Curtis’ All American Barbeque

visited Curtis barbecue on 6÷5÷2016 it was absolutely the worst we have ever had. The ribs were not edible very dry could not chew them and had a taste like maybe they were not fresh. The chicken also very dry neither had any barbecue flavor and were just luke warm. The sides were just very bland and just tasted like everything was left over from days before. Never again!

thanks Curtis for great BQ, my dad (passed in ’07) found you many years ago on the way to our camp on Mooselook in Oquossoc. My son & I continue to visit you from CT. We are planning a day trip within the next month with his girlfriend, can’t wait for her to try your food. Thanks again, my mouth is watering!

First of all, Curtis is a wonderfully nice man with great history for over 40 years doing BBQ.
The local is an experience if you’ve never been to any old style BBQ establishments.
But, I rate BBQ based on the food experience. This was just average or in the case of the «sides» below average. Sometimes Unilocal reviews give you unfulfilled expectations — such was the case here. But it was an experience.

I left VT for 7 years. Now it all comes back to me. Yes, I went there years ago. The owner was a nice guy. The ribs had a smoky flavor, and I did enjoy that as well. Wow, one thing you have to admit though, our sense of smell and taste can retain our memories vividly like it was yesterday. So I also had a brief conversation about his pig. Anyway, it was a beautiful day with that smoky taste of meat in my mouth. Yum! Hey Curtis, you’re still around? Best of health to you.

My Buddy and I drove from Newark De to Putney to have lunch at Curtis Barbeque. That’s how good it is!

Best BBQ in New England. Not a fancy place, this is old-​school, road-​side barbeque. That sauce has some heat, so prepared. The portions are large, and worth the money. We come up here a couple of times a year and always stop by for a meal.

Stopped here, excited to try it. We came around 6:20pm on a Saturday night, waiting to order we can hear the workers complaining that we pulled in as they were taking the open sign down. Who closes a food place before 6:30 on a weekend, in the middle of summer? After hearing the complaints we left. So disappointed!

Curtis is the nicest guy, and the food is great. Mild sauce is tasty and supports the sometimes dry chicken.

I had high hopes based on reviews. While it was a good meal, I wasn’t overly impressed.
I came on a Friday evening; slightly early for dinner. There were a few customers eating at the tables. I was the only one ordering. When asking about sides, the guy behind the order taker barked:“they’re listed on the board over there!” Sorry for asking. Apparently, he was more concerned with getting my order so he could figure out whether plate it or box it to go.
After getting. My order, I had the chance to talk to Curtis out by the pit. He’s a great guy, very friendly. I enjoyed my conversation with him.
I went with the chicken and ribs combo. The ribs were great! Curtis’s sauce is really good. You can buy it there or at other local stores in the SoVT area. Good texture on the ribs. The chicken was Ok. It was dry and that didn’t help things. The sides were ok; the slaw was watery and the beans had been sitting for some time. Oh well.
Not a great meal; but not a bad one either. I just don’t think it lives up to some of the other reviews.
Still, a neat place to stop by and experience. It’s pretty legendary in the area.

Over 50 biker pit stop. A parking lot filled with great bikes. Clientele are characters. Worth the experience but the food is poor.

I ate here on vacation and it was delicious!
Loved the Carolina style barbecue and the pig mascot! Delicious! Would give it a hundred stars if I could! It’s like the south, but with a northern twist!

I hate barbeque. I’ve never been a fan. However Curtis’ completely changed my view on it. The chicken is cooked slowly right outside for you to see on a big grill whole. And the sauce they give you is amazing. Its the perfect blend of spicy and sweet that both barbeque lovers and barbeque haters will enjoy (I got mild). The family who runs curtis’ is very nice and provide great service. I will absolutely be going here again.

When this place hits the mark, boy, do they… I seriously can’t imagine BBQ being more delicious than this (but I’ve never been to Kansas City either, soooo, yeah.). The baked potato is my favorite I’ve ever had, and whenever I order one anywhere else, I’m secretly bummed that it’s not a Curtis’ potato.
The thing is, they’ve been inconsistent with us before. We’ve gotten some bad cuts of meat before that were just nothing but fat and didn’t taste as good as I remember. I think he’s training his daughter to cook the meat, and when we go there and she’s cooking, you can tell she doesn’t have his craft down quite yet. (Hope she gets it one day!)
The service from the people working in the bus is usually okay, but one time this girl was exceptionally rude at me. I asked her to heat up my corn muffin and she really didn’t take well to that, and I could hear her talking about me to her coworkers after. That really stuck with me, because that happened years ago and here I am still thinking about it.
I do really love the charm – the food served out of a blue school bus, the outdoor seating, the whole setup with the sink and giant paper towel roll that you wash your hands at after (as weird as that sounds to mention. really though) and the fact that A PET PIG ROAMS THE PLACE. Oh my god, love it.
This place is really something else, and if you’re passing through, you’d be missing out to not at least try it.

Love this place. Absolutely nothing fancy, but the bbq is so damn good! I like the chicken and the ribs, tho the loaded potato and greens are pretty bang on too. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid on family vacations and Curtis (the guy who’s tending the meat) is the man. Don’t forget to feed the pig the dog biscuits (no that’s not code for something dirty lol…) There is a pig on premises-​not for human consumption– and Curtis will let you feed him dog biscuits if you’re nice lol. Anyways, def go and enjoy :)

My in-​laws took us here. Ordered the chicken and rib combo plate with the pulled pork stuffed baked potato with everything on it. The food was really good and the rib meat pulled away from the bone with ease and was delicious! The baked potato was awesome as well! I can’t wait to go back next summer when we visit my in-​laws again.

