First Look: Big Baby Q and Smokehouse in Maryland Heights

Drive down Dorsett Road with the windows down and you may catch a whiff of wood smoke from Big Baby Q and Smokehouse. The new restaurant opened in the Fee Fee Center at 11658 Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights on Monday, April 18.

The father-son venture owned by Bennie and Ben Welch focuses on traditional proteins like brisket and pulled pork, as well as outside-the-smoker-box fare like house pastrami and smoked jerk tofu. The six sauces also run the gamut from sweet and tangy house sauce to the creamy Alabama white sauce to a Korean barbecue sauce.

Hefty portions come with a choice of sides, including vegetarian options. Choose from platters, sandwiches, ribs, smoked chicken or a little bit of everything on the Big Baby Big Plate. Welch dry rubs the meat with his blend of brown sugar, chili powder, garlic, onion, paprika, cumin and more, then smokes it over a blend of oak and cherry wood.

Pastry chef Karolyn Page helms the sweet side of the kitchen, offering six homemade desserts like the chocolate-chocolate chip cookie and the moist, not-too-sweet sweet potato pound cake.

Get your grub to go as the limited seating includes a picnic table inside and another outside. Big Baby Q and Smokehouse is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until sold out. Here’s a first look at what to expect when you step inside Big Baby Q.