The city of Aiken is surrounded by three traditional all-you-can-eat pig-pickin buffets: Dukes, Bobby’s Barbecue, and Carolina BBQ. Of the three, Carolina is the most humble: a fairly small place, more meditative than boisterous. But there is nothing humble about the array of food available. It’s a grand selection, a true taste of the Central Savannah River area.
The first time I tried to eat here, I had driven straight through from Connecticut, arriving early one Wednesday evening, ravening for BBQ. But I had forgotten that traditional South Carolina barbecue parlors are weekend-only affairs. I returned the next day (the weekend in this place starts on Thursday) for what proved to be a memorable feast.
The pork is a gorgeous, hacked-up mess of smoky pig that ranges from velvet soft mouthfuls to long, chewy shreds to crisp and crunchy bark. It’s sauceless as presented in the buffet; tables are set with sweet red sauce that is fine if that’s what you like and hot-sweet mustard sauce that is just right for this meat. You’ll also want hash on rice, the hash being a hearty stew that is comfort-food supreme and a de rigueur BBQ companion in the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area).
Among not-to-be-missed side dishes are sweet ‘tater tots rolled in sugar, buttery discs of fried squash, fried chicken skin, corn nuggets, onion-sweet hushpuppies, wonderfully ragged macaroni and cheese, extremely candied yams, and three different kinds of pickles.
Dessert is an afterthought. There are serve-yourself soft ice cream and a trio of soft sweet things including dense banana pudding, ultrasweet peach cobbler, and some sort of chocolate creamy swirl. I recommend skipping dessert in favor of a return trip through the exemplary buffet line.
| Sunday | CLOSED |
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 10:30am - 1:30pm |
| Thursday | 10:30am - 8pm |
| Friday | 10:30am - 8pm |
| Saturday | 10:30am - 8pm |
48 MILES
|
1 hr 22 min
Aiken has long been a vacation destination for the horsey set – back in the 1950s, weekly non-stop train service direct from New York served wintering horses, horse owners, and their staff. It remains a destination for horse people of all kind. If riding (or watching) the four-legged athletes conjures up an appetite, there is…
286 MILES
|
5 hr 42 min
South Carolina is a magnificent barbecue state with diverse regional styles. Heading north by northwest from the coast, you'll eat red-sauced, mustard-sauced, and minimally-sauced pork, with hash on rice being a common denominator among nearly all of the state's great whole-hog parlors. Restaurants in the southeast tend to have normal 6-day-a-week hours, but many of…
Other Nearby Restaurants
-
Red Shed Diner & Produce
Graniteville, South CarolinaA colorful, welcoming roadside restaurant and produce stand, Graniteville’s Red Shed serves great hearty cafe meals and blue ribbon pies & cakes.
-
Knuckle Sandwiches
Augusta, GeorgiaKnuckle Sandwiches is a hole-in-the-wall on Augusta, Georgia’s Restaurant Row serving spectacular, creative sandwiches and the city’s best French fries.
-
Stone Roastery
Belvedere, South CarolinaTo accompany exemplary coffees (pourover, brewed, nitro, espresso), Stone Roastery offers a selection of Brad Stone’s mom’s blue-ribbon, from-scratch cakes.
-
Dennis’ BBQ
Hephzibah, GeorgiaA small, out-of-the-way Augusta BBQ where most business is take-out, Dennis’ makes crisp-skinned chicken, meaty ribs, and aggressively spiced hash on rice.
-
Come N Get It Grill
Hephzibah, GeorgiaTake-out-only roadside hut is known for burgers, pork chop sandwiches, Philly steaks & family meals — all made to order, all priced right.
-
Belair Donuts
Augusta, GeorgiaFrom-scratch donuts, fritters, Bismarcks, and sausage-filled kolaches make Belair Donuts a best-bet early-morning stop off I-20 at the west side of Augusta.