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Pensacola
News Journal
Published Friday, February 20, 2004
Beulah Land strives to be a tradition
Naomi Hoffman
News Journal correspondent
Doug Allen and Ronnie Douglas have been friends since the sixth grade, when they played football together for the Cantonment Cowboys. Building on their friendship and ties to the community, they opened Beulah Land Bar-B-Q on Dec. 5. Their goal is to make the restaurant an area landmark.
"We have an opportunity to build a tradition here," Allen said.
"Everyone who comes through that door is helping to build a tradition."
Allen walks through the small dining area of Beulah Land Bar-B-Q and greets people by name, stopping to talk football at one table and to sign his autograph for a little boy at another table.
Memorabilia celebrating University of Alabama football and photographs from Allen's days as a fullback for the Crimson Tide line the walls along with Blue Angels prints and a growing collection of license plates from around the country.
"Every time I'm feeling blue, I come down here and get a hug," said Linda Irwin of Baldwin County, Ala. "I love the food and the smiling faces."
The meat is cooked in an open, hickory-fired pit and has that authentic smoky flavor that makes great barbecue unforgettable.
"There's an art to cooking on the pit," Douglas said.
Allen learned the art of pit barbecue at the legendary Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he was manager for two years.
The ribs and chicken at Beulah Land are drenched in a spicy sauce. Each plate comes with slices of white bread to soak up all the extra, because no self-respecting barbecue lover wants to see any of that good stuff go to waste.
Although the ribs are the main attraction here, you'll also want to try the Õ chicken and the chopped pork sandwich.
For sides, Allen and Douglas offer tangy coleslaw, sweet baked beans and creamy potato salad. And there's really only one dessert appropriate for a barbecued rib and chicken dinner: fresh banana pudding, of course.
Now that you've got a craving for barbecue, go west on Nine Mile Road. When you come to a red barn with a sign out front promising "the taste you long for," you know you have reached a barbecue paradise.
And don't let the drive deter you. As Allen says, "Barbecue is a destination. You should have to hit a few potholes to get there."
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE: Yes.
DETAILS: 941-2933, 941-4322 fax.
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