N.C. Barbeque: Danny's Bar-B-Que

628 Cary Towne Blvd., Cary (919) 380-1118
also at: 311 Ashville Avenue, Cary (919) 851-5541

Mon.-Th. 11:30-8:30 Fri.& Sat. 11:30-9:00



A resident of Jacksonville, Florida for 41 years, my family and I were relocated to Cary, North Carolina in October of 1989. Avid BBQ conoisseurs, we immediately went in search of real pit, hickory smoked BBQ. We soon discovered that BBQ in North Carolina consisted of shreadded [sic] pork with vinegar sauce which was totally different from the BBQ we has grown to know and love. Longing for the BBQ we were accustomed to, yet unable to find, a decision was made to open Danny's Bar-B-Que. --from the Danny's menu


After our first practice as a "national" band, Shinola was hungry for food as well as fame, and one of The Mayor's cohorts in Pine State, one Zima-swilling "Grampa Bampa" recommended that we check out Danny's. Putting aside our distaste for Cary, we clamored aboard The Mayor's father's Oldsmobile and endured the torture of its pinging bells in order to find some good Q. The place was nearly impossible to find: in a mall amidst a sea of malls. Well-lit with "homey" decor, the place still reminded me of one of those beer & food joints on Franklin Street where the frat boys hang. When the five of us walked in, we were stared at like we were freaks or something. Maybe it was the Mondale '84 shirt I was wearing... Cary is Republicanville, USA, after all.

After the waitress convinced us that we were at the better of the two Danny's locations (both in Cary), we sat down at a wooden picnic table reserved for 5 or more. The Mayor produced a pen and surreptitiously changed the sign to "Reserved for a small tribe of Andalusian goat-herders." The food arrived quickly. In its favor, it filled my hungry belly and didn't leave me with the usual "barbeque hangover" that slows the brain and motor neurons down to half-speed. The hushpuppies were good, and the other sides looked both healthy and tasty.

However, this isn't the kind of pork that makes North Carolina worth living in. It's chopped coarsely (it looks like pork--a bad sign) and not nearly as tender as traditional NC 'cue. It's not cooked in any particularly distinctive sauce. And the sauces (hickory, mustard, and vinegar) on the table are bland.

Don't get me wrong: I liked it well enough... after dousing it with all three sauces, and a lot of salt and pepper. It's not bad; it's just not worth driving to Cary for. And even if (God save me) I had to live in Cary, I'm sure I'd be taking my BBQuests more often... to someplace else.--Alec


When Grampa Bampa of Krapper Keeper and Pine State fame told me I had to go to Danny's, I thought I was in for a real treat. So all of us Shinola kiddies squeezed ourselves into my father's Oldsmobile [I just used that joke, sorry! --Alec] and got lost in Cary until we found one of Danny's two locations.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about this place as my pal Bampa, but that just ain't the case. (He assures me that the other Danny's, located next to an old people's supply store, is better, but I'm sceptical.) While the sides were okay--particularly the beans, which were quite good--the meats left much to be desired. I had the combination plate, and I thought the chicken and ribs were bland and the barbecue, which was coarse-shredded, was on the dry side. It had a slight hickory flavor, but nothing that would inspire me to drive to Cary again to eat it.

The two best things about Danny's were the beer and the hush puppies, but you had to pay for both of them. Shoot, I can get my beer at the Harris Teeter cheaper and my hush puppies for free at Bullock's or Hobgood's. --The Mayor



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