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Food Baby, Beer Belly | Burke County, NC

By 102 Comments


Oh how I love the summer! Bodybuilding competitions are over for a few months, the weather is divine, and there are so many foods to be eaten and drinks to be drunk. My latest adventure took me to the mountains of Burke County, North Carolina, where there’s beer, whiskey, and barbecue as far as the eye can see.

JD's Smokehouse

Outside of JD’s Smokehouse

The first pitstop was JD’s Smokehouse for some famous barbecue in the town of Rutherford College. JD’s specialties are hardwood-smoked meat plates and myriad side dishes including such delights as Brunswick stew, jalapeño cheese grits, and sweet potato crunch.

JD's Smokehouse

Chicken and pork plate at JD’s

All of the meats come unsauced so that you can sauce them yourself with the variety of sauce choices on the table. I of course selected the spiciest offering to jazz up my chicken and pork. (The picture above was taken pre-sauce.) For my sides I went with my favorite classics: baked beans and macaroni & cheese. I was not disappointed!

JD's Smokehouse

After some adventures (which I’ll write another post about), it was off to the very hip root + vine for drinks and dinner. I made an excellent decision in choosing the below golden stunner for my drink order – it was “A Very Merry Un-Birthday to You” IPA from Fonta Flora. First of all, the name. Duh. And secondly, it was DELICIOUS. I think I had three more throughout the weekend because I loved it so much, and I even ended up purchasing two growlers of it. One to share with friends, and one for me!

Fonta Flora Very Merry Unbirthday Root + Vine

root + vine

Root + Vine

root + vine

After dinner, we headed to Fonta Flora brewery (the home of the amazing beer above) to check out their other offerings. I couldn’t bear to order anything else but my new favorite IPA, but some others I was with ordered beer flights. Flights are always a great way to get a lay of the land at a new brewery.

Fonta Flora

Fonta Flora Brewery, Morganton NC

The following day, we switched gears a little bit and headed to Blue Ridge Distilling, where they make Defiant single malt whiskey. Now, I’m not usually a whiskey person (I think it tastes like crayons), but I was extremely impressed by this one. It was drinkable, smooth, and entirely un-crayon-y.

Defiant Whisky

Defiant is different because it’s not aged long – only 60 days – because instead of using oak barrels, they infuse the whiskey with flavor by including American white oak spirals (peep one in the lower left corner of the photo above). It only takes 60 days for the whiskey to displace the oxygen space in the oak and that means it’s been fully infused.

Defiant Whisky

Tim Ferris, co-founder of Blue Ridge Distilling gave us a great tour of the place, walking us through the process of whiskey-making, and even let us sample a new rye whiskey they’re developing which isn’t yet on the market.

Blue Ridge Distillery

Tim Ferris, Blue Ridge Distilling

Defiant Rye

Defiant Rye Whiskey sample

Want to go on a tour like this? You’re in luck, because Burke County offers Beer, BBQ, and Whiskey Trolley Tours to the public! Tours last six hours (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and typically cost $45 per ticket. Visit www.DiscoverBurkeCounty.com or call 888-462-2921 to book!

If you’d like to check out the places I visited while in Burke County, NC, their websites are listed below. Happy food babyin’!

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Comments

  3. It sounds like you had a great time. I have never cared for whiskey, a little too strong for me but I love BBQ.

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  4. It sounds like you had a great time. I have never cared for whiskey either, I don’t think it tastes like crayons but can’t say for sure exactly what it is I don’t like about it. Maybe the Defiant would be more to my liking.

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  8. I really enjoy brewery and distillery tours – I think they are just so interesting from a scientific standpoint! And, there is also usually some sampling going on…..

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  9. I live in North Carolina and haven’t visited these places before. They look fun! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. now this looks like my kind of place – except for the whiskey, I can’t stomach that after getting drunk on it at 17 ha! But the rest (and maybe a vino or 3) and it’s perfect

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  16. The BBQ looks so completely delicious! I love that you can choose your own sauces. The picture looks so yummy that I can only imagine how much better it is in real life. 😉

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  22. My husband and I have been to our fare share of breweries, and this one looks great. Sound like you had a lot of fun there too!

