Lexington KY Find

Barrel House Distilling Co.
1200 Manchester St.
Lexington, KY





I am a self-admitted bourbon snob.  The most American Spirit has a great history and it just tastes great.  So when I go to Kentucky I enjoy visiting different distilleries.

Thanks to the rediscovery of bourbon by America (see:  http://fortune.com/2014/02/06/the-billion-dollar-bourbon-boom/) new craft distilleries are popping up.

Unlike beer, it takes years for their product to get to market.  I decided to visit a couple before my flight Sunday.

The first was the Barrel House Distilling Co.  (http://barrelhousedistillery.com/)

This is a four person operation.  They make a very good corn based vodka, but I was disappointed that they were out of bourbon for two weeks.

It was an interesting tour and any one who is interested in home distilling can learn a great deal visiting there.

But what makes the trip worthwhile are the two craft breweries that are at the same site, and the restaurant The Middle Fork Kitchen.

It was Sunday, which means Bloody Mary time.  They make their's with green tomatoes, Hatch Chilies, and other peppers, spicy, but very good...


 The bar is outstanding.

 But their food is truly great.  Priced well too.  I like quirky and unique dishes and this place has some great variations of traditional meals.

I was there during brunch time, this is pork on top of cheese grits with a poached egg.  Damn good.  If I didn't need to run off for my tour, I would have bought the t-shirt.







Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling
401 Cross St.
Lexington, KY


Right down the street is the Lexington Brewing and Distilling company.  http://www.kentuckyale.com/

Alltech owns it, so unlike the four person craft distillery, this place is state of the art.  Note if you served in the military, you get to tour for free.  They give you five tokens, and you can use them to try their beers or spirits.

Their best beers are finished in old bourbon barrels.  It bumps the alcohol content from 5% to 8%, but it also enhances the flavors.

I only burned one token on the beer side of the tour, but it was worth it.  If you see this in the store grab it.


The only bad part of visiting Kentucky is the fact I always have to check luggage on the way home because there are just too many good bottles to try and TSA won't allow them in your carry on.

Helpful hint, get some bubble wrap at Walgreen's to protect your stuff from the violent baggage handlers...see:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU6F12S6q48

Rating:  Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt

To Tomato or Not to Tomato? That is the Question in Carolina

Tarheel Q
6835 West Old US Hwy. 64
Lexington, NC






Barbeque can get down right complicated in the Tar Heel State.

The next time you hear someone tell you they serve “Carolina-style” barbeque, don’t let them off the hook.

Your next question should be, “Which Carolina style?”

As in, Eastern Carolina Barbeque or Western Carolina Barbeque?

Wars have been fought over less weighty disputes.

Eastern Carolina barbeque dates to Colonial times when the early settlers believed that tomatoes were poisonous. The only trace of red you’ll find in Eastern ‘que are flecks of pepper.

“Down East” around Wilson, Ayden and Rocky Mount, they smoke the whole hog, snout to tail, then drench the chopped up pig meat in a sauce of nothing more than peppery vinegar. It’s an acquired taste, for sure, especially if you are used to the ketchupy BBQ sauces of Memphis, Kansas City and Dallas.

Me? I guess I’m kind of a barbeque tramp. I like ‘em all.

Sure some barbeque is better than others, but there is no such thing as BAD smoked pig.

Here in Western North Carolina, the pit masters are much less tomatophobic.

Only the shoulder of the hog is smoked, and it is drenched in a vinegar sauce sweetened with a touch of tomato and sugar.

This Western Carolina barbeque style originated right here in Lexington, North Carolina about 100 years ago when Jesse Swicegood and Sid Weaver set up a barbeque pit in front of the Davidson County Court House on the days when the farmers from the surrounding fields would come to town.

Today, Lexington, a town of about 20,000 hungry souls, boasts nearly two dozen barbeque joints – the most per capita in America.

Welcome to the barbeque capital of the world!

I’ve always been partial to Western Carolina – or Lexington style – barbeque. I like a balance between the pucker of vinegar and the sweet of the tomato.

And that’s what you get here at Tarheel Q.

Of course Tarheel Q isn’t exactly in Lexington. It’s about ten miles west of town out over the hills and through the tobacco fields, hard against the Yadkin River.

You know it’s got to be good when your barbeque joint is out in the sticks.

The smoke billowing from the chimney and the wood pile of chopped hickory out back serve as further reminder that this is the real deal.

In fact, the only flaw I could find in Tarheel Q’s authentic barbeque credentials was that the place seemed a bit too clean – and new.

Well, it turns out, there’s a good reason for that.

Tarheel Q burned to the ground about a year or two ago and was recently rebuilt.

Call it an occupational hazard for an enterprise built around burning hickory 18 hours per day. Every day.

In my book, that makes Tarheel Q the Steve Earle of Western Carolina barbeque joints.

You know how you can’t be truly considered a critically-acclaimed legitimate outlaw country songwriter until you’ve served a prison sentence for heroin addiction? Somehow, that makes you deep.

Same thing with barbeque joints. You officially earn your street cred after you’ve been burnt down and rebuilt at least once or twice.

But Tarheel Q earns its cred in Suit757’s book with its outstanding barbeque.

Strictly segregated by gender, the ladies serve the customers in the front of the house while the men tend to the fire, smoke and danger in the back.

Just as it should be.

