The first stop on our trip to Bar Harbor, Me., was BBQ Bob's Real Pit BBQ in Bethel, Me. I was told about it by friends in Montreal who had made the trip last year and they raved about the food. The Google driving instructions from Ottawa to Bar Harbor didn't take us through Bethel, but it wasn't too far out of the way, so a trip to eat real barbecue was planned. Being a Canadian, for years I thought that barbecue was anything cooked on a grill, but now that I've married a Southerner, I've learned the distinction between grilling and barbecue and what Bob is cooking up is definitely barbecue. Slow cooked for more than a dozen hours in a smoker, this was pretty authentic stuff.
I ordered a combination plate of pulled pork and brisket. A pepper and vinegar sauce, coleslaw, beans and cornbread completed the meal. It was fantastic. Just look at it. Your can see the little crispy charred bits on he outside. The moist beef and pork, flavoured from the low and slow cooking. Daphne and I declared it the best barbecue we have had north of the Mason-Dixon line. I loved the North Carolina-style vinegar sauce Bob uses. It complements the meat so much better than the cloyingly sweet and spicy ketchup based sauces that you find everywhere here. Barbecue shouldn't be about the sauce, it should be about the meat and the smoke and that's what Bob does well. Bob says people will ride their motorcycles down from Montreal and have lunch at Bob's before heading back and I can see why. If you're driving anywhere near Bethel, Me., this is a must stop.
Man, I loved that place. there we were, driving along Route 2 when we zipped past the place. Kim and I both glimpsed it, looked at each other and did an immediate U-turn. A lucky catch.
Posted by: Les | August 08, 2009 at 12:08 PM
BOB has MOVED! HAD FALLING OUT WITH (someone treating him as less than a )former Partner. Now on Route 26 Locke Mills! :D
Posted by: J Merc | August 15, 2010 at 10:42 PM
Man I love places like this. They always have the best food. The best thing it's barbeque. I would love to try your barbeque someday. It is places like BBQ Bobs keeping the food real for all of us to enjoy.
Posted by: Darrell Sharp | April 11, 2011 at 07:13 PM
Wow the food looks amazing, it just proves that you don't have to have fancy restaurants to give customers fantastic food.
Posted by: julia | September 14, 2011 at 08:23 AM