some may argue that a girl from california, who lives deep in northern new england, and has only briefly visited the south, does not really know barbecue. and this may, in fact, be true. but i do love the barbecue that i have eaten in my life and i fantasize about a bbq road trip through the south.
so i was quite pleased when we freshly moved to portland and marya and otis took us to beale street bbq in south portland. it was great and to my, albeit bbq naive, taste buds, it tasted authentic. plus the service is wonderful.
we started with these amazing fried cheese curds that had cinnamon in the batter and were served with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce. i chose for my main course a half a rack of st. louis baby back ribs, which come with corn bread and choice of two sides. mac and cheese and greens, please! the servings are very generous, and even though i like to eat A LOT i had about half my entree to bring home and enjoy for lunch the next day.
we went again a month later, again with otis and marya, and the food was again terrific. i ordered exactly the same thing and again it proved to be a great and pleasing choice, with leftovers!
well last night seth and i decided we were in the mood for a little bbq so we headed over to south portland, this time without otis and marya, to get our bbq on. overall beale street bbq let me down this time. first, they had changed their cheese curds. they were still good but no longer had cinnomon in the batter and are now being served with a creamy garlic sauce. they really were quite tasty but if i had my choice would pick the old cheese curds.
as i can be a creature of habit, i ordered the same thing again for my entree. the sides were consistent and wonderful but of my six ribs, four were so over cooked they were like jerky. what a disappointment! seth had a better ratio of meaty verses jerky ribs but he still had a couple jerky.
i don't know if it was just a bad night for beale street, or what? we will defiantly give them another chance, cuz 2 out of 3 isn't bad. but i may try buck's naked bbq in freeport before going back.
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2 comments:
I've long been a Beale Street fan, but I haven't eaten there since they moved. As someone who spent a couple years down south, where I fell in love with barbecue, I would HIGHLY recommend Bucks. The pork is decent, but their ribs (both pork and beef) are absolutely fantastic. Not to mention, they've got braised collard greens served with hot pepper vinegar, and their fried okra's damn tasty as well.
(Oh, and a hat tip to Portland Food Map for directing me here...)
I am a native Texan and so miss the good stuff. Our version is without sauce, dry rubbed and smoked forever.I tend to go to Norm's East End for the ribs. Baby backs are not true bbq meat so opt for country style. The sauces and beans everywhere in NE are too sweet for my taste.Too bad Uncle Billy's closed.
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