Carolina's Finest

Kristin’s Hook’d on Smoke

Finest Barbecue

By Leah Chester-Davis|

November 2024

Revival Creatives

West Jefferson and around Ashe County | 336-977-0657 | instagram.com

Smoked to perfection every night and hand-pulled each morning, Kristin’s Hook’d on Smoke’s barbecue has garnered quite the following. Only dry rub goes onto the pork — no sauce and no injections — and the meat is smoked with apple branches and hickory logs that owner Kristin Howell harvests locally. Both the pulled pork and smoked brisket are the most popular menu items, but she dabbles in lots of other meats such as smoked bologna and bourbon meatloaf. Kristin’s Hook’d on Smoke won the Carolina’s Finest food truck category in 2022, and in addition to her food truck, located at 602 S. Jefferson Avenue in West Jefferson, you can now find her scrumptious barbecue at her newly opened restaurant, the Park Vista Diner, at 1901 Park Vista Road in West Jefferson (milepost 268 of the Blue Ridge Parkway).

Delicious food, and an owner who cares about her community!”

Sandra Lassen, West Jefferson, a member of Blue Ridge Energy

This year’s runners-up

JD’s Smokehouse, Rutherford College

White Swan BBQ, Smithfield

About the Author

Carolina Country Contributing Editor Leah Chester-Davis loves to explore North Carolina. Her business, Chester-Davis Communications (chester-davis.com), specializes in food, farm, gardening and lifestyle brands and organizations.