Bar-B-Que

Barbecue in Maggie Valley runs Carolina, pork shoulder smoked long and slow, vinegar in the sauce, and sides that aren’t an afterthought. Both of the valley’s smokehouses share a name and a family, and both take the pit seriously enough that you can smell them before you find the parking lot.

One of them sits on the creek, which makes a plate of ribs and a picnic table into a genuinely good hour. Go early in the day if you’re picky about what’s left, small pits sell out, and neither of these is running an industrial operation.