Smoke Shack BBQ

Reviews 4

JI

Jimmy Ho

Ambers family met up in San Antonio for the holidays this year. It was another opportunity for me to explore more barbecue. Last time we visited San Antonio, we went to Two Bros. and The Granary. I have heard a lot of good things about the Smoke Shack BBQ so that was my vote for lunch. I guess I have a lot of pull in the family because that is where we went for lunch. Smoke Shack started in a food truck back in 2010 and opened up a brick and mortar location in 2014. If I can, I would prefer to order combination plates over ordering meat by the pound. Normally they are better values, and you get sides with the meal. I got the three-meat plate with the Texas trinity of moist brisket, ribs, and sausage. It came with spicy cream corn and potato salad on the side. The brisket was good but nothing amazing. It was cooked on point. The oak/pecan kissed meat was nicely smoked and tender. I wanted a better bark with a little bit more flavor from the rub though. Dynamite. That is how I would describe the pork ribs. The sweet rub and smoke were balanced to perfection. The juicy meat gave little resistance to each bite. I could probably eat a whole rack of ribs by myself. It was just that good. It might be one of my favorites. The beef and pork blend sausage was solid. The casing was snappy, and the garlic and pepper made the sausage tasty. You can see that there was a lot of thought put into the homemade sides. The cream corn was not as creamy as I would like, but it was a good change of pace. There was a nice kick of spice. The potato salad was similar to a loaded baked potato but served cold. I tried some of my wifes macaroni and cheese. It was very cheesy and had bits of smoked meat in it. If Smoke Shack was in Austin, I would go here a lot. It is good and has chicken tenders for the wife. They are open till 9 pm so you have time to stop in after work. The Congers have done a superb job with this joint. I am getting hungry thinking about them ribs. My only regret is for not getting the pulled pork on this trip. When people think of San Antonio, they do not think barbecue. Maybe they should.

JE

Jeff Turpin

I remember the food truck being "almost exceptional" a few years back; however, the brick-and-mortar weighs in at "average." It could be because Ive tried all the greats of Texas, including Franklins, and my expectations have been reset. Nonetheless, the sides are more enjoyable than the meats, unfortunately. Starting with the "moist" brisket, the it was quite lean and uncomfortably dry. In fact, I didnt finish it or bring it home. The bark left something to be desired, but at least it was not overly smoky in flavor. The flavor itself was a bit above average (plenty of terrible brisket in SA and beyond), but the dryness made it too much of a chore to eat. Quite disappointing, as their brisket use to be great (nothing compared to Franklins but maybe top 5 in the state). The ribs are hard to rate. There were flavors I liked about the ribs, but overall, they were way too sweet. In fact, I was glad once I was done with my two ribs as the sweetness is cloying. The sausage was the best of the trio, but compared to other sausages Ive had, it lacked flavor (too bland for something that should have a ton of fat, spices, and salt) and moisture (I expect a proper sausage to have a certain snap and spritz grease when you crack it open). Their BBQ sauce has elements of greatness, but again, the sweetness is abrasive. The sides were quite good, however. The spicy cream corn lived up to its name, though it seemed to be more mayonnaise like in consistency than cream (not a big deal, just pointing it out). The fried okra was legit; some of the best Ive had in years. And finally, the mac n cheese is solid: gooey, creamy, cheesy, and peppery. I could eat of pint of it by myself, some of the better mac n cheese in SA for sure. In short, Smoke Shack BBQ might be a pretty good spot for the local area, but it isnt going to be one of the few places I visit when I crave BBQ. That is reserved only for Harmons in Cibolo and B Daddys in Helotes (with some Auggies near the zoo thrown in for a change of pace)

WI

William Scheidegger

I had family in town and they wanted to visit some of the places they had seen on food shows to try first hand what they had seen. One of them was the "Big Mac Daddy". We also had a lot of other stuff on the menu and passed it all around family style. Let me start with the fixings for the main attraction. The brisket was delicious. Not overly fatty and not at all dry. In addition, the seasoning was great and the smoke flavor was all the way through. The pulled pork was pretty tasty also. Again the seasoning and smoke were balanced. The macaroni and cheese that is on top of this beast is definitely cheesy, but there was so much of it we had to scrape half of it off to even enjoy the rest. Im leaving the sausage for last, because my first dive in didnt even have any. Then when I got to what I thought was going to be the crown jewel, I was left disappointed by what looked like a sausage and tasted like a hot dog. Womp womp. The fried okra was fresh cut and battered and ended up being the true star of the meal for me. The fries were hand cut, but were floppy without even a hint of crunch. The only saving grace is the seasoning on top was delicious. The cole slaw is vinegar based, so for the creamy style fans like me, it will be a huge disappointment. Last but definitely not least is the ribs. Like most places, they are pork. However, they are not like most other places. Three was more meat on the bone than I think Ive ever seen on pork ribs. They were seasoned well, smoked well, the fat rendered nicely, and the final result was truly lip smacking, finger licking, goodness. The were slightly sweet with a perfect amount of salt.

S.

s. clark

We almost decided not to come back after our first attempt to eat here. It was Saturday around 2 pm when we arrived. After standing in line for 20 minutes we reached the counter only to find out that they had run out of brisket. What the . . . ?! That was enough to send us packing. A few weeks later we decided to give the place another try and called in advance to make sure that they had plenty of brisket, which they did. Waiting about 20 minutes again,(the order taking process seems inordinately slow) we ordered a two and three meat plate and sat down to wait. Our order was delivered in about 10 minutes. The sausage was decent with a nice pop to the casing but a very small link and nothing special about the taste. pork ribs (that they had forgotten and had to bring out separate) were flavor and fall off the bone tender, the brisket was almost too tender as it fell apart in beef shards with each bite on the plate. I like my beef with a little firmer consistency. I can forgive the overdone condition, but the meat was also a little dry and called for the use of bbq sauce. The sides were decent with spicy pinto beans, an unusual mayo and pepper potato salad, and a spicy mac n cheese. I like the food overall, but the price for two will send yo into the over $30 range. For that kind of tariff, everything should be par excellence. For the money and quality, I will probably stick with Big Bibb.