Moe’s Original Bar B Que

Moes is quite decent chain barbecue. Yes, it’s got northeast prices, but it’s worth your money. Every day there are a few special items on the menu, so check their Facebook page and visit often. For example, brisket is only served a few days, as is jerk chicken (some of the best mild heat jerk chicken).
As for staples, this place focuses less on cow and more on white meat. Always count on delicious crispy full wings, moist smoked bbq turkey breast that can coerce even turkey haters (me) into ordering it every time, and fried catfish. If you have the catfish definitely opt for the hush puppies. If you’re going to have the pulled pork, have it served on top of redneck nachos: delicious house made potato chips seasoned to perfection and covered in all the expected nacho toppings. Our favorite sides are the hush puppies, cornbread, and the potato salad. I really wish they would add some low carb options though, like green beans.
As if all of that delicious sounding food wasn’t enough they have great service, a good local craft beer list, and a full bar serving cocktails.

The first time I tried Moe’s, about a month after they opened, I was less than impressed. I found the sides boring and the sandwich missed the mark.
Boy am I glad I don’t hold a grudge! About two months ago we decided to try again, and again, and again… I can now officially say that I love Moe’s. It’s delicious!
My favorite is the pulled pork sandwich, Bama style. It’s so juicy and flavorful. And the Bama slaw adds a lovely crunch to each bite. And even though I can never finish them, I picked the baked beans and potato salad sides. The tater salad has so much mustard in it that it’s this beautiful bright yellow color– I love that!
Tonight I picked up some takeout and the husband tried the Tuesday brisket sandwich special. Supposedly it’s better than the pork. I find that hard to believe. He also enjoys the banana pudding topped with a Nilla wafer– just like grandma and Papa used to feed me as a kid.
Though I’ve never sat down long enough to order a drink, they do seem to have a fairly decent selection of beers– both craft and your typical American favorites– as well as a full bar.
Moe’s has fast become my favorite eatery in S. Portland and may have even stolen first place for my favorite BBQ joint in the Portland area. Well played, Moe’s.

Love it. Luckily there’s one in So. Portland and Bangor.
The pulled pork platter is my new rave fave. I live for the sweet potato casserole. My husband loves the Mac&Cheese. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and polite. They serve warm extra BBQ sauce to you.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I just don’t get the hype or the Unilocal rating in this place. Maybe it’s because I just moved to Maine from Maryland and I know how good southern BBQ can be? I don’t know… We started with the pork nachos. They were ice cold. So much so, the cheese was hardened and we couldn’t eat it. The mac and cheese was bland and sat in a puddle of grease. Cornbread was cold and stale. Potato salad was ok, skillet corn was odd (but tasty), grits casserole was a congealed mass, and my brisket was fatty. After I ordered it, it was erased from the board. I must’ve gotten the last portion — maybe thats why it was fatty? I really wanted to like this place and give a good review, but maybe I just expected too much by thinking we could find good BBQ in Maine? I certainly won’t go back, but I’ll admit that if Moe’s steps up their game with the food, they do have potential and they’re definitely on to something. Next time I have a craving for BBQ, I will either make it myself or wait for Mission BBQ back in MD.

Best wings around. Consistently fantastic food. Great place to grab dinner on the way home on a weeknight when I don’t want to cook.

Moe’s is one of my favorite places to grab a quick, fuss-​free dinner. This fast casual, bbq restaurant chain serves up super tasty smoked wings. I always get the smoked chicken wing platter with a side of collard greens and mac ‘n cheese. The bbq sauce is average compared to the multitude of options at Salvage. The grilled cornbread is a nice touch – I just wish it came with some butter. Moe’s staff is friendly and the food comes out nice and hot! I believe they even have some good beer options. This place has plenty of parking and it is also family friendly.

I don’t care if this a chain or what… everything we had was delicious. The wings were awesome. The pork is soft and awesome, and the flavor is nice all around. We got it to go but everything we had was way above par. I’m probably going to make Moe’s a regular thing.

So delicious and filling! It’s nice to finally get some good southern bbq in maine! The staff is always friendly and nice! Good food and good people!

Great pulled pork. If you happen to go when they have the baked apples you must get it. Not only do they have good food their prices are more then reasonable!

