Written by DCist contributor Spencer Ackerman

Never mind the endless D.C. barbeque debate. Neither minds nor palates will ever change in this feud of provincialism. Texans, you might as well stop reading here. For anyone who wants some real, no-nonsense Carolina pork barbeque, however, get out past gentrification’s reach and into B & J North Carolina BBQ in LeDroit Park. This, my friends, is as authentic as it gets: you get a nose full of vinegar the moment you open the door to this run-down shack of deliciousness.

Run-down it certainly is. The restaurant consists of three bench tables and a makeshift lunch counter that hosts more stools than elbow room. Nearby is a jukebox that, on Sunday at noon, blasts Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.” A TV out in the middle of the floor carries a local politics round-up while the handful of customers flip through the papers. The tables carry cloth flowers, and there is at least one clock which features Jesus. Bums will ask you for cigarettes, so either fork ’em over or prepared to get confrontational. Atmospheric this ain’t.