Spicy Chicken BBQ Sandwich – Elmo’s Diner

Spicy Chicken BBQ Sandwich

The other day we were sitting at work deciding where to go for lunch.  There was a spot in Durham, I had yet to eat and so it was decided that is where we would go, Elmo’s Diner.  It isn’t a BBQ joint so it that wasn’t even on my mind.  Yet to my surprise there was a Chicken BBQ Sandwich on the menu.  It is described on the menu as being NC Style Shredded BBQ so of course I had to try it.  I have eaten chicken like this and though it doesn’t taste like pulled pork, it gives me the same sensation.

Spicy Sauce

The other good thing is that it was listed as spicy.  If anyone knows me, they know that spicy is good to me.  In fact, the spicier the better.  Of course I ordered the sandwich with came with fries and some slaw.  I was not a fan of the slaw, I am not saying it was bad but just wasn’t great.  I still put it on top if the chicken so I could taste is as they wanted.  On top of that I added the Spicy Sauce they served on the side.  It seemed like it was just a spicy version of an eastern style vinegar sauce.  It didn’t taste like hot sauce, but as if something else was added to it.  This extra spice helped the marriage between the Cole slaw and the chicken.  The sandwich was pretty good.  The only thing stopping it from being great was the Cole slaw.

Cole slaw is one of those things that varies based on your taste preference.  So to some people this Cole slaw would be really good, which would make the sandwich great to them.  Regardless if you are in Durham and are looking for a place to grab some lunch and want a Spicy Chicken BBQ Sandwich, Elmo’s Diner is the place to go.

Smokey Joe’s Barbecue

So for work I was in Lexington, NC and of course that meant I had to get some Q.  I knew it wouldn’t take long but I decided to eat at the first place I came across.  Enter Smokey Joe’s.  I was right at 11 so I did not expect it to be crowded and that was accurate for this place.  There were not that many cars in the lot and I didn’t take anything from that since it was so early.  Maybe I should have.  As I was snapping photos and heading in I noticed there was no smell or presence of smoke anywhere.  The same could be said for the inside.  If not for the name and the inside decorations I would not have known I was in a BBQ joint.

I will say that I did enjoy the atmosphere.  You could tell that they had been around for a long while and that the regulars came quite often.  It seemed like the waitresses knew everyone by name and I liked that.  They could tell I was not from around there and they were still very friendly and made the experience enjoyable.

Before I go into describing the food, I will make known that I am not a fan of this style of BBQ.  Not the way it is cooked, but rather how it is prepared and served.  I prefer pulled to chopped and let me add my own sauce not served already covered in sauce.  Now I ordered the chopped pork platter with BBQ slaw and hush puppies.  They serve the slaw and pork in the same small tray packed side by side and covered in sauce.  Their red slaw is basically Cole slaw in BBQ sauce and I was not a huge fan of it.  I didn’t really like the sauce either and since the pork was covered that made it hard to get a good feel for it.  I was able to dig down below the sauce and get some on sauced pork and it was decent.  It was moist and the flavor was decent, but definitely not what I expected in Lexington.  The star of the show was definitely the hush puppies though.  They were fried to perfection and they were gone pretty fast.  There was a dipping sauce that came with them that was also very good.  In fact, once I was finished with my puppies I poured a good bit of that dip over the pork and that definitely helped.

Because the atmosphere was so great I would definitely go back, but just not for BBQ.  I would try one of their other items as it seemed like a good restaurant, and I would get hush puppies with whatever I ordered. If you happen to be in Lexington and want to check them out they are located at:

1101 S. Main Street
Lexington, NC 27292