Today we’re traveling to Triple Crown BBQ in Luray, VA. So, did you ever get up one Saturday morning, fumble around on line looking at different restaurants you’d like to visit while having your coffee? And furthermore, did you ever pick one that’s over 4 hours away just to go eat? Well that’s exactly what we did on this day. We had Triple Crown BBQ on our radar for a while but they were just a little further away than we wanted to go for a day trip. For some reason we decided that today was the day.

My ever planning wife looked at me and said pack a change of clothes and your meds. I told her she was crazy, we’d make it home tonight. We hit the road in no hurry. I figured we could pick up something light for lunch and be there for an early dinner. Let’s just say that the weather in the mountains was nasty. By the time we got up there the creeks and streams were overflowing their banks and roads were washing out.

I’ll just say that Tammy doesn’t want her Jeep in the bad weather so she was nervous.

Come to find out the surprise was on us. We actually called to be sure that they were still open since the weather was so bad. John assured us they were and they’d be waiting on us. And just to show how funny the weather is in the mountains, when we crossed over to the Luray side there was no rain. So here we go.

The Restaurant and Staff:

Triple Crown BBQ is actually a food trailer set up in a permanent location. Permanent at least unless you want to tear down decks and such. They have an excellent spot on Highway 211 in Luray right across from Wal-Mart. They have several nice picnic tables set up so you can eat there or you can get your order to go.

There were two young ladies working the window and preparing the orders. They helped us out with our selections with amazement at the amount of food we were getting. We told them we wanted to try all the meats and she said we pretty much covered them.

John, the owner, was walking around outside taking care of other things then came over to talk to each of the customers that were there. He was very friendly and interested in all his customers. There was another couple from out of town there too and John was quick to make them feel at home too.

My Choices at Triple Crown BBQ:

I’ll start with my choices this time. I went with the Smoky Sampler. Here’s where you’ll see why the girl at the window was amazed. This Sampler comes with ¼ pound of Smoked Chicken, ¼ pound of Pulled Pork, ¼ pound of Sliced Beef and a ¼ Rack of Ribs. I also ordered a side of Potato Salad and a side of Baked Beans to go with my meal, both of which were homemade. Yep, it was all mine.

Starting with my sides let’s just say that they were wonderful. The potato salad was mayo based and excellent. John suggested dipping it in some of their vinegar sauce. Now I know that sounds a little strange to most folks but it really works. I tried it that way and then just couldn’t get enough of it. Strangely different. That’s awesome. The beans were fantastic as well. They had a wonderful sauce. I loved both of my sides.

Then came my pound of smoked meats. The chicken was actually wonderful. And no I’m not turning into a chicken guy. But I had to try it, right? It had a great smoke flavor. The pulled pork was fantastic. It had a nice smoke ring, bark mixed in and plenty of smoke flavor. No sauce needed here. I simply loved the sliced beef. I’ve noticed a couple places in Virginia doing sliced beef instead of brisket. This pit cooked thin sliced beef rocked. Great flavor. You definitely have to try this. One local leaving with his order was asked by John what he got this time and he responded the pit beef like always. And it really is that good. Well the ribs were right up there with everything else. They do come with sauce on them. With the sauce and the smoke combined, they were wonderful.

Now For Tammy’s Choices at Triple Crown BBQ:

Tammy ordered a Smoked Sausage Sandwich Combo. Hers came with two sides which she chose a bag of Chips and a Piece of Pie for dessert. I believe she ordered the sausage “all the way.” You have to look closely at the picture. This is a smoked Pork and Beef sausage with pulled pork and slaw on top. Take all this and serve it on a large Hoagie Bun, well you’re going to be in smoked sausage heaven. This sandwich was to die for. And yes I did trade some of my stuff off for some of her sausage.

I know this sounds strange for Tammy since she usually is my chicken or turkey tester. I didn’t think she was going to trade for a while. She loved that sandwich and was not easily giving it up. Had to convince her that I needed to try it for the blog. So she gave in. With our combination of meals we were able to try all the meats available at Triple Crown BBQ, at least at this time. John said that he would start smoking turkey around October.

And the chips she got for a side were a bag of Highway 11 Chips, not homemade. I believe we ate them later for a snack.

Sauces:

I did try several of the homemade sauces at Triple Crown BBQ. I went with their mustard sauce on the sausage and it was great. The vinegar sauce was really good too although nothing needed sauce. Well I did use this one on the potato salad too. Then I tried a hot sauce and a sweet and spicy sauce. Both were good as well. But like I said nothing needed sauce. I know that some people just like sauce so I try some as we go and these were worthy of the meats you would put them on.

Desserts:

Tammy got a slice of Banana Crème Pie. I tried a bite and it was really good but I wanted to stick with my meal. I’m not sure if the pie is homemade but Tammy loved the pie. And I was able to conquer my Smoky Sampler too. No left overs this time.

Final Thoughts:

After we ate I introduced ourselves to John and also met his wife Joanne. We really enjoyed getting to know them a little. Joanne told us that she was a transplant from the West Coast. She came here to get her education. She settled in, married John and became a Virginian. They are both wonderful, hardworking, nice, and humble people. I highly recommend stopping by and checking them out if you’re anywhere near Luray.

After all was said and done we hopped in the Jeep and headed for Harrisonburg, VA. Seems that they’re not that far from Luray. After that nice little ride we were ready for some Kline’s Ice Cream. Oh yeah, this was a real good ride even with the flooding they were having. Seems that Tammy was right about packing some clothes and our meds.

All I recommend is to check their hours. They may vary at different times of the year. Also keep in mind that Triple Crown BBQ closes during the winter. So, get there this summer or fall. You’ll be glad you did.

Now For Your Thoughts:

As you can tell we loved this stop on the BBQ Trail. But now it’s your turn to let us know how you feel. Let’s hear from some of you who have stopped here in the past. How did your visit go? Tell us about your experience there. Drop some comments off and I’ll get them posted along with this review.

What do you regulars think?

How about the regulars at Triple Crown BBQ? Tell us what you keep going back for. What’s your favorite? I know we missed out on their turkey, what else did we miss? Seems to me that Luray has grown quite a bit from what I remembered long ago. There has to be a good sized local crowd going here. Get me some comments to let us know what we missed or just reinforce what I’ve written. I’ll post your comments as soon as possible.

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://shenandoahsmokehouse.com/

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

 

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