This barbecue restaurant may be the best known eating place in Prince William County. Just off Route 1 on Occoquan Road, Dixie Bones serves Birmingham-style barbecue, which isn't the same as you would find in North Carolina or Kansas City. Basically, the sauce is tomato based and has a slightly sweet component. But it's the meat that makes the barbecue, and Dixie Bones smokes its pork butts (really the shoulder), beef brisket, ribs and chicken over hickory wood in a real barbecue pit. The restaurant no longer sports its original orange decor, having switched instead to a dark green. Pig statues still decorate the window sills, and law enforcement patches cover almost every vertical space. Servers have gone high-tech, placing orders on PDAs and wearing small machines around their waists that can print out your receipt on the spot. The same PDAs are capable of handling credit card transactions. I prefer to get the barbecue to take home. The potato salad and coleslaw are down home good, and don't forget a slice of pie or a fried apple pie (well, it's really a baked apple turnover, but the concept is similar!). Dixie Bones is experienced in handling takeout orders and has special packing materials to ensure the food arrives in great condition. --Nancy Lewis, The Guide, April 26, 2007
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