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| - Soooooooooo, after a 4 year hiatus, we have decided to go back to Smokey Bones for a re-do. I will take this early opportunity to divulge that the only reason we have decided to go back is that it is under new management and that new manager is a close friend. The following review, though, has nothing to do with our friendship and he was NOT present at the time I went so had nothing to do with the food or service we received. This was a real dinner visit with guests in town for the holiday and they wanted good Q and Wes assured me that the place had turned around. He was right.
I can be a harsh critic. I expect a lot from an eatery. As posted before in other reviews, I think restaurants are magic. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad magicians out there. Smokey Bones had fallen far from pulling rabbits out of hats and was doing Wal-Mart magic kit stuff that just wasn't working for them. They needed a turn around moment or they were done. I am seriously surprised that, with our last experience and the reviews that have been posted here since, it hasn't closed it's doors. They found the magic again and here's what went down:
We were a party of 6. My immediate family and my sister and brother in law. We dropped in about 7 and entered. The design flaw of this building is that the entrance area drops you right in to the bar area which can be a bit loud but the food seating area's are much more noise appropriate. We were seated at a 6 top near the bar but found the noise level a bit much. We asked for a new seating arrangement which was immediately and pleasantly taken care of. The place was not terribly busy but several tables were occupied and most folks seemed in good spirits and were eating and drinking away.
Our server was Krista. Super pleasant, nice and attentive. She circled the table and was kind enough to repeat the special to my brother in law who was directly under the speaker (at first) and couldn't hear her.
We decided on the smoked wings for an app. GOOD CALL! These little dandy's are double smoked (according to the menu) with a dry rub and then drizzled with a sweet, almost teriyaki (sp), type of sauce. Drizzled is the main word here because too much would just be too much and the wings would have lost their appeal to me. We polished off 16 in no time flat and were unanimously impressed.
The orders around the table were varied, which was great because I got to try a little of a bunch of stuff. Across the board we were impressed with the food quality and flavors. I got the St Louis ribs and brisket combo platter with a baked tater and broccoli. The ribs were with out compare the star of this whole program! Well rubbed, cooked to a tender but not "falling of the bone" overdone-ness. The smoke ring was deep and the meat was tasty. I dipped the ribs in some of the Chipotle BBQ sauce (which is now, thankfully, set at the table again for your enjoyment and mixing pleasure!). My Bro-in-law got the baby backs and was fully excited about them. I could see the incredibly deep smoke ring from where I sat a couple seats away. He finished his and got a whole rack to go for cold eating on his drive home today! My wife got the half chicken/brisket combo and was delighted in the moistness and tenderness of the chicken meat, though she is not a big sauce-er and felt that for her taste is was too saucy. She did rave however on the meat itself. My sis got polled pork and it was NICE! I stuck my fork over for a steal and agreed with her judgement. At the risk of saying moist too many times, it was really moist and flavorful. The 7 oz. medium steak my son got was well cooked and looked great but wasn't on the plate long enough for me to get a bite (cause he's a punk!)
Sides were good, I loved the broccoli, the tater was well cooked and tasty and overall I was very pleased with the food.
So's we all don't think I am being pulled along by my friendship with the GM, here is the stuff that may have left us wanting a little bit. The brisket was okay, not great but well cooked, fat cap on keeping the meat (wait for it...) humid! (jk, it was moist!) but didn't blow my head off like I hoped. My sis said the slaw was okay but nothing special. It was a little loud in the bar area but sitting in the dining area took care of that.
So that's that. Sometimes you gotta change the driver. Smokey Bones was on the verge of ruin and they changed the driver to a guy who I can vouch is a true restaurant dude who is more concerned with quality than quantity of food served. His employee's seem happy to work for him and in return he gets employee's who want to continue to work for him so they do a better job.
Why 5 star's you may ask yourself. Well, my last review was a deuce and the difference in the experiences was more than a 2 star upgrade. If it were possible I would probably do 4.5 stars but, alas, it isn't a possibility so 5 it is.
The standards have been raised.
Good eating!
V-dub
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