Stephenson's Barbeque
Went to Stephenson's BBQ in Willow Springs (McGee's Crossroads), NC this afternoon. Great barbecue - didn't even need sauce. Good, sweet hush puppies. Good sweet tea. Homemade french fries, a bit floppy, but I liked them okay (good flavor). I liked the brunswick stew, H. thought it was okay. We got the white meat chicken, which was good but dry and a bit salty. Average banana pudding (the only dessert item, FWIW).
This place wins hands down for "BBQ restaurant with the most people wearing John Deere paraphenalia". As we were finishing up, a guy sat down at the table next to us; the waitress asked "how many?" and he answered "three and a half". The "half" turned out to be a lad of two, wearing a John Deere hat and a John Deere shirt, itself protraying a child wearing a John Deere hat (and possibly t-shirt), which would distract lesser minds. But we were stuffed from the barbecue and trying to dart to the car between rain squalls, so it did not deter us from our exit.
Rating: 3 out of 5 fried okras. Worth trying, would go back if it were closer. BBQ itself was a 5. Everything else was just okay at best.