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Best Lexington NC BBQ

1 post · Oct 26, 1995

Elizabeth E.UNC-CH Carolina Population CenterOct 26, 1995
David L. wrote:

> We'll be going over to Lexington NC next week and I've heard that this
> city is known for great barbeque! Could anyone suggest a good
> restuarant there?

Lexington is the BBQ capital of the world. (Any flames or disagreement with that will be dismissed as naive geobiasisms. :-))

Really, there are supposed to be more BBQ "joints" there per capita that anywhere else in the U.S.

Lexington isn't really a city, though. It's a town of about 18,000. So don't go expecting a big city environment... :-)

My favorite BBQ place in Lexington is Smokey Joe's. It's on South Main Street which is also I-85 business. To get to it (the scenic route, through downtown), take the Hwy 64 exit off of I-85. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right. Just after you pass a car dealership on the left (several miles down the road), there will be signs warning of sharp curves in the road. Heed them. The curves really are sharp. Take the first exit to the left which is almost a 90 degree curve. At the bottom of that ramp, turn right onto Main Street. Go all the way through downtown. (Downtown is unmistakeable, I think.) Go a couple more miles after you seem to be out of the main downtown area. (You'll have passed an Episcopal church on the left and Methodist and Presbyterian churches on the right.) Look for Smokey Joe's on the left just after a stoplight at a T-intersection. (The road you're on will go straight and there will be a road intersecting on the left.)

Wish I could remember more distinct landmarks, but a lot of them have changed and since I don't use them to get there, I haven't paid attention to what they are now.

Have fun. Report back.

-- Libby Evans
   [email removed]
   http://www.cpc.unc.edu/~evans/homepage.html
   Native Lexingtonian, raised on BBQ and Cheerwine
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