smoked beef brisket and ribs are excellent!. we ate lunch here on 6/18 on our way to the beach music festival in nearby lewisville, nc. i picked little richard's after doing a yelp search and i'm very glad i did. fyi - i've learned they also have locations in yadkinville and mt. airy.
as we drove up, we saw the neat, well kept building shaped and painted just like the iconic red and white barn. there were quite a few cars but parking was no problem. inside is a fairly open, square floor plan with somewhere around 25 or 30 tables. there's a counter at the front to pay your tab and order to go or bulk bbq items but its a seat yourself place. (we weren't sure of this at first as the sign is hard to notice). the decor is one of those random looks of license plates and other items americana. it's clean and organized and isn't over the top in terms of showiness.
service: after we sat ourselves, it took a few minutes for a server to come by and we were beginning to think we must have broke the seating rules but a friendly server did bring us our menus and took our drink orders. i think they were just a little busy at that moment and it took a minute to catch up to us. the rest of the service was great and victoria, our primary server, was very friendly and prompt the rest of the meal.
food: this was so worth the drive from greensboro. the menu includes the staples such as chopped and sliced pork on the bun, plate and tray, 1/3 lb burgers, chicken, ribs, chili and brunswick stew. it also has some uniqueness as well including beef brisket (buns, plates and trays), "toasted" hot dogs, corn dogs, salads and even a choice of chicken wraps.
my girlfriend, being a rib addict, jumped right for the half rack plate which comes with hush puppies plus two sides - she picked homemade chips and the mac-n-cheese ($11.49). i went with the bbq beef sandwich w/caramelized onions, hickory sauce and bbq slaw ($4.79) and the toasted hot dog ($1.79) just because i had never heard of that before (you can get a 12 incher for $2.79). wow, all were very good!
my brisket sammy was so tasty with the smoked beef flavor nicely front and center and only complimented by the grilled onions and slaw. the toasted hot dog (which i got with mustard, onions, chili but w/o the slaw) comes to you after being in the broiler and having the bun toasted while the goodies are on it. i'd call it interesting but it adds little to the effect (and comments from dorks like me). the flavor of the chili was good but the mustard on this one drowned out the meat flavor so the brisket was my favorite of the two.
the ribs were great! they were not fall-off-the-bone ribs, which i know a lot of people say is a must, but i actually prefer a little firmness and they pulled cleanly off the bone regardless. the combination of robust smoke and sweetness was excellent. i'm very impressed with these ribs and will definitely come back for more! as for the sides, the hush puppies are the easy winner. though a little small, they are firm and chewy with a great onion taste and the serving size is more than adequate. there are probably at least 15 choices of sides so all appetites should be accounted for.
value: i think the prices are very reasonable. i've had less expensive bbq in the area but i haven't liked them as much as this place.
overall, if this place was in greensboro, we'd be here a lot. as it is, now that we found it we'll definitely hit it on our way to places in western nc.
food: 8/10, service: 8/10, value: 7/10; atmosphere 7/10