This evening we topped off our trip to Charlotte with a stop at The Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington, NC. Yes, by the time we finished up I was ready to get out of the big city so we headed north back towards home. Tammy called this the perfect weekend run. We had boots, Jesus, BBQ and ice cream. The purpose of the trip was a visit to Tecovas Boot Store in Charlotte. Awesome place and of course I didn’t leave empty handed. Then we paid a visit to the Billy Graham Library for a tour and lunch. They have a really nice café and the library was great. Then off to Lexington for the BBQ and ice cream. Here’s what we found along the trail.
Coarse Chopped BBQ Plate with Onion Rings and Red Slaw.
The Restaurant and Staff at The Bar-B-Q Center:
The restaurant is in an established brick and mortar building on Main Street. They weren’t hard to get to from I-85. GPS saves the day again. According to their website, The Bar-B-Q Center is the oldest bbq establishment in downtown Lexington that still cooks on pits. You can read about their start by checking out the history on their website.
They were pretty busy when we arrived. Fortunately some people were getting up when we came in and the waitress cleared the table for us to sit. It seemed to me that they didn’t really assign a waitress to a table or section. Everyone who came by asked if you were ok and if you needed anything. We had several waitresses throughout the evening. They were all excellent.
Our Choices at The Bar-B-Q Center:
Coarse Chopped BBQ Plate with Fried Okra and Baked Beans.
Tammy ordered a Coarse Chopped Plate with Onion Rings and Red Slaw. I’m pretty sure it was the coarse chopped. It was chunks of Pit-Cooked Pork. The onion rings were delicious. The waitress said they were homemade. Either way they were nice thick slices of onions with a good batter on them. The slaw was everything red slaw was supposed to be. Plenty of twang and just a wonderful side with the pork.
The pork was awesome. It had a nice smoke flavor, a smoke ring and some good bark. Notice the red sauce. That’s another Western NC trait. This was another fantastic switch from the bbq we normally eat. Not saying one is better than the other, just saying be open to different styles and give them a try.
I also ordered the Coarse Chopped Plate. Mine was with Baked Beans and Fried Okra. The beans were good. They didn’t do a lot of doctoring up on them but they were an excellent side with the pork. My okra was really good. Not over fried with just a light coating on them. And we shouldn’t forget the Hushpuppies. They were exceptional. Again, fried perfectly.
So all together our meals were awesome. But wait, there’s more.
How About A Little Dessert At The Bar-B-Q Center:
Apple Pie and Chocolate Ice Cream.
Well if you want a little dessert you’ll have to go somewhere other than The Bar-B-Q Center. Tammy ordered a piece of Apple Pie with Chocolate Ice Cream. This was no small piece of pie or a small scoop of ice cream. They were both outstanding.
I, on the other hand, went for a Nut Sundae. This has two scoops, your choice of flavor, nuts, chocolate syrup and whipped cream with cherries on top. I believe mine was with cookies and cream on the bottom and vanilla on top. This was huge. And by the way, nowhere near the size of their banana split. The banana split will feed 3 or 4 people. Save room for dessert.
Final Thoughts on The Bar-B-Q Center:
Well I do believe that The Bar-B-Q Center finished off a successful bbq run. I believe we had around a 4 hour drive back home moaning all the way. But very happy. We loved the restaurant. It had almost an old fashioned diner style inside. The people were wonderful. They really have an awesome staff there. The bbq was incredible and the ice cream would be hard to outdo. I am so glad we stopped here. Many times when we’re passing through an area we just have to take a chance and pick one when there are several places to choose from. We were very fortunate we chose The Bar-B-Q Center.
Now For Your Thoughts:
So how do you like them? We’d love to hear from some others who have visited here. What did you order and how was it? Hopefully your experience was as good as ours was.
Any regulars want to join in on this review? Tell us more about The Bar-B-Q Center. What keeps you going back? Fill us in on the other items on the menu. Just scroll down and leave your comments in the box.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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You can check out their website at: http://barbecuecenter.net/
You can also find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/barbecuecenter/
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