Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington, NC

The tour of the pits was awesome, but I knew that we needed to move quickly to our next stop. Time was of the essence, and I was on a race to eat as much as I could before my stomach realized it was full.

The Barbecue Center had more of a diner feel to it, and as we entered we were quickly greeted by a friendly old lady. I ordered another barbecue tray with brown, coarse chopped and Chris made the mistake of saying “I’ve already eaten”. Our waitress quickly asked where, and before he could think of a good lie, it was too late. He had uttered the words “Lexington #1”.

The only other time I’ve seen a reaction like that was when a friend of mine proudly announced he was an Auburn fan at an Alabama tailgate. Complete and total showstopper.

The waitress stomped off and told her coworkers, and there were a couple of minutes where I legitimately thought that we might be asked to leave the restaurant.

Luckily she came back with my food, and a healthy dose of a scowl towards Chris. She finally warmed up after a while as I told her about my trip and all of the places I’d been and I eventually decided that she was putting on more of an act than anything earlier. Kind of.

The barbecue itself was good, but in a nod to Rick Monk, I think #1’s barbecue had a better combination of flavor, texture and smoke. I did have one bite that was out of this world, which just goes to show why there is so much debate about barbecue.

I ate most of the tray, leaving some cole slaw and some of the hush puppies. We paid and quickly made our way to the next place. After spending nearly 45 minutes at our first stop, I was pleased that our total time inside of the Bar-B-Q Center was probably 15 minutes at the most.

Smiley's in Lexington, NC

Smiley’s was the next on the list, and it was just down the street from Speedy’s, the place I’d heard the most about other than #1.

Smiley’s has kind of a dive/old country diner feel to it, and the sign out front proudly welcomed Senator Bob Dole. I’m not sure to where, but they were welcoming him nonetheless.

By this point it was getting near “supper” time, so Chris and I got a seat at the bar. A young teenager came and took my order, and within two minutes I had my third tray of barbecue in front of me. I was definitely still excited at this point, but my stomach was starting to turn against me, having already put down close to a pound of barbecue in an hour, not to mention the slaw and hush puppies.

The barbecue at Smiley’s was hands down the best I ate in North Carolina, and would end up being my third favorite of the trip, finishing just behind Louie Mueller. The meat had a great smoke flavor, was juicy throughout, and the sauce added a perfect contrast of sweet and tang. I went in thinking that I would only eat half of it, but it was so good that I couldn’t stop myself. I’ll admit that before Smiley’s, I wasn’t quite sure what all the buzz was about when it came to Lexington barbecue. Smiley’s did the city proud.

After finishing, the guy behind the counter took us in the back to show me the pits, and it was interesting to see the difference in size between this one and the one at #1. Just goes to show you that good barbecue can be cooked in any kind of pit

Speedy's Barbecue in Lexington, NC

By the time we pulled into Speedy’s, my stomach had sent the message to my brain that it was over capacity, and I figured I had fifteen minutes until the fire marshall would shut the place down.

Undeterred, we walked in Speedy’s and got a corner booth. I noticed a sign out front touting “Best BBQ Anywhere” and remained hopeful that they would be right, though I couldn’t imagine it getting much better than Smiley’s.

When the “small” tray arrived, my stomach hid behind me like a frightened child. The portion of barbecue on my plate was easily larger than Smiley’s and the Bar-B-Que Center combined. There was at least a pound of coarse chopped, outside brown piled up on my tray and it looked fantastic.

Unfortunately, it would turn out to be pretty tough and not overly flavorful, which is a bad combination. I took a few bites, thinking that maybe I was just grabbing from the wrong section, but it didn’t fare any better.

At that point Chris got up to get in the line for the bathroom, and I thought I would probably throw in the towel. When he came back a few minutes later, the tray was almost empty. I had found a couple of pretty flavorful bites, and though my stomach was beyond full, I was determined to finish the rest. I never really found much to vault Speedy’s out of last place in Lexington, but I was determined to finish the tour strong.

Finale

As I waddled out of Speedy’s, I couldn’t help but enjoy the sense of accomplishment I felt. Four meals of barbecue in 90 minutes to finish off three weeks of touring. Vince Lombardi said that there is nothing better than the euphoric feeling that comes when you’re lying exhausted on the field of play, victorious. I couldn’t agree more.

What Vince Lombardi doesn’t mention is the ridiculous toll said victory can have on your body. After all was said and done, I wanted to vomit, my chest hurt and I had a case of the meat sweats. Chris wanted to vomit just because he watched me eat everything.

But amid the pain, there was a sense of immense pride. The same kind of pride a redneck has when he pulls his truck up to a friend’s house covered in mud. The kind of pride that makes you stick your chest out a little farther, which incidentally I needed to do in order to offset the expansion of my gut over the past three weeks.


Regardless of the toll it took on my body, the barbecue tour was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Spending three weeks catching up with friends, trying local beers and sampling some of the best barbecue in the world was absolutely phenomenal. Having the opportunity to meet so many of the legends of barbecue was inspiring. Barbecue, similar to craft beer, wine and music, is a labor of love. The people I met truly have a passion for their craft, and while most make a decent living, their true reward comes from knowing they’ve given generations of families and friends a reason to get together and celebrate.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re either my parents or you really love barbecue. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the trip a fraction as much as I did. I’ll continue to post about new places I’ve found from time to time, and would love to get any recommendations on places that I haven’t mentioned. I’m always up for a good road trip.

Awards

As I said at the very beginning, picking “the best” barbecue restaurant is impossible. Barbecue is kind of like music in that almost everyone loves it, but everyone has a different opinion on which kind they like.

With that said, I humbly submit what I believe were the best places on the trip. But don’t just take my word for it. Travel to each place and decide for yourself.

Best Atmosphere:

1. Rendezvous (Memphis)
2. Louis Mueller (Taylor, TX)
3. Salt Lick (Austin, I know, it wasn’t on the tour, but it really is an awesome experience)

Best Brisket:

Louie Mueller (Taylor, TX)

Best Smoked Sausage:

Kreutz Market- Jalapeno Cheese Sausage (Lockhart, TX)

Best Pork Sandwich:

Interstate Bar-B-Q (Memphis, TN)

Best Pulled Pork:

Bar-B-Q Shop (Memphis, TN)

Best Ribs:

Bar-B-Q Shop (Memphis, TN)

Overall Grand Champion:

1. Bar-B-Q Shop (Memphis)
2. Louis Mueller (Taylor, TX)
3. Smiley’s (Lexington, NC)