The Food Network Trail: Charlotte, NC

I really enjoy watching 'Triple D' on the Food Network (aka Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives).

As it turns out, only two joints in North Carolina have been featured on Triple D, both of them in Charlotte (and both during the show's first season.) Since I live right up the road from CLT, I decided to make a day-trip down to the Queen City and give these joints a try.

I. Getting There.
Simple. I-77 South. Follow the GPS. Traffic on a Saturday afternoon was relatively light, but gets crowded during weekday rush hour.

II. Food.
Three restaurants were on the agenda:
BarBQ King,
Price's Chicken Coop, and
Penguin.

BarBQ King was up first.
I almost drove past the place, as it was a pretty unassuming drive-in restaurant on the side of a wide road. Most of the ordering seems like it is done drive-in style, which means parking under an awning and ordering through an intercom. You know, just like Sonic Drive-In. Quaint.
Despite its name, I went for the fried chicken- I heard their BarBQ Chicken was the thing to try. Initially, I accidentally ordered a 1/2 chicken of their regular fried chicken. The meal was fair, but nothing to write home about. To be honest, the regular fried chicken was nice and fresh, but a bit bland. Just reasonable fried chicken. The dinner came with Fries & Cole Slaw- both fair as well.

Next was the BarBQ chicken. As one could imagine, the BarBQ chicken had a bit more flavor. The difference being that they seemed to take their regular fried chicken and dip it in BBQ sauce. Even with the flavor, however, the fried chicken was still only fair. Maybe the BBQ itself is better, although I doubt it is much better than the BBQ I get around the Triad of NC.

Price's Chicken Coop was up next.
Although the Chicken Coop is not a drive-in per se, it is take-out only, so if you are looking for a place to sit down and relax, keep looking. We got to Price's at around 12:30, and the place was pretty busy, with the short customer ordering area filled to the door a few feet away from the registers.
This time, I went with a quarter chicken (white meat) dinner. I ended up a thigh, a wing, cole slaw, tater tots, and two hushpuppies. This chicken was better than BBQ King's. Again, freshly fried, but also a bit more flavor.

Last, but not least, was Penguin (menu).
Luckily for us, we actually got to sit down inside this time around; although at one point in its 50+ year history Penguin may have been a drive-in, it now has a few tables (probably seats 30 comfortably, maybe a few more) and a bar with a few more seats. I got a kick out of the fact that they also serve wine. Even in the middle of the afternoon (2:30 pm) we waited a short time for our table; when we left an hour or so later the line was even longer.
I heard the fried pickles were good; I added the Plaza Pimento Cheese sandwich (homemade with cheddar and pepperjack cheeses on texas toast) to my order. My wife had the Tupelo Special (peanut butter and banana slices served on buttered and grilled texas toast).
First off, the pickles were pretty strong. I got the half basket, maybe 20 or 30 sliced pickles, freshly fried, and pretty hot when they got to our table. Together with the ranch dressing, a tasty combo with the fresh fry batter, dressing, and tangy pickle.
Next, the sandwiches. Really strong. The cheese in my pimento/jack sandwich was hot, and oozing off the Texas Toast until I finished it. The tupelo was only slightly less messy, with the peanut butter warmed up and dripping onto the basket. Both great sandwiches. I would return here just for them.

Cut to the chase:
BarBQ King: C
Price's Chicken Coop: C+
Penguin: A
(I grade on a curve folks.)

Hat Tips to Fans of Divers, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Map Muse.