We took a nice ride to Littleton, NC to pay a visit to Grandpa’s Kitchen. Now you probably wouldn’t think there was bbq involved at a place with a name like that. Guess what. That’s exactly what they are about. BBQ and some down home country cooking. Located on Main St. in Littleton, NC which is also Rt. 158. Littleton is almost halfway between I-95 and I-85 and fairly close to the NC side of Lake Gaston for the travelers out there. From 95 take 158 West or from 85 take 158 East to find them. It’s also a beautiful ride out through some North Carolina country.

The Restaurant and Staff:

Grandpa’s Kitchen is a small family owned and run restaurant. We received a very friendly greeting as soon as we walked in the door. We talked to Johnell, one of the owners, at the counter and she helped us out with the menu selections. She gave us a menu to take to our seat and figure out what we wanted so we could try as many different items as we could. After a brief study period we went back to the counter and placed our orders. Johnell helped us along with this.

After ordering we went back to our table. Another wonderful lady, Debra, brought our food out to us when it was ready. She was so friendly and just made you feel right at home like a regular guest.

While waiting we were talking about there not being a lot of decorations in the dining room. That’s when I heard Johnell telling someone else that all the decorations had been put away while they remodeled. You could tell it was freshly painted and they were talking about installing new ceiling tiles. Once everything is finished they will bring out the decorations again.

Tammy’s Choices at Grandpa’s Kitchen:

Turkey BBQ and BBQ Chicken with Slaw and Boiled Potatoes.

Tonight Tammy ordered a 2 Meat Combo with Turkey BBQ and BBQ Chicken. Her sides were Slaw and Boiled Potatoes. The plate also comes with hushpuppies. The puppies were wonderful. I think they were homemade but I’m not sure. I know they tasted great and were not perfectly shaped like a bag you’d buy and cook. Her slaw was excellent too. The cabbage was chopped up but not too fine and had a sweet mixture in it. This slaw went great with bbq. Her boiled potatoes were cooked with a red sauce and were simply wonderful. These were excellent choices.

So here’s the scoop on the turkey bbq. It is cooked like pork bbq and chopped. The turkey is served slightly sauced. Definitely a different twist on turkey and it works out well. A good alternative for those who don’t like pork. Though I can’t imagine someone that doesn’t like pork even being here to read this. Then there’s the bbq chicken. Tammy ordered the white meat which is a breast and a wing. The chicken is smoked and sauced and was really good. Debra brought some sauce for the chicken and it was wonderful.

And My Choices:

Pork BBQ and BBQ Chicken with Brunswick Stew and Potato Salad.

I also ordered a 2 Meat Combo. Mine was with Pork BBQ and BBQ Chicken, white meat also. For sides I went with the Stew and Potato Salad. The stew is just like Brunswick Stew but with chopped turkey as the meat. It was fantastic. The potato salad was old fashioned style and went really well with my meal. Johnell also brought out a sample of their Black-eyed Peas. Have mercy, I could sit and eat a bowl of them. They were seasoned perfectly and just tasted great. We loved them.

The pork is NC Style all the way. It has the vinegar base sauce cooked in and it’s excellent. They cook whole hog style bbq and I loved it. I’m really growing fond of the whole hog style. The different meats mixed together gives the bbq a flavor you don’t get with pulled or chopped pork.

A Little Extra Info:

Just a few extra bites about Grandpa’s Kitchen. The pork and the chicken are excellent choices. They also have ribs on the menu. However, I was told that the locals swarm on them as soon as they come off the cooker. And since they cook whole hog there are not a lot of ribs to last. I would have loved to try some of them. Once I started on my meal I didn’t think about the ribs anymore. Everything I had was wonderful.

Sauces:

There were two homemade sauces at Grandpa’s Kitchen. One was a NC Eastern Sauce which was not needed for me. I did try it and the vinegar really opened my eyes wide. It was a good sauce but there was enough on the pork for me.

The other sauce was for the bbq chicken. It was a vinegar based sauce with some peppers in it and just a little kick to it. I loved it on the chicken.

Final Thoughts:

You know, I really loved Grandpa’s Kitchen and I plan to return for more visits. Being about an hour and a half from home they will not be too hard to visit on a day when we just want to take the top off the Jeep and ride. The people there were wonderful and the food was fantastic to say the least. There are however still some things we didn’t try and I feel we need to go back to investigate. I just loved the whole atmosphere. And even though we didn’t get to meet him, Jeffery is a former shipyard worker too. I’m so glad they are doing well and hope that grace will grant them many more years in business.

Now For Your Thoughts:

So you know how I feel, what do you think? Have you passed through and paid Grandpa’s Kitchen a visit? How did your visit go? Drop some comments off so I can post them with this review for everyone else to see.

What do you regulars think?

How about the regulars at Grandpa’s Kitchen? Since I may never taste their ribs leave some comments to let us know how good they really are. Fill us in on anything that I have missed and others would like to know. Tell us about your favorites. Tell us about the people. Just fill in the blanks so everyone will get the whole story.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I encourage you to share this review on Facebook and other social media sites. Follow us on Facebook to see where else we go.

You can check out their website at: http://grandpaskitchen.org/

You can also find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GPKNC/

Enjoy the ride, good eating and thanks for stopping by.