Before I get started here, I’ll acknowledge that many of the «right-​on» details are outlined in the positive reviews and therefore I’ll refrain from waxing philosophically on areas that are already covered. The negative reviews (ranging from 1 to 2.5) that concern quality of service or layout of the establishment itself are clearly written by folks that may not be all too familiar with the outlets across the U.S. that produce the finest barbeques. In my experience, those outlets are generally in trailers (or, at the very least, roadside/​humble structures) and frequently, (if you’re lucky) you’re walking right by «Operations» (i.e., the owner, watching over the meats) on your way to/​from ordering the meal.
(Disclaimer — my favorite barbeque is from Eastern North Carolina (whole hog reigns supreme), and specifically from Pete Jones’ Skylight Inn barbeque. If you google-​map that, you’ll see that it is tremendously inconvenient to get to — from pretty much anywhere — but yet it’s worth the trip. I only mention this by way of establishing my ‘Q credentials…)
Curtis’s Bar-​B-​Q offers Vermont and New England at-​large an experience generally seen in inconvenient locations in the south. Curtis’s reminds me of a good number of barbeque places in Eastern North Carolina for that matter.
I’ve always enjoyed Curtis’ ribs dry, with the sauce on the side. I find that the ribs stand on their own merit and don’t need extra.
You’re going to eat outside. You’re going to get your fingers sticky. You might even need to wipe the bench off (is that a lot to ask?). No one ever said eating barbeque was pretty.
That’s very likely why you don’t see Barbeque on either the Main Dining Menu or the Lounge Menu of Le Bernardin… ;)
p. s., many thanks to my good friend Ben Guerrero for having introduced me to Mr. Tuff’s 9^th wonder of the world!

C’mon. Even if the food isn’t your favorite you can’t hate on this place. An old dude whose been BBQing for over 40 years spends all day in an open pit making chicken and ribs. Old blue buses and dogs hanging around. Picnic tables and smoke drifting this way and that. In VERMONT?!
We drove for 2 hours just to try it and we were very happy with it. I don’t think I’d go out of my way a second time but if I find myself in the right place at the right time again you better believe I’ll be stopping in.
As for the food: Like most great BBQ places the sides weren’t too thrilling. I liked the cornbread but the baked beans and 4 bean salad left a lot to be desired. There are a lot to choose from so perhaps there are better options that I wasn’t aware of. The chicken and ribs were both excellent. Perfectly cooked with a lovely smoke flavor. The house BBQ sauce is vinegary which isn’t normally my taste but I liked Curtis’s stuff. We tried the mild and the hot but stayed away from the extremely hot stuff.
All in all I’m a little glad that this place isn’t nearer to me. I’d eat there too much.
PASS

What an experience to meet Curtis! We had ribs, corn bread, coleslaw, baked beans… All homemade Fresh and wonderful!
Ps Curtis looks like Morgan Freeman!

I met Mr. Curtis a bunch of years ago. I have a picture of my 2 oldest daughters standing next to him, right by the pit. They were 4 and 6 years old. There’s a little pet pig he had, standing next to the three of them in the photo. The irony was lost on no one.
Now I have 5 kids. The little girls are 19 and 21 years old now. Curtis tells me the pig has gone to that great sty in the sky [and no, he didn’t cook him. Shame on you for thinking that.]
The smell that comes off of that man’s pit. It’s like the angels guide his hands. Chicken or ribs, up to you. It’s not the diverse menu that I come for. The sides are good and he makes his own sodas now [try the lime rickey. Good stuff.]
No. I come for the Q. And it’s good. I’ve been to Memphis and Kansas City. Chicago and St. Louis. I’ve even had Q with white sauce in Alabama. There is better Q in this world than Curtis’. You just have to drive 500 miles to get it.
Everything you’ve heard it true: you eat outside, they take your order in a really cool painted school bus, yadda, yadda, yadda. It’s the Q, man. Curtis knows that. I know that. My kids know that. You should know it, too.
Come and eat. It’s very tasty. Not too far off the highway and it’s near a gas station to fill up the car. Curtis is really nice and he’ll take a picture with you and shake your hand.
Do it.

Prior to coming to Putney, I went on my trusty Unilocal app and just put ‘Resturants’ and ‘Putney, VT’ and this was the first place to come up, for good reason.
I would of never expected a top notch BBQ joint in some sleepy town in VT, but sure enough, as you’re cruising down 103 and see the rising BBQ smoke, you know you just reached New England BBQ’ing heaven.
Usually I’ll start with the negatives of a place, but there is none with Curtis.
To start, you order out of a school bus and sit at picnic tables surrounded by woods. If that isn’t perfect BBQ eating décor, I don’t know what it. I made it on a beautfiul summer afternoon and there was even some live music going on which was awesome. I mean — they could serve cold pizza out of the school bus and the location would still lend to better tasting cold pizza.
But lets stop beating around the bush; their BBQ is some of the best I ever had. Perfectly marinated chicken, fall off the bone goodness. Loaded baked beans, which again were some of the best baked beans I’ve had in recent memory and ribs that you’ll be eating until your blue in the face its so good. Literally, you could have a big meal, come here and still eat cause it’s just that damn good.
Oh and did I mention pet friendly and Curtis, the actual BBQ’er, is a cool ass dude that will chat you up if you go by the BBQ pit?
Yes, once again, welcome to New England BBQ’ing heaven.