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  25. Looks like some amazing places to visit. I had to crack up at your description of whiskey as “crayon-y.” I’ve never had it outside of a Whiskey sour, but suspect I’d be rather finicky over brand. It’s always nice when you find one you like.

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  26. Looks like a very fun place to eat. Our family really enjoyed BBQ parties, I think they will surely like to go there.

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  30. Wow, how fun. I love a great brewery because it gives me a push to step outside my norm. LOL. Sounds like you did the same. Thanks for sharing

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  32. I was born and raised in NC, until we moved to FL when I was 16. NC BBQ is something I dearly miss. It’s always the first and the last meal I get when visiting.

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  38. This food looks delicious. I love the name of the restaurant. I would totally do a tour of the smokehouse and eat all the goodies along the way.

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  41. You’ve got a funny way of describing whiskey’s taste, haha! Although the name sure sounds strong and tempting, I might just get one for a special person. That pork and chicken plate just looks wicked tasty! You’ve shown some good places here, very nice.

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  50. Going here during the summer would be the absolute best. It’s the perfect tour for couples or friends! I really like the idea of being able to enjoy good food and some drinks, especially since it’s the summer, it’s definitely well-deserved!

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  52. Looks like a great time! If I am ever in the area – will definitely have to check it out. Thank you for sharing this little secret.

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  53. BBQ and whiskey is the perfect combo. Everything looks so cool! Thanks for sharing this gem!

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  60. My family and I are planning a trip to North Carolina during the month of August. The food looks amazing and we will have to check it out. We’ll be with the kids and will probably leave them behind (they’re 19 & 21yo) and go on the whiskey tour! So much fun! 🙂

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  63. So glad that you are able to take a break from body competitions and take some time to relax and enjoy. Looks like you had a great tour…your photos are gorgeous!

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  65. Looks like you had such a fun tour! Fonta Flora brewery reminded me of St. Augustine brewery which I visited last year. It was fun! Thanks for sharing about your tour with us!
    Have a great long weekend!

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  69. Here in Texas we get brisket, which is great but I grew up eating pork BBQ in GA. This looks like a wonderful place. I’d love to go if we get to NC!

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  75. I have a good friend who lives in NC. I will ask her if she’s been to these places. I am positive she did! I have to ask her to take me to these awesome places when we get to meet up later this year.

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  77. JD’s smokehouse looks amazing! We love pulled pork down here in my neck of the woods, so I know that would be the place for our family. Really, we’d be happy touring all of them, though. What a great time!

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  80. This is a great post. Am I the only one who thinks “Food Baby” is a phrase that should be replaced? Like you really shouldn’t think about the implications of that common reference. LOL

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  82. What a fun tour for foodies. I love barbecue and I would love to visit JD’s Smokehouse. The jalapeno cheese grits are calling my name.

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  83. Looks like you had a delicious time! I always love to go for a good BBQ. My husband would love some of those beers and other drinks. We miss all the nice food experiences in NC (we used to live in Fayetteville).

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  85. I am absolutely starving! It is early in the morning and I’m telling you right now if I had that restaurant here I would be going there right now! Deafly looks absolutely sinful!

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  87. Omg this was not the post to read when I’m hungry! That pulled pork looks amazing, wow. I agree that whisky tastes like crayons haha!
    lily kate x
    jolihouse.com

    Reply

  90. Barbecue and whiskey! What could be a better combination than that. I’m sure a lot of people especially the guys would enjoy joining a tour such as this! It’s packed of the things that they love most and it’s really fun!

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  92. JD’s Smokehouse sounds awesome. You just can’t get southern bbq up here in the northeast!

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  93. Sounds like an amazing tour, I would have loved the food part the most as it sounded so nice, I am not a beer or whiskey drinker but am sure my husband would have helped me out x

    Reply

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