Speedy Lohr’s Barbecue, Lexington, North Carolina

After a breakfast and two lunches on Day 2 (of four) of my Drive through Hell Recovery Tour, I drove down to Huntersville and checked into my hotel in preparation for Day 3. I then turned around and drove back to Lexington for an early dinner at Speedy Lohr’s and put a beautiful cap on the day.

It’s a nondescript place out pretty much by itself,

and you might easily miss it in the darkness but for the bright sign.

The Barbecue Bros rate Speedy Lohr’s high, I believe in the top four now, among the many Lexington restaurants. I missed it on my initial Piedmont Tour de Barbecue. At that time, there were three different and independently owned (I think) Speedy’s: Speedy Lohr’s, Speedy’s, and Speedy Lohr’s of Arcadia. The Lexington area is awash with people named Lohr in all walks of life. If you google “Lohr Lexington NC” you get “about 541,000 results.”

Not being aware of the Barbecue Bros at the time, I decided to start with the simplest name, Speedy’s, with the intent of working my way through all three eventually. That turned out to be a mistake. That Speedy’s had abandoned all-wood cooking. Speedy’s, like the great and wonderful Smiley’s, has fallen victim to the depredations of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and Speedy Lohr’s fell during the covid lockdowns.

At last I found my way to Speedy Lohr’s, and it was worth the wait. I ordered once again a barbecue tray (pork and slaw), which as if by a law of nature came with hushpuppies. The bill ran to$12.04 including tax

Now that’s a lot of hushpuppies. They’re very small, as you can see, and very tasty. They’re also deceptive in the way that Entenmann’s tiny chocolate chip cookies are. You eat one and think, that’s only about four calories (self-deception is part of cookie-eating) and so you eat another and another and pretty soon they’re all gone. Being a model of self restraint, I can honestly say that I did not eat every one of those hushpuppies.

I did eat all of the meat and slaw. Let’s take a closer look.

The smoky pork was moderately rough chop, moist and flavorful, and tossed with a sauce that made the meat shine. The slaw was yet another fine red slaw, the perfect accompaniment to the rich pork and the hushpuppies.

My only disappointment with Speedy Lohr’s was that they only offer pork skin sandwiches on Thursdays. Actually I had no idea that they served pork skin sandwiches until I arrived and saw the sandwiches, along with trays and boxes, on the menu. Had I known I would have hit Speedy Lohr’s on Thursday straight from Backyard BBQ Pit, and adjusted the remainder of my schedule accordingly. I honestly don’t know whether the pork skins are like those at Sweet Lew’s or like the magnificent squares of skin at Sid’s Catering. Either way, I want to try one.

And that’s one more reason for you Dear Reader, to head on down to Speedy Lohr’s for a fine barbecue and slaw tray with hushpuppies, and maybe a skin sandwich. Do it for yourself.

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