MrSippy BBQ
“If you want a little BBQ to fit your mouth. Come on down to Main Street South, that’s Mr Sippy BBQ.”
My dad is technically Mr. Sippy. My dad is born and raised in Mississippi.
“Have a lot fun. Drink a little beer. join your friends and come on down and have some BBQ.”
“He's been Mr Sippy for a long time and I kind of just thought it was a catchy name for a South meets North barbecue joint.”
And with cue, music and more, you’re going to want to meet Mr. Sippy.
Located in Rochester, New Hampshire, Mr Sippy Barbecue is the brainchild of owner Cecil Abell’s the third, who was inspired by trips to his father’s home state of Mississippi.
“My dad is from Mississippi. So grew up going down once or twice a year to see family. Then in my mid to late 20s, ended up living there.”
And during that time, Cecil grew to love real deal southern barbecue done right- and he wanted to bring all of that family know how north.
“The authentic style with which we would smoke all our barbecue, the attention to detail, the amount of time we spend, trimming our briskets just the right way, nailing that rub, just making sure every bite is as delicious as it can be. If you want a taste of that authentic southern barbecue, I think we're one of the best options around.”
And that smoker does more than just cook meat. It serves as the restaurant’s marketing manager.
“It's literally sending out a smoke signal to our potential guests and friends. The smoke wafts throughout the air. It's great marketing and advertising, and it brings people in.”
And once you ARE in, you’ll find a welcoming spot where customers arrive as strangers and leave as friends.
“We want everyone to feel welcome. It's not stuffy, we'll holler out from the kitchen. Come on in. Grab a seat, wherever you're comfortable. Southern hospitality, low and slow, which is kind of how we like the service. You can be in and out of here real quick. But you know, we like it when people hang out with us and get to know each other.”
The appetizer menu is lined with creative takes on Southern staples like smoked deviled eggs- a unique take on a picnic favorite- topped with some barky brisket, pickled red onions, and a mustard sauce. Plus there are sweet, yet savory hush puppies.
“Our hush puppies are pretty traditional, Mississippi Delta style. They're crunchy on the outside, nice and soft and tender on the inside with comeback sauce; a traditional Southern remoulade originated in Mississippi back in the 40s, kind of the 1000 Island family. They're just delicious.”
And for a BBQ version of a childhood favorite, try the Texas Twinkie.
“Our Texas Twinkies are just a cored jalapeno ….pipe them with pimento cheese….wrap them in bacon…throw them on the smoker ..and that bacon gets nice and crisp. The pepper gets nice and tender. The cheese will form like a little smoky crisp on the end. … they're always delicious.”
A big part of any BBQ menu is their selection of sandwiches- with options like this pulled pork topped with a vinegar slaw made with a time tested family recipe. And then there’s the BBQ Bomb- a sandwich that explodes with flavor.
“It's a steak bomb on steroids. It's just our chopped smoked brisket with sauteed peppers, un caramelized onions, mushrooms and then a little American cheese. We do eight ounces on our bombs. You don't need any sides, like a lot of people, like, you could just eat a brisket bomb and be ready for a nap.”
Of course, Mr Sippy offers your typical Southern BBQ trays where you can pick your ‘que along with some of their housemade sides.
“So the plates you just you can pick one, or we have a combo plate where you can pick two, pick a couple sides, pickles, sauce, and just a wicked good meal.”
There’s slow smoked pulled pork which works great alongside a half chicken.
“We cook them hot and fast so that they get the skin crisps up a little bit, and it keeps the meat really nice and juicy.”
Or check out the perfectly executed burnt ends.
“They get really nice and glazed. It's that sweet. It's that tangy on a really fatty but also, like barky piece of brisket. It’s got that salt pepper bark and that kind of crunchy, almost cut your gums texture over the super marbled point muscle is just like meat candy. It just melts, and it's a flavor explosion.”
But if you ask Cecil what to get- he’ll insist you try some of his ribs.
“One of the surprising things about our baby back ribs is how simplistic they are. We just put a little dry rub. We smoke them. We spritz with apple juice. We wrap them for the last 45 to 60 minutes. We don't go for fall off the bone. We're a little more in the competition style where you want to tug them off the bone. So from a texture and flavor standpoint, tug off the bone, baby back ribs are my favorite thing.”
To pair with all of that protein, Mr Sippy’s offers a variety of southern sides like cheesy grits, mashed sweet potatoes, and their slow simmered collard greens.
“They are rich, but there's a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of vinegary tang in there as well. But they are just better than any I've had in the South. Like I love our collard greens. They’re probably my favorite thing on the menu.”
And then there’s the creamy, dreamy mac and cheese.
“We make a cheddar, Velveeta, bechamel, and we mix it all together to order and it's just nice and creamy mac and cheese. It's what you want when you sit down and order just a home style mac and cheese. It's not fancy. It's just wicked good.
And you’ll feel wicked indulgent if you go for one of Mr Sippy’s housemade pies like their decadent Mississippi Mud Pie, or the Pecan or rather Pecan Pie.
“Everyone around here says pecan, but in Mississippi it is most certainly pecan. The perfect bite of pecan pie is that dark, rich sweetness from molasses and karo with the pecan crunch and nutty flavor. We make our whipped cream homemade. If you have room. It is an awesome way to end your meal here in Mr Sippy BBQ.”
And with music, food, and friends, you’ll never want dinner to end at Mr Sippy.
“No better feeling than when everybody's just laughing and eating barbecue and having a good time that's what my dad grew up on. That's what I remember growing up going down to Mississippi. love to hang out with friends and family over food. I also love music. So, you know, we're combining all of our favorite things.”
“Come on down to Mr Sippy BBQ. Now come out and see us.”
