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| - Okay, I admit it. I kind of wanted to hate this place. This is purely based on what I've heard from others, of course, but I got the impression that it was one of those hipster, annoyingly trendy, trying-hard-to-be-cool-while-pretending-not-to-try places.
And....it is kind of all of those things. But the service and food completely won me over...so it is impossible now for me to hate :)
First thing's first....yes, it's crazy busy here. On a Sunday night at 7, there was an hour wait. They do use the NoWait app, but you can't just sign into the app and put yourself on the list like with other restaurants. Because Smoke is so cool and different ;) they don't conform to the normal NoWait M.O.....instead you have to call them on the phone to get in line. Then they will text you a link to the app that will let you track your place.
Because it was so busy, we said we were willing to eat at the bar, and that's where we were seated. The bar seating is tight, so it kind of sucked rubbing elbows (literally) with the random dude beside me...but first world problems, right?
The barista was our server and she was super attentive and sweet. Because we had not been there before, she explained their concept and gave us recommendations on how much food to order (2 tacos per person is apparently standard).
We started with an order of the "Hot Bowl of Cheese", which is essentially the best freaking queso I've ever had in my life. It's a mild cheese sauce spiked with smoked peppers and onions....crazy flavorful. It's served with homemade flour tortilla chips fried to a consistency that is simultaneously crispy and chewy. If I had magical powers, I would seriously consider hooking myself up to an IV of cheese sauce that I could tote around with me wherever I went. It was so, so good.
For dinner, I got a veggie taco and my hubby got the special taco of the day (which was a chicken and waffle taco). Then we split an order of mac and cheese. Although they recommended two tacos per person, between the queso appetizer and the mac and cheese side, one taco each was more than enough for us (and in fact, we took most of the mac home). The tacos were OUTSTANDING. It can be hard to make a veggie taco interesting, but they managed to pack it with smoky and spicy flavors. And the chicken and waffle taco was to die for....perfectly crisp chicken, soft waffles, and a sweet/spicy blueberry jalapeno sauce. Putting all of those flavors and textures together might have made for the world's most perfect bite. And let's not forget about the mac and cheese! It was insanely delicious....rich and creamy with a super sharp cheese sauce (I LOVE mac and cheese with a bite!)
To wash everything down, we tried both flavors of their agua frescas that they had that day (cantaloupe and watermelon). Both were super refreshing, fruity, and lightly sweet. A perfect complement to our meals.
The only downside here is their prices. YIKES. Be prepared to open your wallet. Psychologically, it's hard to pay $8.00+ for a side of mac and cheese or $7.50 for a single taco.....but they really do back up their prices with amazingly fresh, homemade, flavorful food. So I guess that eases the pain a little? Oh, and speaking of prices, it's cash only...which I find annoying. I mean, it's 2015...at this point, I think I should be able to beam payment directly from my eyeballs to the restaurant. But whatever. Credit cards are probably too mainstream for Smoke ;) So I will begrudgingly pull out the cash for my super-high-priced, but super-freaking-delicious tacos. :)
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