Friendly and fast service. Delicious food. Cool, casual and clean atmosphere. Great portions for a very reasonable price!
The meat is so tender and juicy! I had the Smoked chicken sandwich meal. I chose the Skillet corn and Marinated slaw for my sides. $ 9

I ate at Moe’s on a Thursday night. At around 6 pm, the place had some dine in customers, but not much of a crowd at all. Something about the ambience wasn’t quite right, maybe the music was off or too low, it just didn’t seem as homey or raucous as a good BBQ joint should be.
The overall set up is akin to Qdoba, Chipotle, and the like. Decide whether you want a meal or sandwich, pick your meat, and sides, very simple. Since I was ordering take out, I took in the menu ordered, and appreciated the quick and quality pack up by the staff. I’m giving an extra star here for the good service and friendly staff. They were efficient and in a good mood.
I took out the pulled pork dinner with macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. It also came with cornbread. I appreciated that the pulled pork only had a bit of sauce on it with more on the side. The sauce had good flavor, but it was too salty. The pork itself, while in a good sized portion, was humdrum in flavor, and there were no crispy bits which could have been its salvation.
Good sides from this place could have saved it, but unfortunately, they were also subpar. The macaroni and cheese appeared to be a pile of cooked macaroni noodles with a layer of crusty cheese on the top. After sitting around all day the pasta was in bad form, and overall the dish lacked good flavor. The coleslaw was okay, too sweet for my particular taste, but I think that has more to do with the style. It would have been great with a bit of shredded jalapeño or habanero to round out the flavor. Finally, I love cornbread, all kinds of it. I was interested to see that the cornbread came grilled which I expected to bring out some of the corn’s natural sweetness. Instead, it was boring.
There is so much great food in this area that I probably won’t go back to Moe’s. Though it is in an excellent location for me (I used to love the burrito place that was here), and the price is right, it’s just not good enough BBQ.

They have some really cool pictures along the wall when you first walk in.
And they have a couple framed Phish-​band posters on the wall by the bar which brought the review up to 5-​stars.
And I had been to the Moe’s in Vail and it was awesome.
It was good. Maybe after spending 3-​years in Louisiana I am jaded now.
The BBQ was good, tasty. I would say 3-​stars.
For where you are it’s pretty okay.

Moe’s is delicious! The thing I didn’t realize at first was that Moe’s is actually a chain and they franchise. Either way, Moe’s rocks. Their style is «fast food» that tastes like a home-​cooked meal.
When you first walk in, specials are on paper-​towel rolls of brown paper. There’s tons of local art on the wall and the menus are located behind the counter. The sides are written on the chalkboard, as I imagine they run out of things all the time. When I went for lunch with my Dad, they had just run out of mac and cheese (so sad), but added Oreo peanut butter pie (YUM). The menu consists of pulled pork, chicken, chicken wings, and ribs. If you get the platters they come with two sides and a piece of corn bread. The prices are very reasonable. I had the pulled pork platter and my Dad had the chicken platter, our total was around $ 21. The original BBQ sauce is SO GOOD! It’s in the bins on the counter where you pick up your food. The cornbread is perfectly moist with some chives.
The pulled pork was cooked to perfection and the portions are all very generous. The food comes out quick and you either pick it up or sometimes they’ll deliver it to your table. Moe’s also has a bar with beer on tap and good selection of bottled beers. Moe’s is a great place to go with some friends for some good BBQ!

Stopped at Moe’s again (apparently my new favorite place) for Bad Food Friday (meaning food that is tasty just not on a clean diet… lol)
So anyway… as luck would have it they had Tedneck Nachos again… so took a pic when I got home and wanted to share

Since I left Portland, my dad has been my go to source on great new eats around town. Our last visit, we came here on our tour de feed me.
The options are good.
The selection is respectable.
They serve booze if you want it.
The portions will make any hunger level happy.
With good price for portions, I’m confident this place will stick around. We were able to share and sample between the 3 of us (me, hubby, and my dad) and were all stuffed.

I have lived in many parts of the country and one of the things that I enjoy the most is the BBQ I got while living in Savannah, GA or working in Beaufort, SC. BBQ was fall off the bone good and was at every street corner cooked in huge kettle drums on brown plates.
Since moving back to Maine, the wife and I have been craving some good BBQ around the area that was close to authentic and homegrown as one could find and I took the family there this week and it was a delight in many ways.
The restaurant reminds me of all the BBQ joints I have been privvy to stepping into a restaurant and lick my fingers and eat some delicious southern grubbage. Here are the hightlights that we had at our family meal:
My son and I’s ribs were fall off the bone delicious and were not covered and completely lathered in BBQ sauce like other places around the area. The ribs were seasoned perfectly with the right dash of salt and pepper and cooked just right. The side dishes of baked beans (littered with small jalapeño peppers in the beans) and some delicious and tasty potato salad that had just the right amount of onion, clery and other little morsels of tasty.
The cornbread was griddled and warm and delicious to go with the main plate. The other good thing is my son’s plate was free because under 12 is the kids special.
My wife had pulled pork with the same sides as I had and she is VERY picky with BBQ side dishes and she ate them like a ravenous piranha. I also loved the fact that I could rock out a pint of Allagash White to go with my southern fare and it just topped the meal off perfectly.
I know there are other places arounf the area in Salvage and Elsmere and even Bucks Naked but some of those are too hoyty toyty for me and I favor a get your hands dirty, your face dirty and your your napkins dirty digging into the goodness of Moes.
Two last items that actually my son brought up to me … the bathrooms were extremely clean even with the restaurant as full as it was and the food came to us in a quick time pace after we ordered and then sat at the table.
If you want something a little less expensive than downtown Portland and you want some authentic BBQ … then go to Moes and enjoy it as much as we did.

