| rev:text
| - I've been waiting for Smoke to open in Stonecrest since I saw that Village Tavern had left (yay!) and this new "upscale modern BBQ" place was moving in. I was really hoping that our first experience was going to WOW me. Sadly, it did not.
Because of the movie theater nearby, parking for Smoke can be a bitch. Overflow from the theater takes up the parking area in front of Smoke. After finally finding a space and walking some distance, we arrived at Smoke this past Saturday evening and waited for about 10-15 minutes for a table (when I could see that there were tables open). Fine. I understand that sometimes they don't want to overwhelm the servers. What I don't like, though, is when they do it to try to feel "exclusive." There were three hostesses and what looked like a manager hanging around the host stand. Do you really need that many?
Smoke has booths, tables, high-top tables, and bar seating. We were seated at a high-top in the bar area. Our server promptly greeted us. We ordered drinks and they were made and delivered right away. I tried a Moscow Mule for the first time. It was delicious and came in the traditional copper mug (although I found it strange that it didn't have a lime and/or mint sprig in it, like I've always seen).
We ordered the fried pickles appetizer and two orders of the Smoked Pulled Pork. I went to use the restroom soon after ordering, and when I came out, our meals had already been delivered! It was super quick! But...where was the fried pickles appetizer? And why did the person delivering the food call one brisket and the other pork? Neither was brisket. Can't the employees tell the difference between their products?
The Smoked BBQ Plates come with two sides. I tried the mac & cheese and the creamed spinach. Both were fantastic. The mac & cheese was so flavorful (I wished I had ordered one of the mac & cheese entrees) and the creamed spinach wasn't overly creamy; it was just right. However, the main attraction, the BBQ pork, left something to be desired. It tasted rubbery, almost like chicken (maybe it was?!), wasn't shredded much (like every other BBQ place does), and was lukewarm in temperature (hence, the quick delivery) compared to the fresh, hot side dishes. For $15, I expected a lot better.
We didn't see our server much after the food was delivered, and never did see the fried pickles. Fortunately, it wasn't on the check, but, seriously...WTF? The restaurant wasn't that busy. It then took too long to get our check and then pay for it because we rarely saw our server after she took (and screwed up) our orders.
Will we go back? Possibly. I'd like to try one of the mac & cheese entrees, since they seemed to do that right. As for BBQ? Rubbery, non-shredded, lukewarm BBQ (that may or may not be chicken)? No, thanks. With Mac's Speedshop and Midwood Smokehouse offering better BBQ at lower prices, why pay more for less quality?
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)