By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Jul 11, 2014 at 11:03 AM

Craving old fashioned barbeque?

Beginning today you can head over to Greendale, where you’ll find a brand new fast casual spot to pick up finger lickin’ ribs, brisket and fried chicken.

Miss Beverly’s Deluxe Barbeque, located adjacent to Joey Gerard’s supper club at 5601 Broad St., presents diners with a vibe distinctly unlike other Bartolotta’s restaurants – a fast casual spot with counter service and plenty of old school charm.

Enter the doors and you’ll be greeted by blues music and 1940s and '50s period décor. Grey textured walls don nostalgic advertisements and music posters featuring names like Etta James, Buck Owens, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy. Meanwhile, directly behind the order counter, a 1950s era General Electric refrigerator holds a variety of classic bottled sodas, including Moxie, Sarsaparilla, Orange Crush and Swamp Pop.

A large chalkboard displays the Miss Beverly’s menu, which includes a wide variety of southern inspired options, including three types of ribs (baby back, St. Louis spare and beef) alongside broasted fried chicken, smoked BBQ chicken, hot links, brisket and pulled pork. Sides include coleslaw, corn bread, tater tots, BBQ beans, baked mac and cheese, corn pudding, sweet potatoes, potato salad or a side salad.

There’s no muss or fuss at Miss Beverly’s. Like most classic barbecue spots, patrons order at the counter and then take a seat in the dining area, which seats about 70, where wooden tables are dressed with rustic wooden containers filled with house-made barbecue sauces, diner style salt and pepper shakers and rolls of paper toweling perfect for daubing off errant smudges and sticky fingers.

It’s also not a spot for vegetarians, who will find little or no comfort in the meat-heavy menu.

On our inaugural trip, we sampled a nice variety of Miss Beverly’s offerings. A combo platter with pulled pork and brisket, alongside coleslaw, cornbread and a side of potato salad was $18.95; and a half rack of baby back ribs with cornbread, coleslaw and BBQ baked beans came through at $16.95.

Combos were served on paper covered metal trays, and soft drinks in plastic cups, while beer and wine came served in glass.

The pulled pork, served atop the traditional slice of white bread, was tender and lightly sauced with Bev’s House sauce – an onion-forward ketchup based sauce with a balance of sweet and sour flavors.

Optional sauces at each table included Bev’s House sauce, alongside a thicker "Sweet and Tangy" sauce with more ketchup flavor, "House on Fire" augmented with garlicky Sriracha and Miss Carolina, a mustard and vinegar based option.

The brisket was comprised of a generous portion of toothy-but-tender smoked meat, thinly sliced and lightly dressed with Bev’s sauce.

Baby backs were lean, but well executed, with tender smoky meat that clung to the bone just tightly enough to give one’s teeth a bit of resistance.

We also sampled the broasted fried chicken, which sported a crisp battered coating and plenty of tender meat. It was especially good slathered with a bit of the Miss Carolina sauce, the vinegar base of which cut the richness of the fried chicken while offering up plenty of flavor.

The St. Louis spare ribs may have been the winner – offering meatier bites of smoky rib flavor. Though fattier by nature, the slow cooking process allows excess fat to render, leaving the ribs tender and juicy with a pleasantly crisp crust.

When it came to sides, two options came out as clear winners – the tender sweet corn pudding, which was baked in individual molds, sported a crisp top and a moist corn-forward center that begged to be savored. The BBQ Baked Beans were also solid, exhibiting a sweet and smoky flavor, good texture and plenty of delicious bacon.

The cornbread was northern-style – toothy and slightly sweet – the sort of side you’d want warm and slathered in butter. The creamy coleslaw, on the other hand was more salty than sweet, but well dressed without a watery puddle in the bottom of the cup. Meanwhile, the American style creamy potato salad was ultra-creamy, possibly to a fault, but included tender red potatoes and moderate seasonings.

We washed down our meal with a refreshing glass of Luzianne sweet tea ($2.49), which we poured from a self-serve beverage station in the back of the restaurant. But other options include a variety of soft drinks, "Yankee-style" iced tea, specialty sodas ($3.99), beer and wine.

And, although our bellies were full, we couldn’t resist sampling one of the Southern pecan bars, which were chock-full of gooey chopped pecans with a sweet and salty shortbread crust ($2.99). Other options included Rice Krispies treats ($2.99), cookies ($1.99) and a Beverly float featuring scoops of ice cream in a pint glass paired with a specialty soda of the diner’s choice ($4.99)

Service was friendly and fast, with our meals being delivered within 10 minutes of ordering. Runners delivered food and kept spent plates cleared, while readily answering questions and attending to diners’ needs.

The verdict?

Even on a first trip, Miss Beverly’s delivers a nice selection of down-home barbecue options that are fairly priced and worthy of a return venture. Next time, we’ll try the beef ribs and barbecued smoked chicken.

Miss Beverly’s Deluxe Barbeque is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dine in, carryout and catering are available. For carryout, order in advance online at missbeverlysbbq.com.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.