Holy Smoke

My first time here today for lunch was pleasantly surprising. I ordered the combo, which come with 2 meat choices. I chose St Louis, dry rub, and Texas brisket with garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The portions were large and delicious. I do like when a restaurant pours your martini at the table and leave the shaker 😉 There was plenty to bring home to share.

I've been to Holy Smokes before but it used to be at the Albany Post Road location. Now they just have this location and the food was pretty sub-par which is sad because they had great barbecue. We ordered the Philly cheese steak special, full rack of baby back ribs, and fried pickles. The fried pickles were pretty good. Philly cheese steak was not good at all. Ribs were fine.

Ordered the “pig nic” dinner for two for and it was a bit disappointing. We ordered for pick up and the service was great, just wished the food matched. - ribs were burnt and dry - brisket was dry - chorizos were delicious but dry - bbq chicken was bland, burnt, and dry - mac and cheese was hard, cheese curdled and separated. - creamed spinach was tart (!) - smashed potatoes were great - corn bread was hard and dry - bbq sauce is more like syrup than sauce. Maybe everything was made earlier and just kept on heat which dried it all out. Probably won’t give them another try.

Stopped for a late lunch and got a $20 brisket melt to eat in the car. Friendly service, and not a long wait at all. You get a lot of food, but its not good. Brisket is dry, tough and cold, though it came with a lot of hot fries. Maybe they were hoping the fries would warm it up? Seems like a missed opportunity to have the space, tools, and ability to make brisket, yet stop short of making a brisket that is juicy and tender.

The indoor portion of the restaurant is dark and not very nice. The outdoor portion is amazing. Nice tables and fire pit section. Ample parking. Only 1 bathroom, not very clean. Food: The ribs were amazing. That is the only reason they get 4 stars. Well seasoned, falling off the bone, amazing flavor. Sides were ok. Drink options were ok. A little disappointed on the NY micro breweries options. Service was satisfactory. All in all, I would go back for those ribs.