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Serving: Breakfast: 7- 11 a.m., Saturday and Sunday; Lunch and dinner: Summer, 11 a.m.- 9 p.m., 7 days; Winter, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Cuisine: American barbecue Prices: Entrees average $6-$12. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
The Dining Companion: I love good barbecue and any excuse to try a new place, I say, let’s go see. We had noticed Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue once when we were out for a drive and said that we needed to try it sometime. Well, this week seemed as good a time to try it as any and I’m glad we did.
OG: We realized we would have to change up our normal scoring system because Smoke Shack doesn’t really have traditional “appetizers.” So we decided to rate the side dishes – a staple of good barbecue – separately.
Oh, by the way, Smoke Shack doesn’t serve alcohol, so if you’re craving a beer with your barbecue, you’re out of luck.
Entrée
OG: For my main course I had the half-rack of hickory smoked ribs ($14.95). When they arrived they were tender and falling off the bone. The meat had a nice smoky flavor and it was enhanced with the sweet and slightly spicy barbecue sauce served on the side – Smoke Shack doesn’t serve any sauce on the meat; it’s up to you to add the amount you want. These ribs were winners. They rate a 9.5
TDC: I decided to try the Smoke Shack Sampler ($17.95) so I’d be able to try three of their smoked delicacies: the ribs, smoked chicken and the pulled pork. As OG mentioned, the ribs were delicious with the meat just falling off the bone. The chicken breast was moist with just the right amount of smokiness. The letdown was the pulled pork — it tasted like had been pulled a while ago and was very dried out (thank goodness for BBQ sauce …) If the pork was good, the sampler would have scored higher, but because it wasn’t up to par, I have to give it an 8.5
Sides
OG: I ordered the corn on the cob and the Cajun fries. I don’t know what I was thinking – the sweet-potato fries are apparently a Smoke Shack specialty and I should have ordered those for just that reason. But the Cajun fries weren’t bad. They appeared to be hand cut and had a little bit of spice to them. The corn on the cob was juicy, but not anything special in the taste department. The meal was also served with a somewhat bland corn bread. Score: 7
TDC: I went with the hush puppies and the baked beans as my sides. The beans were delicious with nice seasonings and a smoky edge from the smoked meat that was in them. They were also a little sweet – perhaps from maple syrup? The hush puppies were served with a seasoned sweet spread that saved the blandness of the puppies. Score: 9
Dessert
OG: On the night we visited, as far as we could tell there was only one dessert — a good blueberry pie ($3.25). It had a nice crust and tasty sweet filling made of tiny blueberries. What’s not to like? Score: 9
TDC: We decided to share that blueberry pie and it was very good. It was made with baby blueberries and had the right amount of sweetness and a flaky crust. The nice thing is that they also run an ice cream stand at the same property, so if blueberry pie isn’t what you crave, how about a banana split? Score: 9
Ambiance
OG: You don’t expect anything fussy at a roadside barbecue and what you get at the Smoke Shack is classic, simple down-home decor. The restaurant is clean and has comfortable booths with traditional vinyl seating. By way of decoration there are a variety of cute little pig figures scattered about, which I secretly find a bit disconcerting when I’m about to dig into a large portion of pork. Score: 9
TDC: The place was just fine as BBQ joints go. Nothing fancy, but clean and nice things to look at as you wait for your food with the scent of a smoked meat hanging in the air. Score: 9
Service
OG: Our waitress was friendly and got our food to us in short order and piping hot. We can’t really ask for more than that. Score: 9
TDC: Our waitress was attentive when needed and hiding when not needed. Food came quickly once we ordered and that’s a nice thing when you are hungry, which we were. Score: 9
OG: Overall, we were very pleased with our meal at the Smoke Shack and recommend that you don’t wait until they happen upon it as we did, but get right on out there and try some darned good barbecue.
Total score: 88 out of 100
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