CityView Magazine

It’s immediately apparent that eating and finger licking goes o It’s immediately apparent that a lot of good eating and finger licking goes on here. against me? But I was repeatedly, in sometimes veiled terms, warned about the fact that someday I would have to come back to the Army, and I would be held to account for the excesses that I had presided over here.” Of course, we now know the rest of the story: decades later, the Army adopted the beret as its standard headgear. As for McKellar’s Lodge, when the original building burned, it was replaced with a prefabricated building in the early 1970s. Crews tore it down in 1999 and replaced it with a new lodge costing almost $2 million. That was 2001. The lodge is much bigger these days. It can seat banquets with room for large hail and farewells, promotion celebrations, weddings, even family reunions and birthday parties. But the lodge still manages to maintain that rustic feel. It’s surrounded by pine forests on the northwestern side of Fort Bragg. Step inside, and you are greeted by exposed wooden beams and paneled walls. Straight ahead, the large dining hall has hardwood floors and wooden chairs covered in red and green plaid. It’s immediately apparent that a lot of good eating and finger licking goes on here, with the possibility of formal Southern etiquette being tossed aside for the temporary enjoyment of barbecued meat drenched in your favorite sauce. Let’s put it this way: you’ll need one of those massive rolls of paper towels sitting on each table. “We have the best barbecue in North Carolina,” says Manager Mike Garrity, who is also a former soldier. “We have several different kinds of barbecue, Left| Spc. Alex Heath, Staff Sgt. Jere Mebane and Sgt. Steve Cobb share a laugh in the bar at McKellar’s Lodge. Top | Though most folks come for the food, especially barbecue on Thursdays, the atmosphere doesn’t hurt either. Above | On chilly days, a roaring fi re is burning in the lodge’s tall stone fi replace. CityViewNC.com | 27

• Cover