On a recent trip to Land Between the Lakes, we ate at Aurora Bar-B-Que in Aurora, Kentucky – Home of the Winking Pig!  Sure enough, the pig on the sign? He’s a total flirt.

Three members of our family (my husband, myself, and our youngest daughter – Stephany) are all about Barbecue.  Whatever town we find ourselves in, we love to check out their barbecue.  That, and Onion Rings.  Aurora offered both, so we anxiously waited to dive in.  I say “waited,” but actually there wasn’t any wait at all.  We got our drinks, sat down…admired the comfortable, overall feel of the restaurant, then here they came with our food.

I’ll get the tiny little “Not so perfect” out of the way first.  The drinks from the fountain were watery – downright tasteless.  Next time, I’ll take advantage of the cold bottled sodas they sell. (Should have been a sign, right?!)  Actually, the last 3 restaurants I’ve eaten at have had bad drinks from the soda fountain, and the tea wasn’t much better.  I’m sure it’s something that’s easy to overlook in a restaurant, but from the customer’s standpoint, it’s very, very important.

Now, onto the perfects, a.k.a. everything else!

My daughter Stephany could have eaten all of the fried mushrooms all by herself and then asked for more.  They were smaller in size than most fried mushrooms and less game-y tasting than others, if you know what I mean.  They’re really unique and very good.

The star of the show, the Bar-B-Q, was amazing!  (I wish I had some more right now – I’d actually make a round trip venture just for their BBQ alone.)  It had a smoke-y flavor that’s worth driving 5,000 miles for…at least.  You can order it on buns (like I did) or on Texas Toast (like my husband and daughter did).  The sauce comes hot or mild – and is absolutely perfect…sweet enough without being too sweet.

Like I said before, we always check out a restaurant’s onion rings – again, Aurora Bar-B-Que didn’t let us down. Sometimes I’ve been known to put an onion ring, if it’s really good on the sandwich I’m having, but in this case I wasn’t about to intrude upon the greatness the BBQ had going on.  Plus, it left more onion rings for ketchup to mouth trip I love so much!  If you’re brave, you could dip one in the hot sauce, but my rings prefer ketchup – they’re pretty picky…delicious, but picky.

Speaking of hot, the hot wings are just that – hot!  Michael’s as big a fan of hot wings as he is Bar-B-Que, and he gave them a big thumbs up….a big hot-wing-covered thumbs up.

The onion rings were really good, but the Baked Beans were really, really, really, really good.  A lot of people only care about the meat in a meal – what they consider the Main Event.  I’m very much into the sides….just as much as the “Main Event.”  Too many restaurants neglect the sides – sometimes you get the impression they’ll serve absolutely anything along with the meat, thinking “No one’s going to really care, anyway…”  These beans didn’t have that attitude at all.

Sides are just as important as the main attraction (One of the reasons I love Applebee’s – they totally get that) – and I can’t wait to try Aurora’s other sides to see if they live up to the standard set by the baked beans.

If you find yourself anywhere within striking distance of Aurora, Kentucky, look for the winking pig – you won’t be sorry.  Just remember to grab a bottle for your drink…and if you have the hot wings, you might want two bottles!

***How cool is this? – They’ve taken care of the drink’s dilemma and now even serve AMAZING iced tea.  So now their drinks are nearly as good as the food.  I say nearly because no drink can keep up with this barbecue.  As I’m typing this, I’m miles away from the winking pig, snow is on the ground with more coming down…and I’m positively dying for some of their barbecue, hot wings, and onion rings.