If you’re looking for barbecue, then look no further: the Roanoke Valley has plenty of finger-licking-good restaurants to choose from.

The secret: some say it’s in the barbecue sauce. Just ask Kimberly Woodruff Amerson, owner of Ralph’s Barbecue in Weldon. She’ll tell you one reason the sauce in the area is so popular is because it “is a little more tangy."

“Other areas such as Charlotte (N.C.) and Richmond, Va., they use a more ketchup-based sauce. In our sauce we use crushed red pepper, a little salt, a little sugar,” she says.

Barbecued Goodness

Amerson says Ralph's cooks its barbecue all night, which keeps visitors and locals flocking to the place.

“We cook every night, all night long, and we use the same recipe from 1941,” the year her grandfather, Ralph, opened the restaurant. “We also don’t use fillers,” which Amerson says absorb grease and ‘'puff up'’ the barbeque, “like some other barbecue restaurants. We only use 100% pork.”

Ralph’s also offers an array of popular dishes, including fried chicken, coleslaw and Brunswick stew. Their buffet stays stocked with home-cooked vegetables, keeping customers clamoring for more. But they’re not the only ones. Amerson says her favorite dish is the barbecue.

“You’d think I’d get tired of it, but I don’t,” she says.

At Lynch’s Bar-B-Q & Grill in Hollister, the sauce is already mixed into the meat, not served on the side. Holten Williams, who runs the Bar-B-Que Stand in Scotland Neck, says the way the barbecue is cooked makes a difference too.

"Carolinians don’t smoke their 'cue", he says. They typically use charcoal, wood or electric cookers.

Other Food Favorites

If barbecue’s not what you crave, you can head over to Sharky’s Restaurant, where they offer a variety of foods, including steaks, seafood, fried veggies, potato skins and more. 

India King, who co-owns the restaurant with husband Dwight and friends Vinnie and Cathy Garner, says her favorite dishes include the steamed shrimp, beef tips and pork chops.

The WatersView Restaurant, located on Lake Gaston, boasts a menu full of food favorites, including what started the business back in 2005 – ice cream.