Sweet Lew’s is the answer to a question that’s plagued Charlotte: Where can you go around here for a real North Carolina barbecue experience? Close to Uptown, in the east Charlotte blue-collar neighborhood of Belmont, Lewis Donald has flipped an old service station into a no-frills, go-tell-yo-mama, smoke shack; Although new to the neighborhood, the flagship location echoes memories of distant back country roadside barbecue joints that made this state famous. Without the fallback option of an electric or gas assist, Sweet Lew's 450 square foot smokehouse is home to the only true smoker in all of Charlotte. A blend of Hickory, Pecan and Peach woods, is all that drives the fire which smokes Sweet Lew's award-winning recipes. It also serves as the basis for Sweet Lew's motto: “Cooked With Wood"