The Smoke Shop

Reviews 4

CR

Cristina Ruiz

As someone who spent 18 formative years in the great state of Georgia, Im allowed (nay - obligated) to ruthlessly judge every restaurant that touts itself as "Southern" in the Northeast. This is just a fact of life. Hungry and ready to judge, my group of 7 arrived around 8:30pm on a Thursday evening and were seated right away. Great for us - but bad sign that the restaurant can accommodate a large walk-in group so quickly when just a few months ago the wait would have been hours. Are things already going downhill? We want to try as much as possible... so we can accurately assess the BBQ situation, obviously. The Pit Stop Platter includes 2 meats & 2 sides ($24) whereas the Pit Boss Platter is 3 meats & 3 sides... for just $2 more! Its a no-brainer: be a boss! The meats we chose were the pulled pork, brisket, and burnt ends to be accompanied by the buffalo mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and corn bread. To drink, I ordered the Limestone, which was a refreshing tequila cocktail. It was nice, but the tall, skinny glass was full of ice, so there wasnt actually much drink to enjoy. Our platter of food came out very quickly, and we marveled at the mounds of meats. Digging in, we quickly realized that the pulled pork was in need of some assistance, and some squirts of the hot, sweet, and gold BBQ sauces on the table really helped the porks dry, flavorless state. The brisket was alright - not the most tender or the most flavorful Ive had. It was unexpectedly served over a slice of Texas toast, which would have been nice to know because then we wouldnt have gotten the corn bread (which was dry and too sweet). As for the other sides, the brussels were my favorite for their slight char and bitterness. The buffalo mashed taters were just odd. It was more of a puree than a nice, chunky mash, and it was topped with bleu cheese dressing. Definitely not a Southern dish. Definitely not a dish that should exist. The by-far best part of the meal were the burnt ends. Hot dang, are these meaty morsels good! Theyre tender, full of flavor, and dont even need to be doused in sauce. A winning combo, amirite? Yall, I need to be straight with you: the Smoke Shop aint Southern. They may try their darnest, but bless their hearts, they come up short. But hey - if you find yourself stuck in Cambridge and need an immediate burnt end fix, theyre here for ya, honey.

MR

Mrs. Tibbs

Ive been waiting for a bbq place to open up so when I saw this spot I got super excited. Went Wednesday after work with my family but there was an hour wait. Came back the next night alone and sat at the bar. It was a comedy show. The two women behind the bar were like Lucy and Ethel. It seemed like their first time behind a bar. Each time they approached the register theyd put their hands on their heads so confused. They didnt even know how to split a check. I was given water upon arrival but then waited forever for someone to take my order. Watching them make drinks was hilarious. I watched one remake a drink four times. First, she filled a cup with ice and smoothed the top like an ice cream cone with her bare hand after she touched bottles, money, etc. GROSS! Then she would strain the liquid from the ice and add more of this or that. In between she kept sampling the drink with the "finger on the straw" technique. As everyone is waiting for her to finish this drink (did I mention she remade it FOUR times !?!) she garnishes it with "smacked" mint...which apparently she doesnt know how to smack because she kept throwing it away and redoing it. There was also a bunch of fancy bottle twirling and shaking of the shaker. Enough with all the hoopla! Just get the drink out there and serve more people. As you can imagine, there were a few groups that left during this time. I wasnt impressed with the food. The brisket by itself had absolutely no flavor. The sauces are ok. Most of it was tender but there were a few bites that I wouldve spit out if I was home. The greens were probably the best thing on the plate. Also, their soda machine mustve been off because I ordered two different types of sodas and they both tasted like bath water. I spoke with the manager and she said that someone called out sick. I dont think thats a good excuse. People should be cross trained so they can help out. This wont be the last time someone calls out sick. Some of these reviews mention slow service so I think this has been an issue. I might give this place another shot if friends want to go. Im interested in trying other menu items but that service....Geesh!

CA

Carolyn Goff

We wanted a good dinner and came to try this talked about restaurant. Unfortunately from beginning to end it was not a good experience and I have rarely had to write this type of review. I made a reservation on Open Table (which was never checked in) the host was very snippy and not friendly AT ALL. Too bad for this first impression. It was not a busy Sunday evening and we requested a high top table overlooking the patio. There were 2 empty tables. He said, "oh no you cant sit there it will be a long wait" No one was in line to get in to the restaurant so I dont know who he was talking about. I never saw anyone seated there afterwards. Our server while very friendly was very distracted. It took over 10 minutes for him to come to the table and it was NOT a busy evening. I wanted to try the fried okra and he said it was out of season and that I missed it by a week! I know that was wrong as I can buy okra now in the stores. Then it was very slow service. My brisket (was highly recommended) and I found it mostly fat. The beans were very vinegary, the collard greens were good, as was the pickled onion and homemade dill pickles. Hubs was not impressed with the ribs nor the bland mashed potatoes, and the zucchini salad was just tasteless. The meats really had no flavor unless you added one of the BBQ sauces. A few college boys were seated next to us. Our server came over and profusely apologized for their wait and offered them a free appetizer. They only had been seated for less than 5 minutes. Then the other table next to us had something on her burger she didnt want, the main server and one of the chefs came out to apologize in such a big way....it was all so very confusing. In the meantime, we were waiting for our food and then waiting forever for our check. Overall I would not recommend nor go back. I grew up down south tasting real BBQ, real southern cooking so I know good down home food. I still will prefer Sweet Cheeks hands down. Sorry folks. Maybe it was an off night. Need to train the staff.

ME

Meredith Giglio

Went here for a friends birthday dinner on Friday night. There were six of us. My friend had made a reservation for 8pm but says they didnt get seated for about 20minutes. When I finally got there, the waitress took my drink order. About 10 minutes later she comes back asking if Im to order a drink. I told her the same order, she then remembered that she had already asked. She leaves again. I did finally get my drink. She waited about 25 minutes or so to then ask us for our food order. I got the Brisket Sandwich with the Beans. One thing I noticed while waiting for the food, the restaurant didnt really smell like barbeque. I lived in KC for a bit and when you went to a barbeque restaurant everything had a smoky smell to it. And you think with a name The Smoke Shop, there would be a smoky smell throughout the place. When we got our food, she had messed up one of the sides that was ordered. Then someone ordered a beer, and brought the wrong one. Food was meh to say the least. I smothered my sandwich in sauce to get some kind of flavor going. The meat was missing that smoke flavor. Again if you are naming yourself Smoke Shop, I should taste the smoke. Once we were finished eating, we didnt see our waitress anywhere. Sat there for about 30 minutes with empty plates in front of us. When she did show up, we said we would like to pay. She mumbled something. I dont know if she was shy or something, but most of the night she was mumbling and we couldnt understand her. Not sure I will be going back here any time soon.