The Depot Smokehouse & Tavern - Alexandria, MN

We had settled into the new house. We'd even had a large family gathering for Theo's third birthday party in the new house. Breaking it in in style. October brought my first run of shows as a central Minnesota regional songwriter. Booking shows in different states still has that sort of universal feeling. Generally, it's no response at all. If there is one, you usually have to haggle over the hourly rate that you're going to get paid. Often, that slows things down if it doesn't die off completely. Universal. I can work in a budget. Sort of my specialty. I've still got to make a living, ya know. Anyway, I have been lucky to find a couple of venues right here in town that are not only willing to host me, but seem pretty excited to do just that. Not so universal. When one of those rooms is an old train depot converted into a smokehouse and tavern...I get pretty excited about it. My first show in Alexandria as an official citizen of the town. I got loaded in with the help of a couple kind staff members. Load in and sound check went quick. So, to the bar I went. I grabbed a Minnesota craft brew and I ordered a bowl of baked beans. Yes. Just a plain bowl of baked beans. I sat at the bar, by myself, with my Castle Danger Cream Ale and a bowl of baked beans. I'm sure I was getting looks, hell I'd have a joke to make about some guy eating beans by himself at a bar, but I was too focused on the task at hand to notice. It's not my usual pre-show ritual, but...the more I think about it it...it's not far off. 
 
Hold on. Hold on. You're not here for the in's and out's of the local music scene. No. It's beans.

Like I mentioned, I just ordered the beans and a beer. This order was served up in a large, ceramic bowl. The beans, not the beer. That came in a pint glass, pictured below. They were served up quickly and came out of the kitchen piping hot. This particular side dish was a single bear affair. The traditional navy bean. While not entirely mush, these beans did seem to be a touch over cooked for my liking. Mouthfeel suffered a second blow with the lack of any additional vegetables. I like to see some onions or peppers in there at the very least. The softness of the beans was coupled with scrap meat, I'm thinking it was brisket, in the dish. This extra meat helped improve the mouthfeel and make the dish a bit more substantial. The sauce that these beans were served in was next level. The name for this menu item is "Smokehouse Baked Beans" and that's the truth. The sauce was relatively thick. You could probably eat these with a fork, but I was provided a soup spoon to facilitate the scooping. The sauce was a perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Just like a good barbeque sauce would be. In addition to that balance, there was an additional heat in the sauce. Very strong notes of black pepper and cumin, giving this a smoky aroma and flavor. Now, I know that cumin doesn't lend heat to a dish, but it's got a certain spicy food connotation to it and I'm glad to see it in the sauce. I've got a large menu to explore at The Depot, but I don't know that I can stray from these beans as my side dish. Hell, it might make another entree in the near future.

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 4
Flavor: 5
Mouthfeel: 3

Total Score: 12

For what it's worth:
Playing venues with Castle Danger Cream Ale on tap: 5