Date Night at Smoque N Bones

smoqueI had been hankering to visit Smoque N Bones ever since they opened in spring of 2014 but despite having won a platter through one of their Instagram contests, I wasn’t able to pop by until this past December. The main reason for the delay was because I was informed that the 35 seat eatery only had bar stools and so it would have been impossible to take the kids there. Having visited the restaurant in downtown Toronto, I will say that this is best saved for a Date Night as there’s definitely no space to manoeuvre young kids in there.

 

So, one rather cool December Monday when the kids were already in Niagara on the Lake with my parents (for the Christmas holidays), the hubs and I visited Smoque N Bones with my brother and his girlfriend. Even on that Monday the place was busy and we were seated by the bar from where we enjoyed watching cocktails being made and the food being cooked at the next bar. Definitely make reservations if you plan  to visit Smoque N Bones and their Twitter account is fab at responding to questions.

 

20151221_200128 (Custom)Everything was made with love here, from the tables built using reclaimed wood from a house on Palmerston to the WWII bunker and prison lights. One can find over 50 types of Bourbons on offer and the menu was inspired by “the four pillars of BBQ: Memphis, Texas, Kansas and the Carolinas.” You may recall that we were disappointed by the Texas BBQ joints we visited because of the dry rubs and so I was pleased that Smoque N Bones offered plenty of sauce on the side for saucy peeps like me! 

I had the menu all planned and knew exactly what we wanted to order but on arrival I learned that the platter I won was a pre-set one which made it a bit difficult to fit in EVERYTHING I wanted to eat. First world problems – clearly! The first thing I ordered was a Maple Bacon Old Fashioned and that bacon was so yummy! Once the dishes started rolling in we soon realized that we didn’t have enough table space and so my advice is to spread your order out as the tables are small. The four of us were elbow to elbow as we tried to shove all the goodness into our mouths!

 

I really wanted to sample the entire menu but below is what we got around to having.

Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts
Ribs
Ribs!!
Rib Tips
Rib Tips – THE BEST
20151221_201544 (Custom)
Wings

 

Highlights for us included the Rib  tips (seriously MUST get these each time!!), Brussels sprouts, the pulled pork (and I don’t even like Pulled Pork – I’m glad it was one of the ‘mandatory’ items!) and the coleslaw. I was most disappointed by the wings as they weren’t spicy at all and Vermont has set the bar high for cornbread so I’d give a pass on that as well. Next time I must get the popcorn shrimp and that spicy sausage we were eyeing. I must admit that unlike some other BBQ spots, these guys really deliver on the smoke flavour and aroma – it not only tasted like a real BBQ joint, but it also smelled like one!

This was our first taste of real BBQ in Toronto, outside of the many Ribfests that take place around the city, so we do need to experiment a bit more. I’m still dreaming of those guys who served us at the curling event last year!

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