[Southern Living] The South's Top 50 Barbecue Joints

You don't have to drive to South Carolina anymore to sample the acclaimed Pee Dee style of whole hog barbecue, for Rodney Scott has expanded to three locations in Birmingham and one in Atlanta (plus another on the way in Nashville.) His restaurant on King Street in Charleston, though, is where he first transplanted the techniques he learned at his family's operation in tiny Hemingway, South Carolina, to a downtown urban setting. It's a full sit-down restaurant with an expanded menu (including ribs, chicken, turkey, and—yes—even brisket) plus craft beer on tap, but the core of his operation is the same as up in Hemingway: burn oak down to coals, fire the pits, and cook whole hogs for 12 hours before finishing them with a fiery vinegar-pepper mop. That whole hog barbecue is the rightful star of the show, but the prime rib sandwich is worth attention, too. Made from pit-smoked and thin-sliced ribeye piled high on a soft roll, it's sloppy, smoky, and utterly delicious.