My husband and I love to travel and we especially like to ferret out new out of the way places for novel dining experiences. You won't find me at a chain restaurant if I have anything to say about it.
It's hard to say how many restaurants I've tried out in the past 5 decades but I can say that I'm not easily impressed. Good food and good service should be the norm, not the exception. But every now and then, I find a real jewel. Beast Craft BBQ is one such jewel.
The first exceptional thing was the service at the front counter. This is a simple place where you walk up to a counter to place your order. Our service person greeted us with enthusiasm and cheer. She was quick to explain the items and the set up after finding out it was our first time there. And after we placed our order she asked us if we would be eligible for a military or first responders discount. Usually, restaurants try to keep their discounts a secret and hope you don't ask for it! And during our meal, she was available to explain the different sauces and make sure we had everything we needed. Afterward, she saw me outside taking the photo of the front and she came out to see if I wanted her to take a photo of my husband and me together. I told her "no thank you" because I was doing a review of the restaurant and I asked if she would be willing to have her picture taken, simply because she was such an asset to our experience today. She readily agreed, thanked us for coming, and hoped we'd be back soon!
The menu of available items is behind the counter on a chalkboard. The reason quickly became clear for the easily editable menu vs a regular printed menu. All their meat selections are smoked daily and when a particular item is sold out, it is erased. Come too late, and you'll be facing a few gaping holes in the chalkboard! Here's a quote from their website explaining their philosophy:
Q: WHY ISN'T EVERYTHING AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME?
A: We try to judge what business will be like daily in order to serve the very best quality. No meats are carried to the following day to be re-served in the same format. In fact, smoking fresh daily isn't enough for us, we smoke fresh per shift. Every meat is smoked at least twice a day so you'll never end up with brisket at 7pm that was pulled from the smokers at 7am. Frankly, we'd rather you be upset that your favorite meat is SOLD OUT than serve you average, old meat.
Here's what the menu looked like today:
They proudly display their high quality of meat selections. Duroc Pork is considered by many to be the best pork in the country and they get their pork exclusively from Compart Family Farms, which sells only All Natural Premium Duroc. Wagyu brisket is another premium quality product from Snake River Farms and Beast Craft is the only restaurant in the St Louis region to serve it. All of their chicken comes from Forester Farmer's Market which is raised naturally with no antibiotics, hormones or GMO grains. So you can see they care about serving the best products and they are proud of it.
I selected the RR Brisket (smaller portion) with the bacon-topped macaroni and cheese plus the pit baked beans. The brisket was tender enough to cut with a fork and the flavor was astonishing. The beans were full of smoked flavor and bits of pork and onions with just a little kick to them. The macaroni was good enough to be called gourmet with the creamy cheese and bacon topping.
Even the side salad was worth bragging about with the crisp lettuce mix, pickled onions, crispy croutons, parmesan cheese and chunks of bacon. The dressing is their house specialty apple cider vinegarette with just the right amount of tang.
My husband is a rib connoisseur and he was as impressed as I was with his falling-off-the-bone tender ribs. They are smoked with a dry rub and you have the option of several sauces to add at the table. They were good just the way they were, no sauce necessary.
A couple of more items on the menu deserve a mention as being unique - the candied bacon and the bread pudding. Rumor has it that they are both excellent, but there was no room to try them on this trip. There will be future trips, though, I can guarantee that Beast Craft BBQ has made my "come back soon" list!
If you're traveling in the St Louis, MO area, you can more information on their website Beast Craft BBQ Co.
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