From what I’ve seen of it on TV, it ain’t BBQ, no matter what Flay says.
I trust Bobby Flay’s opinion on BBQ about as far as I can throw the moon.
Now if a little old Southern lady says it’s good BBQ, I’ll listen to her.
This. I’m in Georgia, but whenever we go to the Outer Banks, we made a point of stopping for dinner at Wilber’s in Goldsboro (alas, now closed). My father, who grew up in Rocky Mount, grew up eating Parker’s Barbecue, in Wilson. We’ll have to go a bit out of the way to get to Wilson or Greenville, but Parker’s is worth the trip.
Barbecue is one of the last truly regional foods in American cuisine - Georgia barbecue is not the same as Eastern North Carolina 'cue, which is different from Western North Carolina style, or Memphis, or Lowcountry South Carolina mustard-based barbecue. (I won’t even get into Texas or Kansas, where they think “barbecue” is a verb - which they misspell as “barbeque”, anyway - and can be done to cows. Illiterate barbarians.) When I eat barbecue in Atlanta, which is not often, I go to Anna’s - a little old-fashioned fish camp-style restaurant in Kirkwood, with uneven floors and faded calendars on the wall. It’s pretty good, for Georgia 'cue. Actually, scratch that - it’s damn good. But it’s not Eastern NC barbecue.
Western North Carolina BBQ > Texas BBQ > Eastern North Carolina BBQ > South Carolina BBQ > Santa Maria Style BBQ > Kansas City BBQ > Memphis BBQ > Chain BBQ
“Your BBQ” can be slotted in as need be.