This place was easily a 4.5 star experience. But I decided to round up to five because, no offense, but Maine isn’t known for their BBQ. Yet this place stacks up nicely to any place you would find in Missouri, Oklahoma, or Texas.
The ordering system here is simple. Choose a sandwich or platter, pick your meat (s) and sides, and add a drink. They have lots to choose from, and some specials that defy this ordering system. There’s your basic sides and special sides for the day which you can choose from. The staff here was super friendly, helped us along the way, and checked on us during the meal.
Through my roommate, I was able to try the pulled pork, fried catfish, smoked turkey breast, potato salad, baked beans, grits casserole, huge cornbread (with some bits of jalapeño thrown in there I believe), and Mac & Cheese. I was very impressed by all these options. These even have their own BBQ sauce, which isn’t too bad. The place embodies a southern atmosphere. There’s ample space and seating, plus TVs to watch sports.
One thing I noticed is that this place does not have Beef Brisket. I’m not sure if it was just for the day or went or if they simply do not serve it. But this place does serve catfish; something that is hard to come by in Maine.
I just came back from a 3-​month stay in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This place could keep up with some of the restaurants down there. The meat is tender and the sides are damn delicious. Plus, the prices are very reasonable. It’s hard to complain about this place.

Moe’s Original Barbecue opened recently in the former space of Costa Vida and Loco Baja Grill. This fast casual restaurant serves up a variety of Southern BBQ fare including ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, smoked chicken wings, fried catfish & shrimp, side items (baked beans, slaw, potato salad, chips, banana puddin’, corn bread), special sides (ie mac & cheese, Brunswick stew), and Coke fountain drinks.
You order and pay for your food first at the counter. There is ample seating inside the restaurant and a bar counter with seating too.
I stopped in here recently for takeout. Pulled Pork Platter ($ 10) with cornbread and choice of two sides (I chose banana puddin’ and Brunswick stew). The pulled pork (mostly lean meat) was very moist and tender, serve with a spicy, slightly sweet BBQ sauce. The side of Brunswick stew was hearty with plenty of corn & lima beans in the stew. The banana puddin’ had a sweet and creamy taste with Nilla wafer cookies on the top and bottom of the pudding cup. The grilled cornbread was not too sweet and had a firm texture with a mix of green onion in the bread.
The food I ordered tasted pretty good, especially the pulled pork. The sides I chose were great, but the portions seemed small. I would definitely return again to try out other offerings on the menu including the Southern fried catfish and the marinated slaw. I would very likely order the banana puddin’ again since it was sooo good!

No knock to the other BBQ places, I like them all. However, when I judge a BBQ joint I look most to their ribs. I am sure this will strike some as controversial, but I found Moe’s rib to be significantly better than any other ribs in the greater Portland area. They have a great slow smoked bark full of rich spices. The light sauce is designed to accent the spice’s flavors not cover defects, and they were perfectly tender while remaining moist.
As others have mentioned Moe’s is more casual than Elsmere and Salvage, it’s more pub-​like think Buck’s Naked but with a menu that focuses more on BBQ. No mixologist here. What you have is a place to grab dinner and beer after work, or on a date, or take out for the family.
Sides were good, I had the baked beans and the marinated slaw. The beans were a standard presentation, while the slaw was a refreshingly tangy variation.
Looking forward to trying the rest of the menu.

Moe’s is not as good as Salvage or Elsmere but it’s not the same type of restaurant. It’s more fast casual (think Chipotle) than full service sit down. The owner stopped by our nearby office at lunch and explained his concept, so we figured why not give it a shot.
Inside is simple but effective. You order at front counter or at the full service bar. Prices are a little high, but cheaper than comparable BBQ. The stew was dense and flavorful with generous amounts of sausage and pork. The pulled pork was a huge helping of leaner than usual (which I like) delicious pork. It came with two sides. The sides were on the smaller end, but considering the platter was $ 10 I found them reasonable. For me, the mac and cheese was the star. I prefer this version to Salvage/​Elsmere. The coleslaw apparently was pickled and was terrible. An enormous chunk of corn bread was slightly dry but still tasty.
A small stew, pulled pork, two sides, corn bread and two Bud Lights came to $ 17 before tip. I left comatose full.
This has been a location of death to restaurants in the past, but hopefully Moe’s has better luck. The massive slow cooker outside sends irresistible BBQ fumes several blocks away. That should lure in some traffic.