When you visit Feast BBQ, at 116 West Main St. in New Albany, you are going to be tempted to order the entire menu. Do yourself a favor and give in to your baser needs. Lick barbecue off your fingers. Have two desserts. Get yourself a dang bourbon slushie.
My husband and I recently visited Feast, and I couldn't have been more thrilled. We started our meal with the crispy pork cakes ($7) and the fried pickles ($7). The pork cakes were huge and savory, topped with creamy coleslaw and green onions, sitting in a bed of Indiana sorghum. I could have just made a meal out of them and finished off with the impeccable fried pickles, little crispy discs with cotija cheese and cilantro.
My main dish, a leg and thigh of smoked fried chicken, came with a roll, coleslaw and my pick of a side: collard greens ($7.50). Though it pains my carnivorous heart to say it, the greens were by far my favorite part of the meal (though everything else was magnificent!). My husband ordered a presidential feast with three meats (pulled pork, brisket, ribs) and three sides (macaroni and cheese, greens, baked beans with burnt ends), a giant meal for $19, we could have easily shared it between us and walked away full. All the meat tender as Mother Theresa's heart and juicy as the Enquirer, smoky as your grandpa's favorite jacket. I could go on with the terrible similes but you get the idea.
We finished our meal with balls of deep fried banana pudding ice cream, drizzled with luxuriant caramel; and Rev. Rogers' white chocolate bread pudding sticks, each $7. I can't even come up with enough adjectives to rave about how good the desserts were, and I am not usually a dessert eater.
Needless to say, this is the first of many visits to Feast for us. Our food came out exceedingly fast (though I recommend visiting this or any restaurant on a week night for the fastest service and the best food.) The location is beautiful, (Feast's website has an abundance of information about the history of their building) and the food was simply stellar. I would love to go back and get a drink there--they have a bourbon slushie.
photos: Elizabeth Orrick
