Bastian's, my favorite barbecue spot, in their new home
As a life long barbecue lover, I'm always happy to see signs of business health amongst the purveyors of fine smoked pork products. So it was with great pleasure that we dined today at the new Bastian's location just down the street from their old location on Apperson.
They're now in a building that they own. Actually for those of us who are always chasing barbecue, we have seen them in this building once before when it wasn't nearly as big or as nicely set up for a restaurant.
I am happy to report that there are plenty of tables, the space is very bright, and in the back there is room for the lunch buffet which to my relief still has fried chicken on it every Friday. That's a good thing since man does not live by barbecue alone.
The food or people have not changed which is just the way it should be. Still great food served in an even better spot. Maybe the new spot won't be as vulnerable to those annual Roanoke River floods which often brought out the sand bags at Bastian's.
If you like really good barbecue, and this is no secret as you can see from the sign, Bastian's is the place in the Roanoke Valley. I think their regular barbecue is the hit of the house, and better balanced their Carolina barbecue, but we all have different barbecue taste buds.
You can reach their Salem location by turning right off of Route 419 south at it's intersection with Apperson. You'll see them almost immediately on your left. There is plenty of parking in the back.
I believe the new address is 102o Apperson Drive. Their phone number is (540) 387-2955. I know week days they're open until 3 pm except Friday when they're open during the evening.
I previously talked about Bastian's in another post, "Friday night at the Barbecue Joint." There are a number of other area barbecue spots mentioned in the comments to that post. Since then I have also discovered FireBonz in Hickory, NC and Holly Ridge Smokehouse on US 17 between Jacksonville, NC and Wilmington, NC.
