Bar B Q King

2900 Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte, NC - (704) 399-8344

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Posted By Michael Stern on October 29, 2006 12:17 AM

A big lot with two rows of car slips, order-matic menus, and trays mounted on articulated arms so you can pull dinner right up to the side of your vehicle, Bar B Q King is a mid-century treasure. While many customers eat in their car, phone-ahead service is popular, too: call in your order, then arrive to pick up meals packed in the sturdy cardboard boxes that have become the BBQK trademark.

Our first visit, we made the mistake of asking the car hop for a “pork sandwich.” What we got was a perch sandwich. We ate it anyway, and it was marvelous – moist, sweet white meat so satisfying it reminded us of the best pork, but encased in a golden crust. In fact, the perch was so good, we then ordered trout, shrimp, and oysters – all fried in that only-in-the-South soulful way that’s guaranteed to convert even a diehard fish frowner.

What we learned from our experience – other than to recommend BBQK as a fine fried-fish restaurant – is that if you want smoked pork hereabouts, you don’t say “pork”; you say “barbecue.” Pork is all there is. It is available sliced or minced (the latter really is pulverized, the former “hacked”); and it, too, is superb – tender, succulent, veiled in a subtle sauce that does not overwhelm the meat’s fundamental fineness.

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Slaw

Barbecue Tray

Barbecue Sandwich

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Posted By Cindy Gibson on July 26, 2010 3:06 PM

I've been eating at BBQ King my entire life. Some of the car hops have been working there as long as I can remember.

One of the best things offered is their onion rings. These are freshly sliced, battered, and fried. There is nothing frozen here. The BBQ, whether minced, chopped, or sliced, is some of the best in the region. The tomato-based sauce is served on the side. They also offer traditional Southern fried seafood. The fried trout, in particular, is spectacular.

Bar B Q King is an area institution (and was once the site of a Hootie and The Blowfish video). If you're passing through Charlotte, it would be a great place to stop for some Southern drive-in food.

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