Caveman ‘Q

The last two visits that I’ve made here for a late lunch, Ted the Caveman has been in the restaurant. He asks several times if there is anything that he can get for me, how is my food, is everything okay, etc. Ted really cares about: (a) making sure that his customers are satisfied, (b) sanitation, he’s a real stickler about cleanliness, and © making sure that his food is prepared to the utmost standards of his restaurant.
His primary enterprise is a food catering business and the restaurant is a secondary consideration. His name and reputation rest upon both ventures and Ted does not take this lightly.
During my last visit I noticed that his sanitation rating had actually risen from a 97.5 to a 98.0%. One of his previous major sanitation deductions was an old decrepit carpet, so he replaced his flooring with linoleum. The place isn’t much to look at both inside and out, but darned if it’s not as sanitary as possible.
In utmost honesty, my table was a little sticky during my last visit, and this is something that bugs me. Whatever they clean their table with needs to have a degreasing agent. Barbecue sauce is sticky and I don’t want to feel that on my table.
A large barbecue sandwich and a canned soda costs $ 5.08.
One’s order is taken at the takeout window. One pays and then one’s food is brought to their table. That’s all there is to it.
The barbecue is good here, but not earth shattering. Ted’s pork barbecue is always fairly moist, but it is really helped by adding his homemade sauce to the sandwich. The vinegar based barbecue sauce is so good here that it’s almost drinkable.
The only other thing that I’ve eaten here is a pork chop sandwich, which is a fried breaded pork chop with chili, onions, and coleslaw. It is a heart attack on a bun, and a vegetarian’s worse nightmare, but it is also suitably delicious.
There are usually one or two people picking up takeout orders, but absolutely no one dining inside but myself.
Ted is a nice honest guy, who makes a good barbecue sandwich, and sells it for a fair price. I don’t ask for much more than this in a barbecue restaurant or any business for that matter.
By the way, Ted is a walking encyclopedia regarding the history of barbecue in North Carolina, so if you’re into that sort of thing, he can teach you a few things that you may not know about NC barbecue. I learned of several family ties in the development of the NC barbecue industry that I wasn’t familiar with. When Ted outlines all the connections it all makes perfect sense.
Caveman Barbecue is a diamond in the rough. Rough exterior. Rough interior. Serious owner. Good barbecue. Forget Shell’s BBQ, come here instead for the real deal.