No ribs. No chicken. And immaculate. This is a barbecue spot? You bet, honey. In a cinder block building painted what once was called wintergreen, we found lunch in Paducah, KY.
A couple of booths, a big U-shaped counter and plenty of regulars mark the interior of Starnes. On the wall, a spaghetti-board menu keeps it simple.
Beef
Pork
Ham
Turkey
Bologna.
Sandwiches or bulk. Bottled sauce. Potato salad. Slaw.
Of course, that ignores the shelves in the center of the U, piled high with bags of potato chips, neatly stacked candy bars, and (oh, wait for it) Hostess snack cakes.
But that’s fine. Those sandwiches make it all worthwhile. No one any closer to St. Louis than The Pig in Fredericktown does them the way Starnes does, the white bread sharply brought to life in a grill press.
No mutton, alas, a disappointment in Kentucky. But the chopped pork or beef tucked inside each neat, individually wrapped sandwich, is moist and tasty, although we both think the pork superior. The surprise, though, is the bologna. Wafer-thin slices crumpled onto the bread show clear and delicious evidence of having been smoked.
"Sauce?" was the waitress’ query when we ordered. Well, yes, and each sandwich came lightly sprinkled with the thin, red, fairly hot sauce. (We added more.) The amount of meat on the bread may look inadequate to some St. Louis diners, but there is enough, with good, smoky, well-cooked flavor and an excellent meat-to-bread ratio.
The heat didn’t seem to deter a couple of very elderly regulars whose orders arrived -- including milk for one -- without them doing anything more than greeting the employees, and we realized this also scored as barbecue for the dentally impaired. Hooray for that!
Like most of the regulars, they received a casually tossed bag of potato chips for a side. We’d suggest the potato salad, yellow and slightly sweet with just a light hit of celery seed. When it comes to beverages, this is RC country, what we once knew as Royal Crown Cola. We skipped dessert, but one booth had a Twix bar and Hostess cupcakes.
Paducah comes around lunch time when you’re driving south from St. Louis. If you’re on I-24, exit at U.S. 60, Hinkleville Road, going east (towards the city). Hinkleville intersects with Joe Clifton Drive, across from a park, after about 2.5 miles. The restaurant is in the first block, on the left.
Starnes Barbecue
1008 Joe Clifton Drive, Paducah KY
270-444-9555
Tues.-Sat. 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Difficult
Smoking: Yes
Sandwiches: $3-$4
Just came thru Paducah Monday. Our best friend has returned there after many years away. He has been bringing us pulled pork from Backwoods every so often. he prefers Backwoods Q and Starne's sauce. We had ribs at Backwoods which were good but we like Pappy's ribs better.
Posted by: Pat Rutherford-pettine | February 03, 2009 at 04:19 PM
I was born and raised in Paducah and there is nothing like Starnes. I now live in Murfreesboro, TN. But, I always have a supply of Starnes Bar-b-que sauce on hand. It is better than anything else!
Posted by: Rebecca | March 06, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Although I live in St. Louis now, I'm originally from deep southern illinois, and I am very familiar with the BBQ in that area, and it's unmatched anywhere in the U.S. Starnes is definitely one of my favorites. Backwoods or Backporch in Wickliffe, Kentucky is also very good, and the people there rave about their mutton. Also, in Pulaski, Illinois- which is about 20 miles north of Cairo on rte 51, there is a small grocery store on the main street in town that has some of the best pulled pork I have ever had. That's a little closer than Starnes, but it's way off the interstate. Worth the trip, in my mind. Also, one of my lifelong favorites is Mack's BBQ in Cairo. They have pulled pork, but that's not special. Get the Mack's sandwich- which looks like the picture you have here- which is just pork shoulder on toast. Make sure to add copious amounts of Mack's BBQ sauce. I sometimes have to make a trip to Cairo just to stock up on their sauce. Thanks!
Posted by: Jay Nanney | April 06, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Reply to Jay Nanney (above), I live in California and for years have had Mack's mail me 6 or 8 quarts every year. I was in Paducah in May and drove over to Cairo to resupply, but it looks like Mack's has closed down. Any news on this disaster?
Posted by: David Jones | July 03, 2009 at 11:07 AM
As a kid I ate the 10 cent hamburgers 8 to the bag. The bun bag was reused and listened to Dunk sing old spiritual songs as he cooked. The reason he closed was that the town required a vent hood over his bar grill and Dunk just said no way and closed. Beleive it I was there. I loved those hamburgers the only competition was Sweets in Elvins or Mills in Flat River. I perfered Dunks.
Posted by: Thomas Howell | October 07, 2009 at 08:16 PM
Oh, yes, Dunk's hamburgers. My parents didn't allow me there - felt "nice" girls didn't go to pool alls - but once in a while I had some when someone's dad brought home a sack. Never had Sweets, being a Desloge kid, but found Dunk's superior to Mills.
-Ann, DHS '62
Posted by: Ann | October 08, 2009 at 05:29 PM