Pulliam's BBQ - This place is Da Bomb

I visited J.S. Pulliman BBQ today, not for the barbecue, but for what I consider the best hot dog in Winston-Salem and one of the top two best hot dogs in the entire state of North Carolina. Pulliam's is located on 4538 Old Walkertown Road just a few doors down from the, now defunct, Bell Brothers Cafeteria. I didn't realize it until today but there is an old photo hanging inside that says J.S Pulliam began operating in 1910. Now in its centennial year, the hot dogs are simply outstanding. Served on a buttery toasted bun, an "all the way" is mustard, chili, onion, and cole slaw. To enhance the experience I recommend adding a stream of the house BBQ sauce called Big Ed's. It comes in two variations, Mildly Hot and my favorite, Extremely Hot. Extremely hot means what it says. I find a thin steam of the extremely hot added along the top of the dog to be a perfect addition. Sweet, savory with some mouth filling heat. that takes a few seconds to notice but pleasantly lingers for awhile. Yes! Big Ed's sauce is for sale for $2.50 a bottle here. Don't leave without a bottle or two. One of each is my routine. A variety of beverages are sold out of those old fashioned, chest type, machines. You know. Those machines that are probably older than your granddaddy. My beverage choice today was a old style bottle of NuGrape soda. A classic combination with the dog. B&G Fruit Pies are available for dessert.


A word for the uninitiated. The hot dogs are those red ones. "Gourmet" tubes not necessary. There are no seats here. You belly up to the small stainless steel bar and eat them standing or you can take them outside and sit down and eat them on the tree stumps out back. I'm not kidding. Another option is to use you car as a table. I just prefer to squeeze in between other patrons and eat them inside so I can re-add the hot sauce if necessary. Don't be shy, just squeeze in. No fries are offered on the short menu. No website, Facebook, or Twitter. The phone number is 336-767-2211. Hours are 10AM - 5:30PM, Tuesday-Saturday. Be sure to view some of the old vintage racing photos while there. The staff will be tickled to tell you all about them and the history of the place. The clientele will often range from corporate types to working stiffs all on equal footing and with a common purpose of dining on one of the best hot dogs served anywhere.

This is one of those places where you really should eat in the restaurant to get the full experience.I never do takeout at Pulliam's. Service is quick and polite. Don't be intimidated by the spartan appearance. The hot dogs are the main attraction. Places like this stay in business for 100 years for a very good reason. Just some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I have never tried the BBQ so I can't comment.

Note: Forgive the poor photo quality. My son, Thomas, was with me and he ate three almost before I could get one down so I snapped in a hurry before this one totally disappeared.

-Contributed by Doug G.

Lunch at West End Cafe

Dropped in to have lunch at West End Cafe. O ordered Rob's Choice salad. It was HUGE. He couldn't get through all of it. There was lettuce, of course, but also cheese, veggies, chicken salad, ham, olives, sunflower seeds, croutons, hard boiled egg, sprouts - you get the picture. And just in case you don't, we took a picture.


As O and I were finishing our lunches he remarked, "you know, we've always had great service here." And he's right. We always have. You should drop in and experience their good service too.

Noble's Grille

We had dinner at one of my favorite places - Noble's and it did not disappoint. John Fulp was managing that night and he is one of my favorite restaurant managers. He always has a story to tell and he is one of the reasons I like the restaurant so much.




We started out at the bar. I have been drinking Cosmopolitans for well over a decade now. It is my drink of choice when I grab a seat at a bar. Because I tend to order them wherever I go I can tell you that I have had some freaking fantastic Cosmos and some really horrid Cosmos. Noble's makes them beautifully perfect. They are super cold and served in a chilled glass. It's a lil' glass of pink yumminess. I didn't think to take a picture, so you'll have to use those fantastic imaginations of yours and then head on over to Noble's to try one out.


We started with a cheese plate and fried onions (which had a much fancier name on the menu), because seriously how can anyone go wrong with cheese and friend onions?!?! The onions were super thin and crispy. And the cheese was - well - need I say more? Because it was cheese and we all like cheese, right?


The boys had steaks. One ordered the Filet and the other the Ribeye. They both scraped their plates clean, which I took as a big thumbs up from them both.






The girls kept it a little lighter by ordering pizzas as our entrees and we split the Heirloom tomato and Mozzarella salad. Okay, okay I may have ordered a side of macaroni and cheese too because as we discussed earlier - it has cheese on it and did I mention I'm also a huge fan of pasta?








