Casey's Buffet and BBQ

Wilmington, North Carolina, home to Casey's Buffet and BBQ, the best BBQ/Southern food that I've ever had in my entire life...(pause for dramatic effect)... My aunt brought me here yesterday for lunch...honestly, my initial thought was ehh...ok, I guess I can do some Southern food, not really understanding the true concept of the feast. But, I was so wrong and so delightfully surprised by my visit. We pulled into the parking lot marked by the massive sign with a pig emblazoned front and center. And the restaurant wasn't any more spectacular, a discreet building with a banner taped to the front...but nothing about these details would be the tell tale sign of amazingly tasty and finger licking food.

Once inside, the decor was very chatsky antique meets country garage sale, with numerous amounts of pig paraphernalia sprawled all over the restaurant. Immediately we were greeted by our server, Athelia, who I must say played the lead role in the Southern ambiance. She offered Ahmed the fried catfish and shrimp immediately after peeping his plate full of veggies and fish...which must be unheard of in this neck of the woods. He loved the catfish with the lemon pepper topping and tarter sauce. And I tried almost everything at the buffet, except some of the beans and pig's feet...just couldn't stomach it. My die hard faves were the pork ribs, which were so tasty, yet had a chewy tender consistency that fell right off the bone; and then the fried chicken was out of this world. I meant to just take one bite from my drumstick to try it, but I just couldn't stop...down it went with everything else. But of course the collards are always my fave, and I probably ate a plateful...if I'm ever back in town, I will definitely be going back. This humble little spot is mysteriously amazing...and it goes to show, that even with all the bougie restaurants I eat at in the city perfecting my palate...I can still find a hole in the wall with good food and convo for an $8 meal and be perfectly happy. Good times...no GREAT times...xo, B

My peach and blueberry cobbler before...

Our sweet waitress Athelia, walked by me and asked which desert I tried, and advised, more so persisted that I had to top off my cobbler with the soft serve vanilla ice cream. Of course I diligently listened, and after that my taste buds were zinging...I was done after my first bite of the plain cobbler, but after my addition of ice cream, I killed my desert.

This is our amazing waitress Athelia...she was so sweet, and charming...she noticed we were from "out-of-town"... wonder what gave us away, my picture taking of everyone's food...or that I was the only woman wearing a dress...? But anyhow, she made suggestions on what to eat, and added little facts about the restaurant and her life...was totally smitten with her Southern charm.

Thought these rocking chairs were so sweet...on my way in I wasn't sure why they were there, but as we were walking out, I totally could have used a little sway in the rocking chair to help me digest! Love love love this place!