I wouldn’t normally post a “Tasty Tuesday” on a Sunday, but today is a very special Sunday, because the newest concept from Beast Craft BBQ, Beast Southern Kitchen and BBQ, is opening in Columbia, IL today! We were fortunate enough to carry out a meal on Friday night, and their new selection of items is quite impressive.

I had the pickle-brined fried chicken sandwich and fries. They use thigh meat for their chicken sandwich, which I thought was a genius twist on the normal fried breast meat. Beast’s signature, amazing house pickles were served on the sandwich, along with a dill aioli and butter lettuce. We all know how delicious pickle-brined chicken is right? But the batter on the chicken was also excellent, and it was an outstanding sandwich!

We also tried the pimento cheese dip, which is served with fresh biscuits. The biscuits were amazing, and the dip was beyond delicious…the addition of blistered tomatoes to a familiar, comforting dish really elevated it to a whole new level!

As long as I was already splurging, I also had a piece of their bourbon pecan pie for dessert. It includes…are you ready for this?…candied bacon! It was the best piece of pecan pie I’ve ever had. I even liked the crust, and I’m notorious for hating pie crust!

Here’s a look at some of the other entrees our family tried…the cornbreaded catfish, the crispy pork belly and grits, the pimento cheeseburger, and the chicken po’ boy. (Not pictured are a couple of the extra sides we ordered, including collard greens and mashed potatoes and gravy.) I sampled a lot (but not all) of the meals, and everything was in keeping with Beast’s high standards. Everyone loved the items they picked (with five children, there’s no guarantee that all the dishes will be a home run, but they were!), and we were definitely all full by the end of dinner!

I can’t wait until the day we can actually dine in at the restaurant for the full experience!