Our meal was fantastic. Our server was great. The four of us left happy and full. We went on a Saturday night and they had a band playing music. Several people got up to dance.

Tonight they are partnering up with Slow Food Piedmont Triad and having a slow food tomato celebration dinner. You should check them out.

Bun Curry from Soup's Vietnamese Pho & Grille

I have been craving Curry lately and so I stopped by my Soup's Vietnamese Pho & Grille today to try their unique Bun Curry. Instead of rice to accompany the bowl of awesomeness, you are given rice noodles, shredded lettuce, and crunchy bean sprouts. Inside the curry bowl I chose chicken rather than beef or tofu. Along with the chicken is carrots, potatoes, and the typical taste of coconut milk and a light cream. When you go, this is item V16 on the menu and it is well worth the selection.

Skippy's Hot Dogs

I was inspired by a recent post to visit Skippy's in down town Winston-Salem. I've never been to Skippy's primarily because their featured menu item isn't exactly my kind of food. I'm more into vegetables. However, after some perusing of their website, I discovered that they offer a veggie dog. Now I'm not really the type of vegetarian that longs for meat. If I wanted meat, I'd eat it. But after hearing so many rave reviews of Skippy's pretzel buns, I was on board for a faux-weenie treat.


My two companions and I devoured our pretzel clad dogs in minutes.

The veggie dog is good, people. So good in fact, I imagined the cook snickering somewhere in the back. "That'll teach those pesky vegetarians to insist on veggie dogs. I'll serve them real tube steak!" Okay, I'm certain that wasn't the case. My dog clearly looked different from the beef dogs the boys ate. I'm just saying.

And I have to give special recognition to the French fries. Hand cut, hot, crispy, starchy heaven. Just go get them.

Downtown Thai and Sushi

I grabbed some friends and headed to Downtown Thai and Sushi for dinner this past Friday night. I have been there twice and must say they have the friendliest staff. Now that might be because both times I've eaten there I've been with regulars, but they all seem genuinely friendly and helpful. You'll have to try it out and see if you agree. First I will admit to completely losing my mind and forgetting to take pictures of the appetizers. They were all fabulous, so I'll give you a run down on what we had: Tao Hoo Thod (Deep-Fried Tofu), Po Pia Thod (Deep-Fried Spring Rolls), Kung Hor (Blanket Shrimp), and Steamed Dumplings.

After rereading that first paragraph, I can't help but wonder if most of the apps being deep fried had anything to do with their fabulous-ness? The menu didn't mention it, but I swear the shrimp were deep fried too. Ah, this is why I need more exercise.

Three of us ordered the Kaeng Khaio Wan or Green Curry with slight variations - one steamed tofu, one combination tofu and chicken and finally one fried tofu (alas, that was mine - more exercise). The green curry had eggplant, bamboo shoots, Thai basil and bell pepper in coconut milk. The picture above shows the combination option.



Two people in our party ordered sushi. My friend S ordered Spicy Crab and Spicy Tuna (right). O ordered the Rainbow Roll, Spicy Tuna and Eel (left).






Two people in our party ordered Pad Spicy with Tofu, which consisted of large rice noodles, egg, cabbage, chili sauce, bean sprouts, onions, and carrots.







And the final person in our party ordered Pad Woonsen - glass noodles with mushrooms, carrots, baby corn and scallions. I honestly can't remember what meat he chose and can't tell by the picture. I need to take better notes at dinner!




Everyone enjoyed their meal. The owner of Downtown Thai and Sushi also owns Soup's Vietnamese Phở and Grille. He has recently remodeled the space, so we will be checking out the spiffy new digs next.

Dinner at La Botana's Mexican Restaurant

O and I dropped in La Botana's for dinner last week and were not disappointed. They have a lot of creative vegetarian options to chose from and lots of non-vegetarian options as well for the carnivores in my life (or yours). :) I ordered the Enchiladas al Horno. It consisted of two corn tortillas stuffed with a mashed potato mixture then smothered in a creamy Chipotle sauce and cheese. This was then baked in an oven and served with rice and a small side salad. Can anyone say, "heaven?" O ordered soft tacos with steak and chicken. He received four tacos with a small side of beans, salsa verde, and onions and cilantro to dress up the tacos. We drank tea, but they offer lots of drink specials. Everything we had was excellent.




I keep hearing and reading that the fish tacos here are the bomb diggity. I think I'll try those the next time we swing by.