Maine-style barbecue. I never knew this was a thing, but it makes so much sense. Fat and protein do…read morewonders for the body and soul when you've put in a full day of skiing and/or it's 10 degrees F or less out. Not to mention there's plenty of maple wood to be had in Maine for smoking.
I don't have much of a basis of comparison to other Maine-style bbq places, but what I tried of the The Rack's bbq was excellent by any standard. I'm not sure I detect a huge difference from, say, Eastern South Carolina style 'cue. In fact, the sauce that my ribs (half rack of ribs with mac 'n' cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread; $38) came with would feel right at home in Eastern SC: vinegary with a touch of heat. The ribs had a wonderful layer of bark and were moist, but not fatty. They were not heavily seasoned or salted, which many of those in the know prefer since the quality of the meat can shine through. It did, here.
Of course I didn't snap a photo of my meal -- I was so excited to eat, I forgot! -- but it came with a generous portion of mac 'n' cheese (pleasantly cheesy, but undersalted by our standards), baked beans (very vinegary, made with onions that could've been cooked to a softer consistency, but were enjoyable in their own right), a mayonnaise-y coleslaw (fair), and a tiny square of cornbread. The cornbread was southern style to my surprise and delight, not the fluffy, sweet, cake-like version usually passed off as cornbread in the north. I loved the slightly spicy, slightly sweet pickles that accompanied, as well.
The Pardner had the kimchi beef short rib (shredded beef short rib in a kimchi beef broth served over seared sticky rice with chef's vegetable of the day, pickled carrots and daikon, hoisin bbq sauce, Korean bbq sauce, fried garlic, scallions and cilantro; $38). He mostly enjoyed the dish, but I found the texture of the seared sticky rice too hard and chewy, personally. There was more sweetness and less spice in the bowl than I personally prefer and would expect from the name. The vegetable of our day was broccoli, cooked crisp.
One of my progeny had the smoked brisket sando ($26). I didn't try the sandwich, since it was inhaled in seconds, but I deduce it was good. The fries I snagged were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside -- great!
The other progeny had a L'il Rippers (children's menu) grilled cheese with fries ($12). She enjoyed it, but evidently not as much as my mac 'n' cheese, ribs, and cornbread, which she heavily poached.
There are many good local beers on tap, from clean taps based on what we tried. There's a hand-written menu in the back room by the pool table, which listed $5 specials.
This restaurant, partly owned by Olympic snowboarder Scott Wescott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Wescott), is clearly very popular. (There was a 20 minute wait on a Friday evening, even on the dregs of the Sugarloaf ski season.) I think it probably draws Carrabassett Valley Academy students, families, and staff, given that this well-known ski and snowboard school is just a short walk away. Customers are a great mix of teenagers and young adults, old people, families, Mainers and tourists -- and everyone seems to have a good time. The pool table, dart boards, and arcade are fun for kids of all ages.
We were given a compostable (non-waxed) cardboard box for leftovers. Appreciate the planet-friendly approach.
The bartender in the back room was great -- so nice and helpful. Wait staff were nice, but no-nonsense in that extremely competent Mainer sort of way. It's easy to see why The Rack is popular.
