It took me two visits to get enough food to write a full review. If you check my other reviews, I'm a barbecue fan and with all of my travel I track down the best spots in whatever U.S. city I happen to be in. I'm picky. I also have a personal taste for barbecue with more smoke to it.
I was on my way to another spot to try when I saw M&S on Annette. I quickly looked them up and they seemed solid. One try is as good as the other, better still if it's 15 minutes closer.
Order 1 was a triple-hitter of meat. Pulled Pork, Smoked Wings, and ribs. Sides were baked beans and onion rings. It also comes with two biscuits and a pickle. While a bit pricey on the surface ($35), this is a seriously big feed that is enough for 2. Even my huge appetite for barbecue couldn't get through (much) more than half.
I'll get sides out of the way: All good. Thick rings, tasty and meaty beans, very solid biscuits. I love biscuits; nice touch. The smoked wings were well prepared, still juicy and smoky. They don't fry them at all. I think I would have found a way to crisp up the skin, though; a quick trip to the grill, perhaps. The pulled pork was a surprise. It can be so boring sometimes. Not this time. I could tell seeing it in the tray in the kitchen. Rich colour and nice pieces of bark. The flavour was smokey and it wasn't dry. The ribs also had a great smokiness to them. Nice pinkness of smoke. They were relatively meaty, definitely not fatty. The sauces I picked (spicy BBQ & Chipotle) were both good but I think that they need to add a house-made Carolina-style sauce to the list (i.e. mustardy for the PP). The Chipotle sauce is more of a creamy sauce; good for fries / rings. They were out of brisket, so I saved my review until I'd had it.
Order 2 was a brisket sandwich with fries. Fries are good, pre-salted, thick cut with peels. The bun is also good (a ciabatta, maybe?). Most brisket I have had in TO is lean, dry, and not smoky. Bad, bad, bad. This was juicy / slightly fatty and had good smoke to it. If I had to pick on something it would be that it was ever-so-slightly too salty. The thick slices fell apart, as they should. A really good brisket. It's a big sandwich and the serving of fries was generous.
This is now my favorite BBQ place in TO and I live 300m from another one that is generally considered the best (their brisket is weak).
Can't wait to go back, but I still do need to try the BBQ joint I was headed to in the first place.