Restaurant Review: Cooper's Barbeque - Downtown Raleigh

I recently visited a downtown Raleigh establishment which serves up some of the best Eastern NC BBQ in the area - Cooper's Barbeque. Cooper's has been "Serving Carolina Style BBQ since 1938" and I must admit this was one of my favorite places to eat before CD. I had been putting off going into Cooper's to inquire about their GF status for several reasons. If you've ever been there you will understand my first reason - I thought they would look at me like I had 3 heads as soon as I said "Gluten Free". Secondly, I was worried that something in their food would contain gluten and thus I would be banned from one of my favorites - depressing!

I finally got up the nerve to go ask Cooper's about their food and was pleasantly surprised to learn that their BBQ is indeed GF. They use a safe vinegar and none of the other ingredients on their pork BBQ or BBQ chicken contains gluten. Obviously you will need to stay away from the hush puppies and fries (not a dedicated fryer). Some of their sides are also GF - Collard Greens, Steamed Cabbage, Corn & Butter beans (I call these lima beans), Boiled Potatoes and Potato Salad.

Cooper's is located in Downtown Raleigh at 109 East Davie Street (1 block east of Fayetteville Street) and is open Monday - Saturday from 10am - 6pm. Cooper's phone number is 919-832-7614 if you want to call and ask them questions about their menu.