two outstanding bbq joints.
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Sandy - Are you saying that The Skylight does not cook the whole hog? On FoodTV they did a special on "Q" and there was a place in North Carolina, I believe it was in Wilson, that also cooked the whole hog like at Sweatman's. So, I am a bit confused.
I know many North Carolina places just do shoulders but that palce in Wilson did the whole hog albeit they basted it with their type of sauce rather than the mustard based sauces of South Carolina.
Could you please explain for those of us who have never been to the Skyline just what they cook (parts or the whole) and how they do it at The Skyline.
Personally, I like my ribs slow cooked, separately, over wood. I did not care for the fact that Sweatman's entire hog, including the ribs, had the same texture. It was almost as if everything tasted the same - It was very good, but no differences in texture whatsoever.
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No, I'm not saying that, and as a matter of fact I don't really know, since I haven't been there for a number of years. I'm simply saying that the different approaches in whether you use a sopping sauce and what is in it makes a big difference, not to mention that the difference in sauces from different traditions makes for totally different tasting final products which are as different as apples and oranges, and thus makes it impossible to compare on any other basis than personal preferences. This is not to say that comparing the personal tastes and preferences doesn't make for interesting and valid reading and knowledge.
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There are two places in Wilson, Parker's and Bob Melton's. Neither is in league with the Skylight Inn. It is a totally different EXPERIENCE than any other Carolina bbq joint, North Carolina or South Carolina, east or west North Carolina. You'll understand what I mean when you walk in the door or look at the photo in the link below. I've been to Sweatman's which is outstanding and I also actually prefer pulled pork such as what you typically find in Alabama and around Memphis. But The Skylight Inn is minced; it is pork that is pulled from a split hog then minced by hand by a man who spends the entire day chopping pork with two cleavers. It contains the skin, cracklings and so forth; it is whole hog such as you might find in south Georgia or at Sweatman's. But it is really a truly "primitive "experience," a ritual if you will because of the constant chopping in the background that sets this apart from any other. This is part of the reason that Southern Living magazine two months ago called the Skylight Inn the best "bbq restaurant in the south." As for dinner I don't think you really understand what this place is like. You really don't have dinner there. You go there to eat.
The link has their phone number. I'd also forget about Wilson. I've never found anything there that could even begin to compare to this-not even Wilber's in Goldsboro.
Link: http://www.ibiblio.org/lineback/bbq/j...
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Melton's was in Rocky Mount, and as was reported here a few weeks ago, has recently closed.
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Melton's was in Rocky Mount, and as was reported here a few weeks ago, has recently closed.
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There used to be a spot in Wilson called Mitchell's Bar-B-Que. I haven't been in a couple of years, so I don't know if they're still around. They cook/cooked whole hogs in typical eastern NC style. However, they are not in the same league as Skylight or even Wilber's for that matter when it comes to the barbecue. That being said, they serve up some of the very best home cookin'/soul food anywhere.
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Are you talking about Price's in Wilson, NC?
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never heard of it....
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Hey Chuck
Sorry for the late reply. Saturday was the CLAM CRAW. We sampled clams at 3 of the clam shacks on the North shore. Today was the Corn & Tomato festival at Verryl Farms. Anyway to answer you question I will give you a run down on my plans. Our trip down is 3 days driving 6 hours per day with our final destination Savannah GA where we will stay for 3 or 4 days. I plan to drive 3 hours then stop for lunch and sightseeing then 3 hours more where we will have dinner and stay overnight. With this format our destinations will be Robertos on Arthur ave. in NY, Angelas in Baltimore for crab cakes, Johnson Grille or Croakers Spot in Richmond for Soul Food, Skylight Inn Ayden NC for BBQ, and a late lunch at Bub Sweatmans BBQ buffet. Not sure yet where we will eat that night in Savannah. I have not yet figured out my return trip. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the hounds on the South board for their great suggestions and Southern Hospitality. I never would have known about all these great places without your help. If you are ever heading up to Boston I hope to be able to return the favor. When I get back I will definitely post and let you know how I made out. Im confident it will be a great trip.
Paul
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Paul: Just make sure Sweatman's is open before you drive all that distance. The phone number is posted - it is not in the directory..I don't think.
