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| - Great addition to the Burton food scene!
Burton is rapidly becoming the center of the food scene for central Geauga County. In addition to longtime favorites JC's, Coffee Corners (the area's best wine and coffee bar), and the recent romantic hot spot, Warren's Spirited Kitchen, we now have the area's best Barbeque/American restaurant, The Smith Restaurant.
Housed in the building that has previously held several breakfast/brunch restaurants, The Smith Restaurant seems destined to break the "curse" that has taken down the Burton Family Restaurant among others. For one thing, The Smith Restaurant doesn't try to compete head-on for the early breakfast crowd that inevitably goes to JC's. Instead, they open on Friday and the weekends with a full Brunch/Lunch menu starting at 11:00 AM. So, if it's noon on Sunday and you're looking for lunch, while your family wants eggs and bacon, don't go to JC's (they seem content to only do breakfast until well into the afternoon) instead head to The Smith Restaurant.
The restaurant has been nicely redone with a lot of woodwork and a revamped porch. The addition of several beautiful flame heaters should make the porch usable for most of the year. My only quibble in the refurbish was the choice to have bare wood floors, painted walls, and a tin ceiling. Since there is nothing to absorb the sound, the space is incredibly loud. My date for the evening and I had to shout at each other to be heard over the din. Others were having the same issue and the resultant sound was much louder than it needed to be. My other hairsplitting beef with the place is the tables were small and crowded together. Getting in our out of your seat needed some careful planning and gymnastics to prevent dumping over a glass on your neighbor's table.
I've only been here once (so far) and can only report on the BBQ Brisket. But it was easily the best I've had in Ohio. Moist, juicy, and flavorful with a deep smoke bark. From the ribs, chicken, and pulled pork I saw being delivered to the table next to me (and from the happy sounds of people eating) I think the other smoked meats will be just as good.
The sauces are definitely good but don't quite match the high standards set by the meat. There is a mustard based sauce, a vinegar based sauce, and a traditional tomato based BBQ sauce. Of the three, I thought the traditional was the best, although it had some unusual overtones of Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke. Again good, but nearly as flavorful or bold as the BBQ sauce at Morgan's Place Smokehouse in Chardon (clearly my favorite in NE Ohio).
People were friendly and service was good, but still inconsistent between waiters. We were able to get in, order, eat, and pay the bill before the table next to us had ordered, even though they came in only about a minute behind us. I felt a little guilty eating while getting "the eye" from the person still waiting for the waiter to take her order, but not so guilty to stop me for eating the delicious brisket. Since the place is so new, I would expect these issues to be quickly resolved.
I would recommend The Smith Restaurant to anyone wanting a great Barbeque experience!
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