1400 Julian R Allsbrook Hwy Weldon, NC 27890 (252) 536-2102
Ralph’s Barbecue is directly off I-95 in Weldon, North Carolina. Take exit 173 (if you are headed north on I-95) and @ the end of the ramp turn right onto 158 East. Then drive two (2) blocks and Ralph’s will be on your left. Not only is Ralph’s easy to find, it’s also open on Sunday. The Sunday I visited, the line at Ralph’s was out the door and their front lot was packed. Ralph’s had apparently been closed two weeks for vacation, and this Sunday was their first day to be open since the vacation. In addition to that, you are also in the Bible Belt and everyone in the South likes to eat right after church; everyone likes to go "out" to eat that is. Around here on a Sunday your best choice is Ralph’s. Ralph’s is always busy, but its not usually this packed. The circumstances were obviously different on this day, but even if there is a line, it’s well worth the wait. On Sundays the buffet is the thing to get, so, that’s what I got. I started off with a sweet tea and a green, plastic, woven basket of hushpuppies. My tea was very good with a nice light sweet taste. My hushpuppies were very good. They had a nice light fried taste to them. I got the hushpuppies, but they do have rolls on the buffet. I got the pulled pork on the buffet. The pulled pork by itself was very tender and juicy. The addition of the warm vinegar sauce (from a heated pan on the buffet line) just made it even better. The sauce was mostly vinegar (light brown in color) and it did have a nice kick to it. The coleslaw I had was very good. It was made of white and green cabbage and was yellow in color. The somewhat sweet slaw did help to cut the vinegar down a bit. The buffet wasn’t just BBQ, it also had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, potato salad, pickles, light pasta squiggles, regular salad, no baked beans, banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.