Henry James Bar B Que

Great barbecue, slaw, and desserts. Must stop whenever you’re in Asheboro! I always get the chopped plate, which comes with red slaw, fries, and hush puppies. Must finish the meal off with their great peach cobbler with ice cream. My favorite barbecue place in the Triad!

It was the worst bbq I have ever had… Chopped pork with white vinegar. It was Charles Barkley tuurribble!

We really liked it. You get a lot of food for the money. We like bbq spicy so we’ll add some hot sauce next time.

Excellent place for a lunch. Being from the north this is what imagine Carolina Barbeque should taste liked. The hushpuppies are to die for.

Excellent service. That is where the 3 stars come from. The food was mediocre. The pork was mushy, the hushpuppies were greasy and the sweet potato fries were flavorless. That being said the price was right and it was a quick little fast food type stop. If you are looking for that outstanding hole in the wall BBQ shop though, this isn’t it.

Run away quickly. Coming from Colorado we always debated who had the best bbq… Texas, kansas city, or North Carolina… nc is out of the debate based on this place. Asked the register girl which ribs were better and she said…” I don’t know I’ve never had them”! The pulled pork tastes like it came out of a can. We returned our food and they didn’t even give us our money back!!!

In another chapter of my quest for the best NC BBQ, I happened to be in Ramseur one day. Asheboro was the closest town with good BBQ, and after cruising a few reviews, I settled on Henry James.
For some reason, I ordered a plate of beef ribs rather than BBQ, something I ordinarily would not do. Luckily though, my man ordered the pork. It was good. Not great, but good. I like the fact that you can order it the way you like it — chopped fine, chopped large or sliced (I’ve never seen another restaurant give you this choice, but more should). I like mine chopped large. I recall that it had a good porky flavor, but not as much smoke as my ideal ‘que. But a good, solid BBQ nonetheless. Not too dry, good flavor.
The slaw was great — it’s a fine example of the red Lexington style. I also liked the hushpuppies. Hushpuppies are a dime a dozen in NC, but these were especially tasty.
My ribs were also tasty. It was kind of hilarious, though. Being beef ribs, they are large. I wasn’t prepared for how my plate would be this giant, caveman looking extravaganza. They were slathered in a rather good tomato-​based BBQ sauce. I liked the sauce, but wished for a bit less of it. Still, the ribs were well cooked and tender. I had a grand ol’ time gnawing on the bones like a little savage.
My man ordered some cherry cobbler, which I tasted. While it was a good flavor, it was far too sweet for me. If you have a serious sweet tooth, you’ll like it. Ask the ladies to put ice cream on it for you.
All in all, a good experience. The staff was efficient and nice. The dining area was clean. Prices were good and the portions were huge. If I’m ever hungry in Asheboro again, I’ll go back to Henry James!

This is some mighty fine BBQ. Excellent pulled pork & ribs. Luv the hush puppies. Can’t go wrong @ this place!

This is probably the best of the lot of Henry James Barbecue locations, and I’m not sure whether Henry or James owns it — their partnership split a number of years ago — Henry took some locations, James others.
This is a fast food setup — you go to the counter, order, pay, and come when called They also have a drive thru. This pork is tender and moist, but void of any semblance of smokiness. It is not overly chopped, and comes out of the kitchen pretty well sauced, some may say over sauced. This sauce is vinegar based, and is rather mild. They have a spicier sauce on the table, but adding more sauce gets things even wetter.
The taste of the finished product is nice, a very Lexington kind of BBQ. This is one of the few NC BBQ joints where I like the sliced as much, if not more, than the chopped — moist, no dryness, allowing it to work well on a sandwich.
The slaw is the typical red Lexington BBQ slaw, rather sharp. The hush puppies are really good here, just a hint of sweetness. The Brunswick Stew is a favorite of mine — nice mix of vegetables, and a good helping of chicken and pork — most places now seem to forget that meat is an essential element in this dish. And the prices are reasonable, the portions nice.

I took a flyer on this Bar B Que restaurant based on its location on my route between Charlotte and Chapel Hill. It is a clean, tidy and air conditioned space. You order at the counter and the service is prompt and kind. It checked out well in the three primary bbq criteria – the shredded pork was moist and tasty; the hush puppies were light and addicting; and the slaw was fresh and zesty. I would stop there again. The price is right and the local police eat here, always a good gauge of a barbecue place.