Flanders Bay BBQ — Restaurant in Sullivan

Don't own grill, been craving BBQ all summer. Googled and found this place, closer than going to town. Worried it would be tourist trap, kinda but the service was fast enough that there wasn't any congestion and just enough room to park. The prices were lower than Trenton locations.

Portions seem small for the price, but it's enough. All the meat was tender and moist, but they were out of ribs (hour before closing til next wk, & I don't eat them anyway). The meats were very bland, just cooked meat, even with what looked like seasoning on them. The brisket & pork were good. The chicken looked like a breast, but it was a boneless thigh. The ham was not as good as I hoped, it's likely boneless ham which makes it like sliced sandwich meat. Did not try the sausage.

The sauces were different than you would expect, and you gotta communally share them with everyone. So if you don't get enough (& you'll need it cause it's like the plainest meat ever), you will have to get up multiple times. There were only two available, one was Mud which tastes like Catalina salad dressing. The other was more like a Bbq sauce but it wasn't labeled so I duno what it was.

Only got the coleslaw that came with the 3 meat platter. It was nice. Very flavorful, celery seeded, no mayo, with cukes. Kinda made me think of unfermented kimchi. It was good. Never had slaw without mayo and liked it.

Since didn't get sides, but read reviews that they're awesome, I have I theory! I think the meats are bland & sides really flavorful, because your supposed to eat it all together!! Maybe I'm wrong, but if I go back, that's what I'm doing. I also would do a sandwich and sides instead of the platter.

So to be honest, when we arrived, found last parking spot (for the moment), had a spaced out guy just sitting at a desk out front, no interaction no idea what we were doing...had to kind force our order on the kid as he didn't seem to care what was going on...it was odd--and I was ready to never come back. However, the atmosphere is so calm and laid back, it's almost unsettling and kinda disorienting...til you get used to it. The food came out within 15mins. I was not impressed by the amount for the price, but the man who brought us our food was SO NICE! I'm gonna guess he was the owner. He had a genuine passion and concern that radiated from him, in just the few seconds he was around. I would go back, just to help support that guy!!

Soooo long story short, the food is ok. I think it's all about perspective. The only thing I wish is that the meat had some sort of smoke flavor. There was no distinction that it was cooked on a grill, it was just cooked meat, basic as basic. However, the atmosphere is chill, the sides are flavorful, the wait time is basically non existent, it's close, and there's some heartfelt passion hiding inside. I'm glad I went. My opinion changed from "OMG never again!" to "Hell yeah, I'd go back!" in just one visit.

Stick to the actual cuts of meat, get plenty of sauce, and definitely the sides. Mix it up together, and I think you may have something amazing for dinner! Oh!! And tell the middle aged skinny man, inside, that he's doing a...

If you headed to Schoodic (which you should be), be sure to stop at Flanders! We were only in the area for a week on vacation, but ate at Flanders twice! We are from North Carolina, so feel like we know a thing or two about BBq (who knows if this is true..), and were bowled over by the brisket. In talking with the owners, they shared some insights to smoking brisket that we hope to try in our own smoker in a few weeks.

The pulled pork was moist, flavorful - and although Flanders offers three different sauces (love the mustard base...) - the pork was tasty enough to go without. Same for the brisket - the sauces were good - but the brisket flavor, smoke and tenderness didn't even need sauce!

We had the mac & cheese - which was yummy, but the beans...

Had a lovely visit here on my way to Schoodic Peninsula. Had sampler with smoked chicken, pulled pork, brisket. Brisket was fatty and delicious. Smoked chicken was tender. Pulled pork was decent - I liked the "Mud" BBQ sauce. Ribs was overcooked for my tastes. Sides were wonderful - the cornbread was some of the best I've had at BBQ places and the baked beans was well balanced.

Owner and his wife was also very friendly and lovely to talk to, he shared a lot of his local favorite nearby locations. Store also has a very nice crafts section, where they have locally made items for much lower than Bar Harbor. We got a lovely mug from here.

Clean bathroom on site. Outdoor seating has a nice...