New barbecue restaurant in Bay St. Louis has tender meats, perfectly cooked mac ‘n cheese

It’s always great to see a new restaurant open on the Mississippi Coast, especially when it is a barbecue place!

It’s a mystery that there are so few, but recently I did tell you about a Tony’s Smokehouse in Gautier, and today I am delighted to tell you about another one on the other end of the Coast.

The BBQ Depot opened in Bay St. Louis in January, and lots of good things are being said about it.

It’s catty-corner from the old train depot, a part of town that is showing lots of signs of coming back to life after a long absence.

You will love the high ceilings, yellow paint job, bar and table seating, with additional seating outside in the front and back. The staff is the friendliest I have seen in ages, being led by Gavin Lossett, who is going to make you feel like a much-welcomed friend.

Nick Durning and Jake Rutherford make things happen in the kitchen, and if you are a BBQ fan, you are going to like what they send out.

The menu is a one-pager and has all the classics you might expect. My friend Kendra Reed and I cut there all the decision-making agony and went for the combo platter, which was a good decision, but there are a lot of other good things on the menu to focus on.

For starters, the crawfish cornbread and the grilled green onion and pork sausage looked tempting, but Kendra and I went for the Buffalo wings. Good wings are an accurate sign to how good a place is, and the Depot did just fine.

The wings were tender and well-sauced. By the way, there are three BBQ sauces to choose from: sweet, spicy and hot. Mr. Lossett told us they had to back off on the spiciness a little, but I did wish for a little more kick. Not a big deal at all, but some of us do like the burn!

The brisket Reuben is a brilliant idea, and if I hadn’t wanted a little taste of everything, that is exactly what I would have gotten.

The four-hour smoked chicken was amazingly tender, and we loved the butter sauce that it was bathed in.

The final test of any good BBQ place is the mac and cheese, and I assure you we were not disappointed. Far too often, mac and cheese is a bit on the mushy side, but the Depot’s version was toothsome, just the way perfectly cooked pasta should be.

We enjoyed everything on the platter, the brisket was just right, the sausage very good, even the barbecue beans and coleslaw were great.

There was one common denominator in all the meats, and that was that they were so tender. Next time you are in Bay St. Louis, give this place a try.

The BBQ Depot

Location: 126 Blaize Ave., Bay St. Louis

Phone: 228-344-3244

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday–Saturday, closed Monday

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 5:50 AM.