Duke's appears to have gone way downhill since the Stern's last visit.
I ate dinner there on Thursday, 10/14/04, and at 6:00 PM I was the only one in the place. That should have been my first warning.
The place is as spartan as the Sterns reported. You go through a makeshift "cafeteria" line where you can get bbq and slaw, hash and rice and some sliced pickles.
The rice had been left out for a considerable time and was cold and beginning to harden. The bbq was less than lukewarm. The one redeeming factor was the glorious hash and I would return only to buy a container to take out.
This was not hickory smoked pork. Perhaps Duke's was a log burner at one time but there was no smokey flavor whatsoever in the meat. In this part of the country, the best bbq places still smoke with wood and it makes a clear difference.
It's always disappointing to have to report the decline of classic Roadfood place but this Duke no longer deserves its position in the royal family.
