I am always excited to see new BBQ places open in the barren BBQ wasteland that is Charlotte. For a city so close to Lexington, Charlotte really should have better BBQ, but I digress.
Smoke is your typical non-traditional (read: non-authentic) BBQ place. For an average of around $15 per plate, you get your choice of several types of meats and sides. The food overall is good, and I would return, but if you are looking for authentic NC BBQ, Smoke is not the place. But, I assume that's what they're going for (hence the "modern" part of their name).
SERVICE: I wanted to start off with service because it was terrible. We were seated by the hostess and waited at least five minutes before a server helped us. The wait for our food was also a bit more than usual. Service during our meal was no better. Smoke, I suggest you hire more servers or train your existing ones properly.
FOOD: Smoke serves a variety of meats and sides. While not authentic NC BBQ, the food was surprisingly good. For some reason, most BBQ places in Charlotte are pretty bad. Smoke is definitely an exception to that. I ordered a combo of pulled pork and brisket with sides of mac 'n' cheese and sweet potato fries. The pork and brisket were smoked well and quite juicy. The sides were very over-salted, however. Smoke has several BBQ sauces on each table that were all rather bland. Smoke serves one BBQ sauce called "Georgia Gold", which is a pretty interesting name considering that Georgia has no BBQ style. Mustard ("gold") BBQ sauce is from South Carolina, not Georgia. Smoke, if you call yourself a BBQ place, you should know this.
PRICE: Overall, the prices are in line with other similar BBQ places. Expect to pay about $15 per plate.
I enjoyed Smoke and will return. If they would improve their service, Smoke would definitely be a much better restaurant. One key point to note: make sure to make a reservation. Smoke has limited seating and gets busy on weekends.