
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990                   TAG: 9007210274
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES                    PAGE: SMT-6   EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN 
SOURCE: DOLORES KOSTELNI SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PORK BARBECUE THIS GOOD IS RARE

When the hankering for a pork barbecue sandwich sets in, head down U.S. 220 south to Old Virginia Barbecue in Rocky Mount. They serve the genuine article on a soft roll with pulled meat, white and sweet, and just enough smoldering red sauce.

I'd walk a mile for their pork barbecue sandwich ($2.95), french fries ($1.25) and onion rings ($1.50). All three come in eye-opening quantities. One taste is not enough.

No frozen products are used here. When the french fries and onion rings come to the table, the entire area is filled with nostalgic aromas for anyone whose mother made these from scratch. The first bite tells it all: These have been made from fresh ingredients cut up and fried on the spot. They are simply delicious.

I only scratched the surface of the menu, which includes 14 numbered dinner plates. No. 3 ($8.95), the barbecue combination of beef, chicken and ribs with french fries, cole slaw, barbecued beans and toasted bun, filled me up in a hurry, but I sampled enough to make a report. A cloying smoke-flavored sauce smothered the beef. The falling-off-the-bones chicken and the large, tender ribs had been basted with the same sauce but with a lighter hand, making them more palatable.

Barbecue is a Virginia institution and I am certain Old Virginia Barbecue is on the right track. However, when meat "is slow-cooked to preserve the natural juices," as their menu states, I fail to see how the overpowering, smoky flavoring can enhance anything naturally good.

Old Virginia Barbecue is a spacious, congenial, spotless place, where everyone gets called "honey" and the waitresses encourage you to eat more than you should.

Not a bad idea, especially when it means their pork barbecue, french fries and onion rings. Stuff this good is as rare as hen's teeth.

Old Virginia Barbecue 108 Meadowview St., just off U.S. 220 Rocky Mount (703) 489-1788 HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; closed Sunday. Price range: PRICE RANGE: $2.95 for sandwiches; $4.95-$8.95 for complete dinners Beverages: Non-alcoholic only. Credit cards: None accepted. Non-smoking section? As requested. Handicapped accessible? No.

NOTE: Evaluations of restaurant accessibility to the handicapped are conducted by the Center for Independence for the Disabled, a non-profit organization.

by CNB