As I sat at the counter, I watched them wielding their knives, chop, chop, chopping my fresh-from-the-smoker pork into tender bites.

A giant mound of chopped pork squooshed between two woefully inadequate Marita "Southern Bread" hamburger buns came out rapped in wax paper. The sandwich was topped with cole slaw (a Carolina tradition) and just a touch of Tarheel Q’s famous sauce.

The sauce was much sweeter than I expected for a barbeque sandwich within the state of North Carolina.

But it was delicious.

In fact, on request, my waitress brought me a mini jar of heated sauce to further soak my pig meat.

The thin sauce just melted right into the meat, further contributing to my Merita bun disintegration. Eventually, I gave up and just started using my fork.

But the thin, sweet sauce was a delicious accompaniment to the tender smoky pork. A top notch variation on Western Carolina que.

The boat of warm hush puppies on the side was top notch too – sweet like cake with a crunchy bite. No way could I finish them all.

Those good ol’ boys Down East might frown upon Tarheel Q’s brand of barbeque, but it earns five stars in my book.

After all, it’s not worth going to war over.

But then again, all’s fair in love and barbeque.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt.

Lexington Barbecue Gets Straight Outta Compton

Lexington Barbecue 
10 US Hwy 29 70 S
Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 249-9814

When God was handing out teeth to all us humans, He neglected to give me a sweet tooth.

Instead, I got two salty teeth.

I'm not saying God made a mistake. 

After all, I was lucky enough to get a full set -- unlike some poor folks in West Virginia.

But it's no exaggeration to say I'd rather people sing happy birthday to me around a bag of potato chips than a cake.

So it shouldn't be a surprise that I like North Carolina-style barbecue.  A lot.

I like the saltiness.  I like the smoked pork.  I love the way the heat from the red pepper flakes work with the vinegar to dance on my tongue.

In fact, North Carolina-style barbecue may just be my favorite food in the world.

Despite all that, I had never been to Lexington Barbecue.

If you travel and know anything about barbecue at all, you have to be living under a rock not to know about this restaurant.

It has been featured on the Food Network, makes all the "Top Ten" barbecue lists, and is virtually always the only representative from North Carolina.

I may have a chip on my shoulder, but I believe this is because some folks are North Carolina-style barbecue bigots.

I think they look down on this particular regional variation.

It's too hot for some.  Too tangy for others.  Others think it's not sweet enough.

So whenever I see one of these lists, I think to myself the authors just included Lexington Barbecue because they think North Carolina-style barbecue HAS to be represented.

They need a "token."  They need an affirmative action pick.

So naturally, walking into Lexington Barbecue, I had some questions about the place.

Did Lexington Barbecue sell out and cater to Da Man to get on these lists?

Was dey house barbecue?

Or did Lexington Barbecue make it out of 'cue Compton and into the Big Time by sheer will, determination, hard work and flavor?

Well, I was about to find out.

It was late Friday afternoon when I arrived at the restaurant -- after the lunch rush, but before the dinner crowd.

At that point, only about a quarter of the tables in the restaurant were filled.

I was happy about that.  Suit 69 likes eating at good places, but he doesn't like dealing with huge crowds.

The very friendly waitress walked over and handed me a menu.

While looking it over, I couldn't help but notice there was no sauce choices on the table.

You were going to get their one sauce and either like it or not.

That's a good sign, I thought.  We gots North Carolina-style barbecue militants up in here!

You could get their barbecue sliced, chopped or chopped thickly.  I opted for the thickly chopped version.

The dinner also came with a choice of hush puppies or rolls, so I opted for hush puppies.

It didn't take long at all for my food to arrive, which was great.  I was starving.

My first bite was of the hush puppies.  They were nice and crispy and had good flavor.

The second bite was of the slaw.  It wasn't the mayonnaise-based white slaw most folks are used to.
 
Instead, they serve North Carolina red slaw, which is vinegar-based and bites you back.

Third, I tried a fry.  It tasted like a fry.

Then I had a sip of sweet tea before I dug into the barbecue.


Since North Carolina-style sauce is very thin, it doesn't coat meat.

Instead, it gets absorbed.

For that reason, the chunks of barbecue on the top of my plate were the least likely to have much sauce flavor, so that's where I started.

For that first bite, I just wanted to taste the meat.

It was great.  It had a solid smoke flavor -- but not too much.  It wasn't dry either.  It was just about perfect.

For the second bite, I mixed the meat up in the sauce.

It was awesome.  It had a touch of heat, a nice vinegar tang and was just salty enough to bring out the smoky pork flavor without killing it.

I couldn't help but beat back a smile.

Yeah.  Lexington Barbecue deserves it's place on those lists.  What's better is that they got there staying true to NC 'cue.

I'll admit they've got street cred with this North Carolina-style barbecue lover. 

They ain't sold out to Da Man, so count Suit 69 in as a fan.

I finished my meal as slowly as I possibly could to savor every last bite and walked up the cash register to pay.

While I was up there, I asked for a shirt.  "That'll be $7.00," the lady behind the cash register said.

$7.00!   Wow. 

For the folks out there that haven't been to Lexington Barbecue yet, next time you're cruising down I-85 in North Carolina, stop at Lexington Barbecue.

You'll be glad you did -- and I bet you'll be walking out with a shirt too.

Rating:  Bought the Shirt!