There are some previous posts a month or two ago that discuss finding Sweatman's when you are coming from the north - we came up from the south. It's a bit tricky getting there.
You might want to bring your camera - it is an unusual experience to say the least. Ask to see the entire cooking process - The people who ruin the place were very nice to us - They liked my "Northern" accent. Surely, they will enjoy somebody from Boston, too.
If you look in the kitchen (its immaculate) you'll even see a butcher shop-like ban saw that they use to cut the hogs in half.
Will be interested to hear your comparison of the two places - Skyline and Sweatman's.
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The correct name is Angelina's on Harford Road in Baltimore. When you go do NOT leave without ALSO ordering their crab imperial. As good as their crab cakes are (along with the Narrows in Kent Narrows, MD and Stoney's in Broome Island) their crab imperial is BETTER.
Now having said all this you are leaving out what arguably is the best spot of all the ones on your entire trip: Stoney's in Broome Island, MD. This is off of route 301 (i.e. take 95 around the D. C. Beltway to Pennsylvania Ave which is route 4 then go south for about 25 miles to 264. Stoney's is back another five or six miles on the water. You can leave here, continue south on 4 and then jog around to come back out on 301 and continue to Richmond.
Look at the link below. Phyllis Richman, the "legendary" Washington Post dining critic calls Stoney's the best. Coincidentally in this "chat" a reference is made to a survey that Post food editors did a week or two earlier where they named Stoney's the best crab cake in the D. C. area.
Angelina's is as good. But Stoney's is a crab house on the water with a floating barge for one of their dining rooms. Great crab cakes, cream of crab soup, jumbo hard shell crabs, great pie-all in Maryland's best setting.
Go to Angelina's. Then stop at Stoney's three hours later en route to Richmond. Then the Skylight Inn, later Sweatman's. I've been to all of these. You'll have a memory for the rest of your life with Stoney's because of the combination of its setting (floating barge on the river!) perhaps the best of all.
Link: http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-...
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That's it, you've finally convinced me to rent a car this weekend and go out to Stoneys. Is there anything else good to do out in that vicinity, so I can pretend that the trip is not all about food?
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bbq in Charles County but that's also food.
This is also some absolutely beautiful countryside to wander around in. Take a ride around Solomons and you'll see what I mean. Rent a convertible and put the top down for the whole trip.
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Joe
You have me too convinced. It's been a while since I was down there. I think next weekend Janet and I will put the top down on her "new" corvette and take a ride.
John B.
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A great way to explore...
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Thanks--what's this about the BBQ? More details please! I'm going to get hungry after eating all of those crab cakes.
Are there any bay beaches out there worth checking out?
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Charles County is the only place in the entire D. C. area that allows open pits. While I haven't been in several years Johnny Boy's on route 301 in La Plata was arguably D. C.'s best. But there are 10 or 12 places like this in Charles County, open pits or shacks with picnic tables outside. Arguably these are as much or more of an attraction than places like Stoney's or Popes Creek which is home to Robertson's Crab House (the equal of Cantler's; like Cantler's only for crabs not for the sides and crab cakes such as at Stoney's in Broomes Island).
For beaches I'd still go to O. C. although Solomon's Island is a really interesting place to visit.
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Hey Joe
Thanks for the tip on the Crab Imperial and also Stoneys. I had actually planned to get there on our trip to DC a few years back but I never made it. Sounds like a good destination for our trip back. If we stop in Annapolis it looks like a good shot from there.
Paul
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It's a long way from Annapolis. Cantler's is near Annapolis but only for crabs. The Narrows is 15 miles on the eastern side of the Bay Bridge. You could continue up 301 to Wilmington from there.
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Plan on a little nap-time after your visit. (Especially if you have Pete's cornbread.)
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Here's a webpage I ran across. Lots of good stuff at that guy's site--didn't even know 'cue fanatics existed in Maine ;-^).
Link: http://home.maine.rr.com/smokyhollow/...
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If you're in the area, try to hit B's BBQ also. It out by the hospital in Greenville. Tue - Sat 10:30 until the food runs out, 3ish. Have a large combination
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