If you order barbecue at a place like Applebee’s, they never run out. They can always pull more pre-cooked baby back ribs (complete with sauce) out of the freezer. Real BBQ is a finite resource. It takes hours to cook so when it’s gone it’s gone.
This is the case with Beale Street BBQ in Bath, Maine. When they sell out, they close so you have to get there early.
We headed to Beale Street BBQ after spending the morning at the wonderful Maine Maritime Museum checking out the museum, historic shipyard buildings, paintings, displays and boats during tropical storm Elsa.
My wife and I headed straight towards the good stuff – St. Louis ribs. The ribs were served on a metal plater with a slab of cornbread with a hint of jalapeno pepper. We ordered a couple of sides, their house mac and cheese, and the coleslaw I’ve been looking for on this whole trip to Mid-Coast Maine. Beale St’s version was special, with long strands of cabbage and a pineapple-infused slaw sauce.
Everything was great and the prices were reasonable. My only complaint would be the Memphis Blues music was a bit loud in our corner booth. A parking lot is conveniently located next to the restaurant and in the warmer months, they have the outside smokers going for takeout.
Hours are Thursday & Friday 11:30 to sellout (or 8 PM)- Sunday & Saturday 12 noon to sellout (or 8 PM) Sellout is when we start to have significant sell out of key items. Because our foods take from 4 to 12 hours to cook and are served fresh off the cooker, we run out of items periodically and start to sell out of many before 8 PM most nights.
