BBQ for Breakfast at the Bar-B-Q King

Alas this is the final entry from our all too short stay in the south. I would not have been able to cover as many cool places in such a short amount of time if it wasn't for the "insider skinny" provided by local folks Pat at Charlotte Eats ,Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing and his pal Annie. Thanks and I hope to return the favor if "y'all" are ever in PA!

When you try and cram too many meals into too few hours, you end up doing wacky things, like eating barbeque in your car at 10:30am on a rainy Saturday at the Bar B Q King in Charlotte NC! Serving Charlotte since 1959, this place is a great roadside drive in with speaker service and trays that pull right up to the side of your car.

Our eating schedule got all thrown off during our incredibly short stay in Charlotte, having discovered the South 21 and also discovering that many of the BBQ places we thought we might try closed very early. So it was delicious cajun food at the Cajun Queen for dinner (thumbs up!) and then an early visit to the Bar B Q King as we were driving up to Baltimore. Luckily the food, sign and service was worth the detour!

We felt like old pro's pulling up to the Serv Us Phone and ordering from our car (no indoor seating at the King) just like at South 21. We were the only folks there at this early hour, so as I roamed about taking some photos and dodging the raindrops, one of the kind gentlemen who worked there invited me inside to see one of their crowning glories- an autographed display from Guy Fiore of "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" TV show.

(When people hear about Retro Roadmap sometimes they say, "Oh! Like that Diners show on teevee" and while I do incoroporate places other than food establishments, the relationship is close enough. There's room in this big world for all of us!)

Our Bar B Q came out hot and fresh, with a tangy sauce and sides of hush puppies (one was scarfed down before I could even snap a photo!) And though there's no pick, you can see the Charlotte Pickle on the cole slaw.

(ok you can see over in the corner that  I put down the pup to snap the photo!)

I'll be honest and say that the sauce was quite tangy, as I've been told North Carolina BBQ is supposed to be, but I'm not sure if it's supposed to be as tangy as we had it. Locals care to chime in?

I know everyone in NC has an opinion as to who has the best 'cue, and I'd be more than happy to go back down there and sample some. But for a quick bite on the way home, the Bar B Q King fit the Retro Roadmap bill!