Name: Bar-B-Q King
Date: 1/16/17
Address: 2613 E Main St, Lincolnton, NC 28092
Order: Q King sandwich with hush puppies, onion rings, and sweet tea (link to menu)
Price: $0 (my meal was graciously picked up but that did not in any way affect my review)

Monk: Bar-B-Q King in Lincolnton (not to be confused with the drive in of the same name in Charlotte) is one of those joints I’ve always been somewhat aware of but haven’t ever made a point to go to. After checking it out recently on the invitation of Jordan, a son of co-owner Keith Smith and the social media manager, I wish I had gone much sooner.

At the lunch hour on a Monday, a steady stream of locals are usually lined up several deep at the multiple register counter. “Hollerin’ orders” has apparently been the longtime system to communicate orders in the kitchen and was certainly the first time I’ve ever witnessed anything like it. In case its not evident in the name, as customers order at the register their order is literally yelled from the order taker to the kitchen staff who then acknowledge the order and begin putting it together. It’s surely a sight to see.

That alone would be worth the visit to Bar-B-Q King but thankfully the barbecue more than backs it up. They smoke their pork shoulders daily over hickory coals and hand chop the pork each morning. I would call their style pretty closely aligned to Lexington-style, though they do offer a white slaw option. The sandwich I got was fantastic – the chop was not too coarse, the pork was tender and smoky, and the red slaw accentuated it all perfectly.

The house-made hush puppies were quite good and the onion rings are their best selling side for a obvious reasons after tasting them. Had I not been checking out another joint an hour later I would have gladly finished both of them and left completely stuffed.

Last fall, Bar-B-Q King celebrated its 45th anniversary, so I can imagine that it’s quite an institution in the town of Lincolnton – and rightly so. If Jordan, who took me on a tour of the smokehouse and kitchen, is any indication there are quality people behind the joint who work hard to put out a great product six days out of the week (closed on Sundays). Lincolnton is about a half hour down highway 150 from Shelby and Barbecue Bros fave Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge. In my book Bar-B-Q King is nearly as good, which longtime readers of the blog will know is high praise. Get yourself to Bar-B-Q King in Lincolnton.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4.5 hogs
Pork – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs