The Smoke BBQ

Friendly owner mingling with the crowd ; )

The clan was out with full force for lunch at The Smoke yesterday. With the men in tow, there were no reservations when it came down to ordering big quantities of meat. So there we have it our feast....



Kansas City "Baby Back" Pork Ribs- Hickory Smoked

The full rack of ribs are certainly lengthy but the problem is there's not enough meat on the bones!  Thankfully its been cooked with love, so the meat was wonderfully tender.



Open-Pit Charcoal Chicken

We could not detect any element of "char-grilled" in the chicken though the meat was kept succulent and moist. The vodka in the BBQ was also not distinct.



Texas Beef Short Ribs- Mesquite Smoked

The Beef Ribs on the other hand were very meaty....   

Blue Hot Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Blue Hot is the intermediate level of chilli kick. The hot sauce is reminiscent of tabasco or sriracha . It really is just chilli in taste with no other dimension to it. The heat at this level does creep up on ya slowly!  I never understood the American idea of having blue cheese dressing with chicken wings but after trying this combo I finally get it. Delicious!
 

Original Buffalo Chicken Wings & Miller Genuine Draft Onion Rings



The Onion Rings has a crispy batter that is not light like the batter of tempura. Probably analagous to the batter of Chumley Warner's battered fish rather! Yum! 



Pumpkin Pie with a big scoop of Vanilla ice-cream!

The Pumpkin Pie was vibrant in orange and the texture is like a medium-densed baked cheesecake. Miss food hunter liked the spiced flavours in the smooth pie filling however it would have been better if the pastry was cooked through. This dessert is not richly sweet which is great for most of us! 


Can't forget the drinks!



Mojito!!





We've read many mixed reviews about The Smoke, which sort of explains why it has taken us this long to visit! The items that seem to stand out are the starters (the cajun chicken cee-gars do sound delicious), buffalo wings and the pumpkin pie. In our opinion, the highlight of The Smoke should be the pork ribs but are let down because of the lack of meat and sauces that lack complexity though on  the menu, the dishes are described with an amalgamation of different seasonings, smokes and not so straight-forward BBQ sauces. Overall, it was a good experience to have tried American BBQ and the food wasn't at all unpleasant, its more so because we were expecting something deeper- flavour wise! Prompt, attentive and friendly service and we think it is quite a good (fun) venue for group gatherings without breaking the bank!

The Smoke BBQ
85 Merthyr road
New Farm
Opens tuesdays to sundays
           lunch & dinner