ayersian,
Thanks for the heads up on Three Li’l Pigs. When they closed the downtown location in Roanoke, I thought the Daleville store closed also.
nagle,
If you are planning to stop at Three Li’l Pigs, take the first off ramp at exit 150. First traffic light, turn left into the Botetourt Commons shopping center. Have a safe trip. BTW watch the reduced speed limit from exit 150 until exit 137. The police have no since of humor with regards to speeding in that area.

Nagle, welcome to RF! I’m cutting & pasting from other forums here; though I live in CT, I grew up in Rock Hill and drive the I-81/I-77 corridor at least twice a year.

For good BBQ, we always try to stop at Three Li’l Pigs BBQ in Daleville, VA (http://www.threelilpigsbbq.com/). They make their own sauces (vinegar, tomato, and Jamaican-jerk style), and their BBQ plate with Buffalo Chip fries and baked beans are great. (The other fries options are hit or miss.) Also, the Roanoke Weiner Stand in downtown Roanoke is a historic RF-type hot dog establishment that still has decent dogs. We’ve had great food at Wright’s (drive-in burgers & fries), and the highly advertised (on the highway) Mrs. Rowe’s is a bit deceiving for Southern food — the food is good but not great. My favorite was the collards, but that’s not saying much, and since we found Three Li’l Pigs, I wouldn’t return to Mrs. Rowe’s.

Further up I-81, we’ve been sucked in by the hype of Southern Kitchen in New Market, VA but were not impressed enough to take the detour off the interstate again. Same goes for Sunrise Cafe in Woodstock, VA, though Dude’s Drive-In in Christiansburg, VA is worth a stop for burgers and fries. Also, down I-77 in Statesville there is good BBQ that’s advertised on highway billboards. Check out the site for more Statesville-area places that’ve been reviewed.

If you’re hungry in Rock Hill, may I suggest:
1. Lee’s Famous Recipe, on Cherry Rd. near the Bookworm bookstore — fried chicken, potato wedges, sweet tea
2. Varsity Restaurant, on Oakland Ave. past Winthrop University — basic Southern meat-and-three, though they have the best chili dogs in town; breakfast, too
3. White Horse, on Camden Ave. near Winthrop — everything is great, but we swoon over the baked sandwiches (Charlie O’Chicken, Charlie O’Tuna, Incredible Edible Pizza Hoagie) and casseroles [www.whitehorseonline.com]
4. Wing King, on Charlotte Ave. near the intersection of Cherry Rd. — fabulous Buffalo wings, various flavors are sure to satisfy any palate
5. Harry & Jean’s, on Cinema Rd. off of Dave Lyle Blvd. — this has opened since I moved away, but my VERY picky RFing parents rave about it, so I figure it must be good [www.harryandjeans.com]

Hope this helps you! [:p]

My favorite place is The Homeplace, in Catawba Va. Here is a couple of links for you to look over.
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/kdesrosi/thehomeplace/
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-12886525R–i
http://local.yahoo.com/details;_ylt=AsfscqzdhP0BaE2gMf4zcPP9vmoL?id=12886525&stx=&csz=Catawba+VA&ed=Z1Y3fq160SwsEvqvj2lE5MypmnMgTXsiGDObdCxb9t3EpaqzOvVdvOONKI.O_gnsrByEfN6R0IaKd7DTEw–