When Tom and I stayed at the Statesville KOA overnight, our friend Adam came over from Winston-Salem to visit us. Having heard great things about Randys Bar B Que in Troutman, we decided to head there for supper with Adam. We loved catching up with Adam. Tom and I met him first in Death Valley, then he and Laurie visited us in Ohio, and Adam came up to see us at Grand Portage. He and Laurie got married last year and graduate from seminary in May. We are trying to see how many states we can meet in. Four so far!
Randys Bar B Que lived up to its great reviews. The BBQ at Randys was the best we have had in North Carolina. Generally, BBQ in the Carolinas uses a vinegar based sauce. We like thicker sauces without the sour taste. Randys Bar B Que came seasoned but you added your own sauce. There were three choices: vinegar, sweet, or hot. Tom tried the sweet and the hot and they were both delicious. The pork I got was so moist and delicious that I didn’t add any sauce.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Troutman, North Carolina is a town of 2,500 people just to the west of I-77, south of Statesville. There isn’t much to the town: railroad tracks, a park, and a tiny downtown. Randys Bar B Que is easy to find because it is the biggest thing in downtown. It looks like it has expanded over the years and now has three dining areas and a fourth building that prepares catering. Randys is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
As we walked up to the restaurant we noticed that the Monday special was Spaghetti and Meatballs. We thought this was funny – a BBQ place that has spaghetti as the special. But then we saw how busy the restaurant was. Either Randys Bar B Que is pulling them in statewide, or the townspeople eat there very regularly. I guess you could get tired of BBQ, even if it is the best in the state.
A hostess told us to pick out our seats in any of the three dining areas. We chose an empty booth under a bunch of 1950’s style diner pictures. We all ordered small BBQ platters, which came with a choice of slaw, three hush puppies, and either pulled or sliced pork. Adam and I both chose sliced and Tom ordered the pulled. I ordered red slaw and Tom ordered creamy. Tom also ordered a side of fries.
When the food came we were glad we ordered the small platters because there was plenty of food without it being too much. I thought three hush puppies wouldn’t be enough, but they were the biggest hush puppies I had ever seen! Crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. My mouth is watering just thinking about them because they were so good. The red slaw had a vinegar base and was very good. And, as I’ve already said, the pork was the best BBQ in North Carolina.
We had excellent service without the waitress hovering. She was so busy she didn’t have time to hover! She served our meals quickly while everything was just the right temperature. The waitress also filled our drinks whenever they got low. I especially liked that they used crushed ice in the drinks.
A manager came around twice to ask if everything was okay. The second time he came around, I asked if he was Randy. He was, but he said that his wife, Robin, owned the restaurant and named it after him. Randy and Robin Pittman started Randy’s Bar B Que 16 years ago, although it was much smaller when it first started. We complimented him on the BBQ and the rest of the food.
After we talked to Randy, our waitress stopped by one more time. Even though we were full, I asked about their banana pudding. Tom loves good banana pudding and I thought all three of us could share one dessert. The waitress said, since it was our first time, we got free banana pudding! She brought three little treat cups filled with delicious pudding. It was just the right size – a little bit of sweet – after our wonderful meal.
We loved eating at Randys Bar B Que. It will definitely be a regular stop whenever we stay in Statesville.