At Lexington Barbecue, the owner, Rick, told us that Bridges was "BBQ not to be missed." So we drove an hour outside of Charlotte to Shelby, NC - the birthplace of North Carolina BBQ.
The story we were told by the owner, Debbie, and our knowledgeable and nice waitress, Dianne, was in the 1930's Warner Stamey lived in Shelby, NC and was first credited with creating traditional North Carolina BBQ. He then moved east to Lexington and put Lexington on the map with his unique style. Debbie's father came back from the war in 1946 and started Bridges Barbecue Lodge using the same techniques he learned from Warner. Bridges then moved to it's current location in 1952 and the place hasn't changed since. Seriously; they may have changed a light bulb or two, but nothing else.
We ordered the chopped pork tray with red coleslaw, hush puppies and our new found favorite drink, Cheerwine. The meat is pork shoulder pit cooked over hickory and oak and the sauce was a spicy apple cider vinegar and ketchup reduction.
Before we went, we were encouraged to try their homemade banana pudding. Since Bridges represented our 11th BBQ joint in three days, we were definitely in need of some fruit.
Memorable Quotes:
The story we were told by the owner, Debbie, and our knowledgeable and nice waitress, Dianne, was in the 1930's Warner Stamey lived in Shelby, NC and was first credited with creating traditional North Carolina BBQ. He then moved east to Lexington and put Lexington on the map with his unique style. Debbie's father came back from the war in 1946 and started Bridges Barbecue Lodge using the same techniques he learned from Warner. Bridges then moved to it's current location in 1952 and the place hasn't changed since. Seriously; they may have changed a light bulb or two, but nothing else.
Shingai, Debbie, Anthony and Dianne
We ordered the chopped pork tray with red coleslaw, hush puppies and our new found favorite drink, Cheerwine. The meat is pork shoulder pit cooked over hickory and oak and the sauce was a spicy apple cider vinegar and ketchup reduction.
Before we went, we were encouraged to try their homemade banana pudding. Since Bridges represented our 11th BBQ joint in three days, we were definitely in need of some fruit.
Memorable Quotes:
Shingai: "Rick from Lexington told us that Bridges BBQ was BBQ not to be missed."
Stranger: "And he's right too! This is the best BBQ I did eat."
Dianne (Waitress): "My husband was the first man east of the Mississippi to get 2 perfect scores for barbecue in competition".
AB: "Does he still cook?"
Dianne (Waitress): "No. He's been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the hat."
AB: "Is that how he got you?"
Waitress: "No. I was a waitress in a restaurant and he loved to eat."
Dianne (Waitress): "East North Carolina has more vinegary sauces and West North Carolina has more sweet sauces."
AB: "Well, which ones do you like?"
Dianne (Waitress): "I like 'em ALL!"
Debbie (Bridges Daughter) - "As she gave us a CD with a song about Bridges BBQ - "Now that's some good red neck toe-tapping music!"
Ratings:
Ambiance - 7.5
Overall - 9 - this place is awesome, but is about .25 below Lexington BBQ, our current front runner. They do not salt their meat like Lexington does, which is what gives Lexington the edge.
Stranger: "And he's right too! This is the best BBQ I did eat."
Dianne (Waitress): "My husband was the first man east of the Mississippi to get 2 perfect scores for barbecue in competition".
AB: "Does he still cook?"
Dianne (Waitress): "No. He's been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the hat."
AB: "Is that how he got you?"
Waitress: "No. I was a waitress in a restaurant and he loved to eat."
Dianne (Waitress): "East North Carolina has more vinegary sauces and West North Carolina has more sweet sauces."
AB: "Well, which ones do you like?"
Dianne (Waitress): "I like 'em ALL!"
Debbie (Bridges Daughter) - "As she gave us a CD with a song about Bridges BBQ - "Now that's some good red neck toe-tapping music!"
Ratings:
Pork - 9.5- good smokey flavor, moist, juicy, with warm ketchup/vinegar and spice sauce
"Red" Coleslaw - 7 - ketchup/vinegar slaw with a little sweetness but good vinegar flavor
Hush Puppies - the best puppies we had - hot, crunchy, delicious - one bite and we were sold
Banana Pudding - 8 - homemade with whole sliced bananas, nilla wafers and whipped cream
Cheerwine - fantastic (never disappoints)
Ambiance - 7.5
Overall - 9 - this place is awesome, but is about .25 below Lexington BBQ, our current front runner. They do not salt their meat like Lexington does, which is what gives Lexington the edge.
No comments:
Post a Comment